5 Ways To Make Your Resume Stand Out – Construction & Engineering

Hiring managers in construction and engineering are looking for specific qualities in job candidates. That’s why it’s important to write a resume that is not generic but addresses the key questions of hiring managers in your industry. After years of working in construction and engineering, we’ve learnt a thing or two about how candidates can grab that HR manager’s attention. With the following tips, you’ll create a resume for construction and engineering that stands out from the rest.

1. Spruce Up Your LinkedIn Profile

It used to be that hiring managers had to go to LinkedIn if they wanted to view a candidate’s past work, recommendations and endorsements. But now that Microsoft has integrated with LinkedIn, hiring managers can see details from a candidate’s LinkedIn profile in their Outlook application. Having a great LinkedIn profile is more essential than ever, and if you haven’t used Resume Assistant, make sure your LinkedIn and resume are consistent with each other.

2. Use Resume Assistant

Microsoft Word’s latest feature, Resume Assistant, is a great tool for creating a resume that truly stands out. It’s basically a pane that appears beside your word document and pulls data from your LinkedIn profile to set up a basic resume for you. From here, you can browse profiles of professionals in your field and read industry news to get an idea of great keywords and trending phrases. Read more about the Two New Features of Microsoft & LinkedIn That Are Great for Job Hunting.

3. List Your Projects

For engineering and construction jobs, we recommend that listing your projects is just as important as listing the companies you’ve worked for. Keep in mind that hiring staff may or may not be aware of the projects you’ve worked on, so provide clear and simple dot point summaries of each project and your role within it.

4. List Accomplishments

When most people write their resumes, they’ll list their responsibilities for each of their former roles. But to make your resume really stand out, turn these responsibilities into accomplishments. For example, instead of stating “Managed a team of staff,” convert that to “Improved team efficiency over three months & promoted to manager”. Accomplishments communicate more about your strengths and abilities in your former roles.

5. Write A Proper Cover Letter

When you send your resume to a HR manager or recruiter, your email essentially becomes your cover letter. And no matter how great your resume is, it won’t make it past the first hurdle unless it’s packaged with a great cover letter to match. This is your opportunities to quickly and clearly summarise why you are great for the role and any other relevant information such as start date and location. With a great cover letter, your excellent resume has a chance to shine.

Good Luck!

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