Construction Laborer resume example

• Entry level

  Construction laborer finishing a 10-week pre-apprenticeship program with OSHA 10, First Aid and CPR, and a state flagger card. Two summers of landscaping crew work moving rock, laying pavers and running plate compactors. Has a valid driver's license and a dependable truck, can lift 75 pounds, and is available for early starts, overtime and weekend pours.

• Mid level

  Construction laborer with six years on commercial and utility sites in the Sacramento Valley. Places and vibrates concrete, sets and strips forms, installs trench boxes and runs skid steers, compactors and concrete saws. Holds OSHA 30 and an ATSSA flagger card, and has been rehired by the same site contractor for five seasons with no recordable injuries.

• Senior

  Lead laborer and crew foreman with fourteen years on highway, bridge and underground utility work. Runs crews of 8 laborers on traffic control setups, concrete pours and pipe installation, and serves as the site's competent person for excavations. Keeps daily reports, toolbox talks and equipment logs current, and has worked over 6,000 crew days without a lost-time injury.

• "General labor" as the whole description

  Fix: Every laborer does cleanup, so it says nothing. Name the tasks that set you apart: concrete placement and vibrating, setting forms, trench shoring, pipe laying, flagging, demolition, or checking grade with a laser. Put them in the order the job posting lists them, and give each job one bullet with a project size.

• Safety cards missing or out of date

  Fix: Foremen often need cards on file before your first day. Put OSHA 10 or 30, flagger card, confined space, first aid and CPR, and any site badge or drug-test program in a short credentials line, each with the year or expiration date. If a card has lapsed, say when you are retaking it rather than leaving it off.

• Hiding attendance and reliability

  Fix: A crew falls behind when one person does not show, so reliability is a real skill on a laborer resume. If it is true, say it with a number: perfect attendance through a season, a rehire by the same contractor for three years, or being trusted to open the site. A foreman reference who will back it up is worth listing.

• Not listing equipment you can run

  Fix: Many laborers already run plate compactors, jumping jacks, concrete saws, power buggies and skid steers. List each one by name, and say whether you were trained and signed off. Seat time on small machines can move you to better jobs and makes you useful on smaller crews where everyone does a bit of everything.

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• Placed and vibrated 2,400 cubic yards of concrete for slabs, footings and walls on a 3-story parking structure with no rejected placements.
• Flagged and set up lane closures for 90 night shifts on a highway resurfacing job with zero work-zone incidents.
• Installed trench boxes and laid 1,600 linear feet of 8-inch sewer pipe, checking grade every 25 feet with a pipe laser.
• Compacted backfill in 6-inch lifts around 40 utility vaults, passing every density test on the first try.
• Demolished and hauled out 18 tons of drywall, ceiling grid and flooring on an office gut, sorting 60% for recycling.
• Set and stripped forms for 1,100 linear feet of curb and gutter on a new subdivision, staying ahead of the paving crew.
• Ran a skid steer and power buggy to move material on a tight downtown site, keeping 4 finishers supplied through each pour.
• Kept 100% attendance across a 7-month season and was asked back by the same contractor for the next 4 seasons.
• Led morning toolbox talks for a 10-person crew for two years, with every talk signed and filed in the daily report.
• Saw-cut and jackhammered 300 feet of sidewalk for a utility crossing and restored it to city standards within one week.

• Match the site type in the posting

  A highway contractor, a concrete sub and a demolition company need different laborers. Read what the posting builds and which tools it lists, then put those tasks first. If it asks for a flagger card, CDL or specific equipment, name yours in your summary so the foreman sees the match without reading further. Match your resume to a laborer posting

• Send a short note with your availability

  Many laborer jobs fill fast, so a two-paragraph note can help. Say which crew or project you want to join, which cards you hold, that you have your own transportation and when you can start. If someone referred you, name them. Keep it simple and easy to read on a phone. Write a quick laborer cover letter

• Be ready to talk about safety on the job

  Interviews are often short and practical. Expect questions about what you do when a trench looks unsafe, how you lift heavy material, what you do if a coworker skips fall protection, and how you handle heat. Have one example of speaking up about a hazard. Some employers also run a drug test and a short physical test. Practice laborer interview questions

• Plan your next step toward a trade

  Laborer work is a common way into operating equipment or a skilled trade. Look at a related example to see which skills that job expects, then add those you already have. The heavy equipment operator example shows how seat time and grade work read on a resume. See the heavy equipment operator example