Carpenter Resume Sample

With a huge variety of projects and job types available, a career in carpentry really is what you make of it. As well as being satisfying work, it’s also quite lucrative, with some carpenters earning nearly $40 an hour according to the United States Department of Labor.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Whether you’re an apprentice looking to get your foot in the door or an experienced journeyman, these carpenter resume tips will help you prove that you can get the job done.

1. Don’t Take Your Other Skills For Granted

Carpentry is a skilled trade, so your resume needs to be heavy on its resume skills section.

First, you want to be specific and use some handy action verbs when describing your experience:

Cut boards / assemble structures / erect scaffolds / install fixtures / maintain records / navigate building codes / saw timber / bore boltholes / fasten frameworks

Next, you’ll want to take the key points from this, create a dedicated skills section, and then put it where it’s easily visible on the page. We recommend employing an interesting resume template that has the individual skills clearly highlighted so employers can see exactly what you bring to the table.

Add Key Soft Skills

As well as knowledge of building and construction, think about other things you do on the job that are less obvious, such as solving problems, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and understanding the implications of information.

There are a variety of good soft skills to list that help prove that you’re a well-rounded candidate. For example:

Hard Skills Are Crucial

If you’re comfortable navigating computer programs, you can also include these skills in your resume. Do you have experience with CAD software? Maybe your last job had you knocking out spreadsheets in Excel and you’re a pro with Microsoft Office. It’s all worth mentioning.

You can also try being specific about the equipment you use and your safety record. If you have experience maintaining or repairing certain professional tools, mention it:

• Extension ladders
• Visible beam laser levels
• Worm-drive saws versus sidewinder circular saws

Finally, think about all the calculations you make on a daily basis. Math and statistics are sought after abilities in the trade and are skills worth adding to your resume.

• Calculating angles
• Measuring materials
• Reading technical plans

Accuracy with these tasks is vital to planning a project and not wasting money. Proving your ability here could make all the difference to a hiring manager.

2. Highlight Your Certifications

You don’t need many formal qualifications to be a carpenter, with most people learning on the job or completing an apprenticeship. However, receiving a professional certification can really boost your career prospects for the future. These range from extra training to simply registering with a professional body.

Our candidate recently completed his Lead Carpenter Certification from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. This requires at least 5 years in the industry and 2 years as a lead carpenter, and teaches the essentials of project management in the field.

Having such a certificate tells employers that you can complete projects on time and on budget – thereby increasing profitability. You can’t go wrong with that.

At the end of the day, employers generally value experience over anything else. However, they’re also looking for industry-specific qualifications. Make sure your resume clearly shows how you’re certified.

3. Quantify your experience

This may be the last tip, but for general resume writing it’s arguably the most important. Consider the difference between these two sentences:

• Used a variety of tools
• Used roughly 30 different types of hand and power tools to handle client needs

That’s right, the first is noticeably vague, whereas the second is specific and includes numbers. This is called quantification, and it can do wonders for your resume.

To show employers that you are the person for the job, use numbers to demonstrate your achievements and accomplishments on your resume.

Ask yourself questions. How many buildings have you worked on? How often do you order lumber?

Many job seekers focus on trying to include fancy technical jargon when it’s best to use plain English and talk about results. Think percentages, timeframes, and of course, dollars.

Make Your Move

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the future is bright for carpenters. If you take the same precision you bring to your work and apply these tips, you can craft a seriously impressive resume for whatever career move you want to make next.

Ready to start building? We have a massive collection of free resume templates ready for you to personalize. Alternatively, hammer out the perfect resume in a matter of minutes using our free resume builder.