How to Create a Construction Project Manager Resume

Property development projects often require some oversight from the beginning through completion. Construction project managers often perform this task by helping to organize employees and resources to simplify and optimize the life cycle of a project. Knowing how to create a resume for this position can benefit your job search and increase your likelihood of getting hired. In this article, we define what a construction project manager is, explain how to create a resume for the role, discuss their responsibilities, and provide a template and samples you can follow to write your own.

What is a construction project manager?

A construction project manager is an experienced construction professional who oversees all the phases of the building process and helps ensures that the project stays within the budget. They also help make sure the contractors finish their work on time. The manager typically collaborates closely with the contracted engineers and architects to develop the building plans, calculate labour and material costs, and create a budget. They can also create progress reports for clients and monitor the quality of products the builders use during the construction process.

Read more: How to Become a Construction Project Manager in 7 Steps

How to create a construction project manager resume

Here's a guide to creating your construction project manager resume:

1. Choose a format for your resume

Reverse chronological, functional, and combination or hybrid are some of the most common resume formats. The reverse-chronological format lists your recent work experience first and is often ideal for people with a lot of experience in the field. Functional resumes typically focus on your skills and suit people with limited experience or employment gaps. Combination resumes combine these styles. To choose a format, you can consider which one might highlight your relevant experience and skills in the most effective way or which one the job description requests.

2. Decide on your resume layout

It's often crucial that your resume looks as professional as possible. The layout of the resume often is fundamental to achieving a professional look. You can consider the following:

• Font: Professional fonts often include Arial and Times New Roman.

• Font size: Text size is typically 10–11 points for normal resume text and 12–14 points for headers.

• Margins: Typical margins are one inch on all sides.

• Line spacing: The standard line spacing is usually 1.0 or 1.15.

• Resume length: It helps to keep your resume close to a one-page limit by prioritizing essential and relevant information.

Several elements are important for your resume, such as your contact information, work experience, skills, and education. If there's space, you can add additional sections to further highlight your expertise. This can include awards and certifications, languages you speak, and volunteer experience.

Read more: How to Write a Construction Resume (With Tips and Example)

3. Add your contact information

This section is usually at the beginning of your resume and is often essential to your application because it introduces you to the recruiter. Here's what you can include in this section:

• Full name

• Phone number

• Professional email address such as FirstnameLastname@email.com

• City and province or territory

4. Write your resume summary

A resume summary is typically a quick and easy way to attract and keep a recruiter's attention. It's usually between two to four sentences long. Most summarize your professional experiences as a construction project manager and highlight your objectives in the industry.

5. Detail your work experience

Another vital section that recruiters look for is the work experience section. You can consider this structure when including your previous and current jobs:

• Position name

• Name of the company

• Dates of employment

• Four or five of your responsibilities and achievements

In this section, try to use action words such as designed, conceptualized, drafted, launched, and spearheaded to give more significance to your achievements.

6. Mention the education you earned

In this section, you can list your educational experiences and achievements. If you're still in school, you can mention all your courses that relate to construction project management. You may also want to prioritize any work experience relevant to the role. Here's what you can include when you write this section:

• Type of degree and major

• Name of the university

• Year of graduation

• Grades, honours, main courses

7. List your skills

Hiring managers typically shortlist candidates with the skills they want. It's often important to demonstrate a variety of relevant skills to secure the job. Here are some hard skills you can develop for a construction project manager role:

• Civil engineering

• Project management and planning

• Job site health and occupational safety knowledge

• Commercial and residential building knowledge

• Pipeline asset management skills

The following are some soft skills that are typically important for construction project managers:

• Risk management

• Communication

• Leadership

• Ability to work well under pressure

• Team building and management

Read more: How to Write a Project Manager Resume (With Template and Example)

8. Include any additional sections

After including the above information, if there's still space left on the page, you can add some additional sections. An awards and certifications section can highlight your accomplishments from your previous jobs or competitions and your professional courses. You can also highlight any projects you completed, such as a private small-scale construction project or a construction-related group assignment you did in school. Another helpful section can focus on the languages you speak. Although the knowledge of multiple languages is optional for many construction project manager roles, it's often considered an impressive skill that can impress a hiring manager.

Duties of a construction project manager

Some duties of a construction project manager include:

• Collaborating with the architects, engineers, and construction crews to help ensure the building process goes well

• Being the point of contact for the client, making progress reports, and asking and answering questions

• Managing the labour schedule for the project and hiring good contractors for each stage

• Overseeing the construction process and ensuring it meets the client's specifications

• Monitoring the quality of all materials the builders use in the construction process

• Obtaining building permits and design evaluations

• Negotiating and executing purchase agreements with suppliers and subcontractors

• Organizing the logistics of all materials and equipment for the building process

• Calculating labour and material costs to prepare a project budget for the client

Resume template for a construction project manager

You can use this template below to better understand the resume format:

[First and last name]
[City and province or territory]
[E-mail address]
[Phone number]

Professional summary
[One to two sentences for a professional statement that highlights your relevant abilities and experiences.]

Education
[Degree title]
[Name of school], [Graduation year]

Work experience
[Role], [Dates of employment]
[Company name], [City], [Province]

• [Duty or and services provided]

• [Duty or and services provided

• [Duty or and services provided]

[Role], [Dates of employment]
[Company name], [City], [Province]

• [Duty or and services provided]

• [Duty or and services provided]

• [Duty or and services provided]

Certifications

• [Certification]

• [Certification]

• [Certification]

Skills

• [Skill]

• [Skill]

• [Skill]

• [Skill]

• [Skill]

• [Skill]

Samples of a construction project manager resume

Here are two samples of a properly constructed resume for this role:

Sample construction project manager resume with 10 years' experience

The following example can help you as you draft your resume:

Maria Vergara
Toronto, Ontario
Mvegara@-email.com
883-426-7899

Professional summary
An accomplished construction project manager with over 10 years of experience in developing commercial and residential projects to clients' optimum satisfaction.

Education
Bachelor of Science in civil engineering
ClearWater University, 2012

Work experience
Construction Project Manager, May 2018–current
Bloom Construction, Toronto, Ontario

• Oversee construction management, safety, building development, and contract administration

• Calculate labour and material costs to create project budgets

• Manage more than 10 projects simultaneously

• Design unique programs to expedite building permit approvals

• Confirm quality of materials for building development

Director of Construction, February 2014–April 2018
Swiss Corp, Edmonton, Alberta

• Led bidding process and proposals for over 20 projects

• Designed development proposals for clients to their specifications

• Created project budgets that minimized capital expenditure and protected project schedule and quality goals

• Monitored building development and ensured the quality of construction materials

Certifications

• Registered civil engineer

Skills

• Pipeline asset management

• Job health and occupational safety management

• Ability to work well under pressure

• Team building and management

Read more: How to Write a Cover Letter for Construction Industry Jobs

Sample construction project manager resume with 5 years' experience

Here's a second example to help guide you:

Toby Hendricks
Vancouver, British Columbia
THendricks@e-mail.com
113-926-6190

Professional summary
Seasoned construction manager with five years of professional experience. Planned, coordinated, and developed work for contractors and sub-contractors in on-site construction environments. Responsible for several teams who successfully executed over 20 projects to clients' satisfaction.

Education
Bachelor of Science in architecture and project management
Blue Crest Tech, 2015
Work experience
Construction Manager, August 2018–current
LatchCo, Vancouver, British Columbia

• Monitor building development progress and submit reports to the client

• Organize the work of contractors to help ensure quality within the confines of the project schedule

• Process contracts and payment for materials and supervised the allocation of resources

• Obtain all building permits and ensure on-site health and safety

Assistant Construction Manager, May 2015–July 2018
Marjorie Tech, Surrey, British Columbia

• Identified potential issues and delays and resolved them quickly to ensure a smooth workflow

• Negotiated contractor and subcontractor labour agreements

• Monitored and assessed building development to help ensure it met client specifications

• Calculated all labour and material costs to create a project budget for the client

Certifications

• Certified Construction Manager

Skills

• Pipeline asset management

• Leadership and team building

• Risk and time management

• Health and occupational safety knowledge