Job Description & Responsibilities
Construction labor, or general laborers, are the entry level workers in construction. They perform basic yet essential tasks on the site. They assist many craft workers, like brick layers, concrete workers, electricians and plumbers. Physical strength is important to this position. Construction labor removes debris, carries bricks, paint, scaffolding material, dry wall, roofing panels and electrical spools of wire. They assist in assembling reinforcement braces, scaffolds and temporary structures, and disassembling them when no longer needed. Depending on the specific project, construction laborers will be painting the exteriors of buildings or the lines on a highway. They will apply grout, stucco and other sealants to buildings, or they’ll pour tar for repaving highways. Whether it’s the construction of new homes, factories, office buildings or infrastructure, there is always a need for construction labor.Education & Training
Construction labor is one of the few jobs that doesn’t require a high school diploma. General laborers usually receive on the job training, but additional course work in related areas like reading blueprints, general and electrical safety, hand and power tools and others, will help an entry level laborer to advance to supervisor. Formal apprenticeship programs that teach more complicated tasks are often available.Salary Range
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the range for an hourly rate is from $9.15 to $28.07, with a mean hourly rate of $16.58. For a 40 hour work week, that mean hourly rate comes to $34,490 annually. The highway, street and bridge construction sectors report a mean salary of $38,030. The top 10 percent of experienced construction labor can earn more than $60,000 annually. Active construction work is subject to the weather and the economy. Good personal money management is critical to your success even during down times. Your resume should show that you’re willing to do the heavy lifting. Include any construction projects you’ve assisted with or have completed on your own. The sample resume below will help you organize your thoughts, your experience and your skills to match those required for the job. Be sure to list any related course work or certifications you have or are studying for. If, for you, the phrase, “Build it and they will come” is more about the building than it is about baseball, you should get in on the ground floor of this opportunity.Construction Labor Resume Questions
As with any resume, format is very important. Dividing your resume into standard sections, such as “Summary,” “Skills/Qualifications,” “Experience,” and “Education,” allows employers to recognize qualified candidates at a glance. You can see examples of what to include in these sections and how to organize them in our construction labor resume sample.
Potential employers spend about six seconds on each resume they receive, so keep yours brief and to the point. Keeping your resume to a single page, as shown in the construction labor resume sample, helps you focus on the information most relevant to the job. The idea is to stress skills and abilities directly related to the specific job. If you truly have relevant experience, skills, or certifications important to the job, you may go into a second page, but never exceed two pages for a resume. Again, a single page is best whenever possible.
Sending resumes by email is a standard practice among employers these days, so you must pay attention to the format you save your resume in. The most common are PDF, .doc, and .txt format. Most job postings specifically state which format to use, but not all. If format isn’t specified, the best option is PDF because your page formatting stays the same. Opening the resume in a different version of .doc or .txt than the original resume may mess up margins, fonts, and spacing. The last thing you want to send an employer is an unreadable resume, so take a look at our construction labor resume sample.
Having no experience doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have the skills. The key is to emphasize your selling points as shown on our construction labor resume sample. Are you a fast learner? Do you work well in a team? Did you help build your neighbor’s deck or your grandfather’s barn? While these aren’t actual job experiences, they do give you skills important to construction labor. State your goals clearly in a clean format that is easy to read and include relevant education, such as a building trades or a drafting course in high school or college. Applicable experience doesn’t have to come from previous construction employment.
The header is the information at the top of your resume. It includes your first and last name, city and state where you live, cell phone number, and email address. Our construction labor resume sample shows how you can use slightly different fonts, colors, and emphatic details, such as underlining, to make the header stand out. The idea is for the recruiter to remember your name and to provide easy access to your contact information. You can also use our resume builder for step-by-step instructions.
They may not be mandatory, but a well-written Construction Labor cover letter can elevate your resume from the “qualified” stack to the “serious candidate” file. Use our cover letter samples to write a brief, powerful message.
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