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Writing a construction CV that survives the first 30 seconds
Hiring managers on site scan for project types, contract values, and forms of contract. Most CVs bury all three.
17 Jul 2026 · 5 min read
A construction CV is not read the way a graduate CV is read. The person opening it usually has a live vacancy, a shortlist to build by Friday, and about thirty seconds per document.
Lead with projects, not duties
The single most common mistake is a duties list that could describe anyone with the job title. What a hiring manager wants to know is what you have actually worked on: the project, its value, your scope, and the form of contract.
One line per project does more than a paragraph of responsibilities.
Put the numbers in
Contract values, package values, team sizes, programme durations. These are the details that let someone place you against their own project before they have finished the first page.
Name the contract forms
NEC3, NEC4, JCT Design and Build, FIDIC — these are searched for directly, and their absence is read as inexperience even when it is only omission.
Keep chartership visible
If you are MRICS, MCIOB, or working towards APC, it belongs in the top third of the first page, not in a qualifications block at the end.