Carpenter Resume

Things to include and how to write a great carpentry CV

Writing a good carpenter resume is essential if you want to successfully apply for a carpentry job, and get an interview.

I did something pretty sneaky when I was looking for a job not long after I finished my apprenticeship all those years ago. I posted a job advert on Gumtree for an all-rounder carpenter and asked applicants to send me their CV's/carpentry resumes to an e-mail address I set up. I got nearly 20 resumes, and used what I learnt from them to make a really good carpenter resume of my own before applying for jobs. I didn't copy what skills or experience they said they had, I used my own. I just checked out the competition and made a carpentry CV I thought was pretty good (I definately found out what not to include in a CV). Of course, I'm not suggesting you do that ;-)

What's in it?

If you think about it, a carpentry resume is basically your own personal advert detailing everything you've achieved and are capable of, and is your chance to impress a potential employer enough to get an interview. It needs to be detailed enough to tell the reader everything they need to know about you, whilst being well organised and easy to read. Too long or boring and it may just end up in the bin.

It's important that you don't just write a detailed history of your past, but outline the skills you've developed and your ambitions for the future.

It will boost your chances massively if you look at the job advertisement, do some research about the company you are applying to work for and tailor the resume to suit. That way, you can highlight those of the skills you possess that they are looking for. Don't 'lie', just highlight the most relevant areas in your skill-set to the job they advertised. Don't waste your readers time by boasting in the carpenter resume about how good you are at roofing if you're applying for a job installing kitchens for eg.

The layout

A table of contents or index at the beginning lets the reader quickly find the information they are looking for. That is probably you're previous experience and qualifications. So, it makes sense to put those two at the front, and if the reader likes what they see they'll read deeper into it to find out more about you and whether or not you are suitable for the role you've applied for.

On page three, write a summary about yourself and the way you work. Employers like to hear things like; Can work within a team or be trusted to work alone, hard working, neat, punctual, reliable, ambitious, fast learning, responsible etc.

The job you are applying for might involve fairly new skills or work in an area you have little experience in. In this instance give examples of past experiences to highlight the skills you do have that crossover to the new role. This will help reassure the employer that you can quickly adapt to the work they are offering.

References

Portfolio

It's worth building up a carpentry portfolio with photos, references and any other documents that can be used to boost your chances of gaining employment.

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