We personalize your experience.
We use cookies in our website to ensure we give you the best experience, get to know our users and deliver better marketing. For this purpose, we may share the information collected with third parties. By clicking “Allow cookies” you give us your consent to use all cookies. If you prefer to manage your cookies click on the “Manage cookies” link below.
Your civil engineering resume should emphasize your best engineering skills and experience. Use these civil engineering resume examples and tips for inspiration.
Our customers have been hired by*:*Foot Note
To write a strong civil engineering resume, use the writing tips and civil engineering resume examples on this page.
When writing your civil engineering resume, you can prove why you’re the best engineer for the job by following these four important keys:
Rather than send the same resume with every job application, tailor each resume to match the job description, specifically the keywords describing required skills and responsibilities. This is critical to help you pass through applicant tracking systems (ATS) programmed by the hiring manager to select qualified candidates. For example, if a job posting requires you to have “AutoCad certification” then your resume should mention AutoCad if you’re trained in it.
Since most applicants will meet the qualifications of a civil engineer, you need to stand out by including your most impressive accomplishments in your resume. Focus on measurable achievements rather than mundane tasks. For example: “Designed 10 drawings per land project to submit with permit applications and expedite survey and inspections.” You can also include career highlights like “Personally selected by the town mayor to assess underdeveloped town-owned land and devise cost-effective project plans for 2024.”
Civil engineer resumes will need to demonstrate a candidate’s proficiency with both technical hard skills. personality-related soft skills. Your hard skills will show you can perform the job responsibilities while your soft skills show the way you communicate and interact with engineering team members and clients. Aim to highlight your best skills throughout your resume but prominently as a bullet point list in a separate skills section.
Your engineering bachelor’s degree will be required and a master’s degree allows you to stand out from the competition. However, on your resume you can also create a separate section to list impressive civil engineering industry certifications (e.g. Engineer In Training Certification (EIT)) or additional training that solidifies your technical expertise as a civil engineer. It will also benefit you to feature a state-issued Professional Engineer (PE) license or Project Management Professional (PMP) certification on your resume.
Your qualifications as a civil engineer must be demonstrated through action words on your resume. Action verbs can make the accomplishments in your skills and work experience sections sound energized. Here are some action words to feature on your civil engineering resume.
Choose one of the three resume formats below that best fits your job search to effectively organize your civil engineering resume:
The chronological resume format, also known as reverse chronological format, is ideal for an experienced civil engineer with two or more years of relevant experience or multiple engineering jobs because it emphasizes the work history section so at a glance, hiring managers can validate engineering experience.
The functional resume format is recommended for entry-level civil engineers with less than two years of experience. This format prominently displays skills and education rather than work history as featured in the chronological format.
The combination resume format, also known as the hybrid format, combines both chronological and functional layouts, making it ideal for civil engineers with more than three years of experience. By placing the focus on experience and relevant skills, this format explains how your previous work history and relevant skills can make you an ideal candidate for the job.
Civil engineers will be required to demonstrate both hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are abilities learned through higher education and training, while soft skills are intangible, personality-driven traits and interpersonal skills.
Here are some civil engineering-related skills to include on your resume:
When you use our Resume Builder tool to create your resume, you’ll get automatic civil engineering skills and wording suggestions.
Now that you’ve seen some outstanding civil engineering resume examples on this page, here are some tips for creating a job-winning resume.
The resume header will be the first notable section of your resume design. It includes your full name and contact information, including your phone number location and email address. Include a link to your LinkedIn profile here, especially if your profile contains information on awards, key achievements and experience with engineering projects. Browse the civil engineering resume examples on this page to see different examples of headers, and how they’re filled out.
Now that the hiring manager knows your name and contact information, you will feature a two-to-three-sentence resume summary or resume objective to describe your goals, relevant skills and best achievements. Job candidates with solid years of engineering work experience can write a resume summary. Entry-level job candidates or career changers should write a resume objective to explain career goals, industry passion and impressive skills you can bring to the new job civil engineering role.
Many of the skills that you’ll list for a civil engineering resume will be hard skills, such as knowledge of specific software or processes. The most common high-priority civil engineering skills are technical skills that you only learn through education and hands-on experience. Soft skills, especially problem solving and critical thinking, are equally as important as they show how you can think for yourself and solve complex problems.
Since the engineering field values recent work, list the last 10 years of relevant work history. Any jobs, internships or volunteer work that is older than 10 years can be incorporated in an online profile like LinkedIn page, that you conveniently link to in your resume header.
In your education section, list any academic experience you have after high school. Most civil engineering experts need at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field, and showcasing this information helps a hiring manager find you. Don’t list your GPA on your resume. Although you should display academic honors and awards, your GPA isn’t something that most hiring managers are looking for.
If you have any awards or special recognitions related to civil engineering, you can showcase them in a separate section.
There are many software programs that will likely be required for a civil engineering job, including AutoCAD, Civil 3D and Autodesk Revit. Look into getting certified for these programs, and listing these certifications.
Build my resume
Do:
Don't:
Have questions? We’re here to help.
To write a civil engineer resume, feature your best, most relevant skills and experience that match the job description. Include your college degree(s), engineering certifications, any specialized areas such as structural, geotechnical, transportation or water engineering. Rather than simply list daily tasks, include specific, measurable examples of your accomplishments like process improvement, cost savings, energy efficiency or other numbers that will impress hiring managers. If you lack direct work experience, include online engineering courses taken, internships, team projects or volunteer work. Use a civil engineer resume template as your foundation to writing a strong resume.
A professional summary of a civil engineer will be a two-to-three-sentence paragraph that summarizes the key points of your career including years of experience and an impressive highlight. An example would be:
Proven successful civil engineer with more than four years of hands-on experience in designing Seminole County land development projects looking for a senior civil engineer position. Process optimization expertise was recently demonstrated by shaving one month off the Main Street land project schedule resulting in a cost savings of $21,000.
A resume headline for a civil engineer resume can be a single line at the top of the resume that captures the prospective employer’s attention. An example would be: “Licensed civil engineer with seven years of specialized geotechnical experience simultaneously managing 12 infrastructure design and development projects.” The example clearly shows that the job candidate is a multitasking project manager who can offer years worth of expertise in the geotechnical area.
A civil engineering company will expect a candidate’s strengths to include technical expertise through an engineering academic background, technical certifications and hands-on experience. A civil engineer will also be expected to manage design while nurturing relationships with team members, review agencies and clients. Keeping a project on time demands good time management skills in addition to strong communication, proper scheduling, organization and attention to detail.
Yes! We highly suggest that you submit a cover letter with your resume. Even if the job application doesn’t indicate that you need a cover letter, writing one gives you the opportunity to directly introduce yourself to the hiring manager and expand on the information listed in your resume. You can use the ResumeHelp Cover Letter Builder to make it easier for you to write your cover letter for every application.
As long as you hold a bachelor’s degree, you can likely get a junior civil engineer position without any traditional work experience. This is where other activities such as specialized coursework, civil engineering internship experience or even extracurricular activities play a role to show off your qualifications. If these activities feature technical skills that connect with civil engineering, include them in your resume so that a hiring manager knows that you’ve learned on the job, even if it’s in a less traditional way. Browse the great civil engineer resume examples on this page for inspiration to write your own.
Yes! You must adapt your civil engineering resume to every individual job posting. This way, you hit all the resume keywords that a hiring manager put in individual job postings, such as specific skills and requirements. This will also help you pass applicant tracking systems (ATS) that many employers use to scan incoming resumes and cover letters to make sure they meet certain criteria before a hiring manager looks at it. When you change the resume for every job posting, update your skills and experiences to match these keywords.
Couldn't find the answer you're looking for?
