Résumé Builder Worksheet for the Electrical Industry

This will be the first part of your résumé.  It's very important to be thorough about the information you put in here.  If you don't have a fax number consider using one at a local Kinko's or UPS store.  The two most important contact points are your phone number and e-mail address.  With mobile phones and pagers people change them often or if people move they change phone numbers and then it makes it very hard for an employer to get in touch with you.  With the new number mobility on mobile phones you should get one phone number; even if it is just a voicemail service and keep it.  This will provide a stable place for employers to contact you.  You should list this as your primary telephone number whether this is VM or a mobile phone.  E-mail is fast becoming the primary communication medium because you can send additional information such as applications or company brochures to people.  You should consider getting an e-mail address that you can keep; a Yahoo! or MSN account can be accessed anywhere regardless of your internet service provider or your current employer. 

This will be at the very top of your résumé and will quickly give an overview of what specific skills you have.  These are very important because a contractor may have just gotten a school project and need someone with life safety system experience and this section will draw their eye right to you.  It is also very important if you are marketing yourself online or to recruiting firms.  These places convert your résumé to electronic format and then scan for keywords.  Using the table below rate your skill and experience level on the following items.  Some of these are electrical only and others are related to management of projects such as computer skills, layout, etc. 

In the section above you have made note of your basic skills and experiences.  Now it's time to brag!  No matter what stage you are at in your career you will have done some things that deserve special recognition.  This is the section where you highlight three or four of those.  Whether you are a second year apprentice who just handled material logistics phenomenally for a fifty person crew or whether you were the general foreman running the crew that brought the job in for 70% of the man hours and 2 weeks early on a fast track schedule you both have done something that stands out in the industry.  These are the types of experiences that will fill this section. 

Think through these carefully.  In sales they would call this the 30 second presentation or elevator presentation.  What if you found yourself in an elevator with the owner of one of the best electrical contractors and he asked you a simple question - "What's the best thing you've done in your career?"  Could you answer the question in less than 30 seconds?  Would the answer provide them motivation to hire you?  What kind of impression would it make?  Remember that at the end of the day people build projects and contractors are looking for people that provide results.  A key indicator of future results is past results.  Every year you should be striving to improve and refine what is in this section. 

1. Contact Information  |  2. Areas of Expertise  |  3. Standout Accomplishments  |  4. Education & Certifications  |  5. Employer History

We are almost done.  The hard part is over.  The next two sections are basic historical information about yourself.  This section is about your education and certifications.  In this industry a lot of knowledge changes hands on the job, through the apprenticeship process and through continuing education courses whether it is a 8 week code class, a weekend update or a 3 day fiber splicing class.  Make notes of all of these because they are all important in showing what education/training level you have had and also how seriously you take your career in the electrical/construction industry.   

1. Contact Information  |  2. Areas of Expertise  |  3. Standout Accomplishments  |  4. Education & Certifications  |  5. Employer History

Last section!  Many people think that this is the most important part of the a résumé or even the whole résumé.  The truth is that this is actually one of the least looked at items.  Most employers care about what you have accomplished.  Employment history is for verification only and to see if you have been relatively steadily employed; staying at each employer for several years at a time.  In the construction industry this is hard to do; especially with smaller companies but I encourage you to try.  If you find yourself constantly looking for a job you should look closely at both what you are doing at work and who you are working for. 

Don't forget to print this form out and use the information to format your own professional résumé for the electrical construction industry.