Civil Engineer Resume Example and Writing Guide 2024

Civil engineers are critical to society. They’ve also been key players since antiquity. Bridges, roads, buildings, irrigation systems –– they all require civil engineers to handle the design and planning process.

A civil engineer resume allows you to communicate your skills in these areas and make yourself an appealing job candidate for hirers. Of course, creating a resume for a civil engineer isn’t as easy as it could be. You need to find an effective way to highlight skills, experience, and education to potential employers but do so succinctly and compellingly.

Whether you’re a freshly minted civil engineer or you’ve been in the industry for years, the best civil engineering resume will showcase your technical abilities, problem-solving skills, and experience in managing construction projects, infrastructure planning, design, and more.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of choosing the right civil engineer resume format and crafting an effective document so that you stand out from the competition.

Civil Engineer Resume Example

Before we dive into what makes an effective civil engineer resume, let’s look at a few examples. Below, you’ll find three options highlighting how a specific civil engineering resume format can enhance your information and make you stand out from other applicants. These three civil engineer resume examples from our resume builder replicate typical entry-level, mid-career and senior applicants. Use them as a guide and inspiration to craft your own winning civil engineer resume. Throughout this article, you’ll also find civil engineer resume samples for individual resume sections.

Entry Level Civil Engineering Resume

Civil Engineer Resume Hattie Zachs Ball Entry Level

Download this resume example - Entry Level Civil Engineering

Mid-Career Sample Resume of a Civil Engineer

Civil Engineer Resume Keith Manderley

Download this resume example - Mid-Career Civil Engineer

Sample Resume for Civil Engineer at a Senior Level

Civil Engineering Resume Senior Eugene Cormac

Download this resume example - Senior Civil Engineering

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Of course, creating a compelling civil engineer resume requires more than just exploring examples and looking at templates. You need to know the components that will make a great resume and help grab hirers’ attention, as well as applicant tracking systems (ATS).

In the sections below, we’ll discuss what to include in your resume so that humans and software take notice.

What to Include in a Civil Engineer Resume?

Now that you’ve explored example civil engineer resume template options, let’s dig a bit deeper. Creating a compelling civil engineer resume requires knowing what to include, which really boils down to understanding what hirers want to see and need to know to shortlist you as an applicant.

Civil engineers are involved in planning and designing construction projects, such as buildings, homes, roads, bridges, tunnels, water supply and sewerage systems. They also do construction management and maintenance of developments associated with building design.

Your resume for civil engineer jobs should be filled with knowledge, passion, skills and experience employers need. It should also be written to stand out from other job seekers vying for the hiring manager’s attention. Recruiters look for one to two pages demonstrating you meet the job description’s critical requirements. They spend no more than a few seconds to find what they’re looking for. Therefore, details must be quick to find, and the resume easy to navigate. Let’s break things down.

How to Include Personal Information

Civil Engineer Resume Personal Information Example

Without personal information, your civil engineering CV is worth nothing. It’s one resume section job seekers frequently get wrong. Transposed letters and numbers could mean you’re uncontactable, and recruiters aren’t likely to hunt you down. Your full name, telephone number and email are all that’s required. If you have an up-to-date LinkedIn profile, this is where it goes. Ensure your LinkedIn profile matches the info on your civil engineer resume for it to be of value.

How to Write a Good Personal Profile for a Civil Engineer Resume

The key to getting the job you want is to capture a hirer’s attention from the very beginning. Your personal profile is how you do that. However, you’ll need to get it right or you might find that it doesn’t perform as expected.

Keep it brief, no more than four sentences. It should also be relevant to the hirer while providing a brief but compelling overview of your experience, strengths, and career goals. Remember, specificity is good.

A personal profile is a short synopsis of your qualifications, years of experience, civil engineering skills and achievements. It includes a brief overview of your career that must align with pertinent info and keywords from the job post. Put time and effort in here. If your professional summary doesn’t read well, it’s unreasonable to think anyone will read further.

Here’s an example personal profile to include on a professional resume for a civil engineer:

“A detail-oriented civil engineer with 7+ years of experience in managing large-scale infrastructure projects. Proficient in AutoCAD, project management, and site supervision, with a proven track record of delivering projects on time and within budget.”

Graduate Civil Engineer Resume Profile Example

As a recent graduate, it’s important for you to highlight your education, internships, and any relevant coursework or projects.

Example:

“Recent civil engineering graduate with hands-on experience in internship roles, including assisting in the design and planning of urban infrastructure. Proficient in Civil 3D and AutoCAD, with strong analytical skills and a passion for sustainable engineering solutions.”

Junior Civil Engineer Resume Profile Example

Resume Objective For An Entry Level Civil Engineering Resume

A junior civil engineer’s resume should focus on technical skills and any initial professional experience gained through entry-level roles. A fresher civil engineer relies on education and career ambitions to win over recruiters.

Example:

“Junior civil engineer with 2 years of experience working on residential and commercial construction projects. Proficient in site analysis, surveying, and CAD software. Eager to contribute to a growing firm and further develop expertise in project management and environmental sustainability.”

Senior Civil Engineer Resume Profile Example

Resume Summary For Experienced Resumes For Civil Engineers

A senior civil engineer’s resume should emphasize leadership, project management, and significant contributions to high-profile projects. Experienced civil engineers use their experience, skills and achievements that match the role in convincing hiring managers.

Example:

“Senior civil engineer with 15 years of experience in overseeing complex construction and infrastructure projects. Skilled in managing teams, negotiating with stakeholders, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Adept at using BIM and Civil 3D software to drive cost-efficient, sustainable designs.”

When to Include a Cover Letter?

A cover letter isn’t the same as a resume summary. Where a resume summary is brief and to the point, a cover letter is more comprehensive. See a cover letter as motivation to hire you. In contrast, a resume summary is an invitation to continue reading.

Like any other business letter, a cover letter is addressed to someone specific at a particular company. It’s also separate from your civil engineer resume. Generally, a cover letter should be no more than one page persuading the reader to consider your application.

Including a generic cover letter as part of your civil engineering CV can confuse ATS, reducing the keyword count. Even your best resume could fall out or move way down the applicant ranking.

Only include a cover letter if:

  • A cover letter is a specification in the job ad
  • You’re applying directly and not responding to a public job post

Make It ATS-Friendly

In a perfect world, every resume would be read by a human being. However, we don’t live in such a world. Hirers are snowed under with resumes for hopeful job applicants. Hundreds of resumes can be submitted for a single open position. It’s an incredibly competitive time.

To help them cope and to weed through resumes that are very poor fits, employers are using software. There’s a good chance not even recruiters will get to see your civil engineering CV. The early hiring stages are run by AI in applicant tracking systems or ATS. They usually see your resume long before a human hirer will, which means you’ll need to create a resume that works for both software and people. Not sure how to do that? We’ve got you covered.

What Does an ATS Look For?

An applicant tracking system doesn’t actually read resumes. It scans them for keywords that match job descriptions and skillsets. It’s not about nuances or context clues. Instead, it’s about the keywords that you add to your content. If they’re there, your civil engineer resume moves on to recruiters; if not, it’s unceremoniously binned without anyone seeing it. Some of those might be:

  • 5+ years of experience
  • Professional Engineer (PE)
  • Project management
  • Led a team
  • AutoCAD
  • Revit
  • Civil 3D
  • Bachelor’s degree
  • Blueprints
  • Civil engineering skills
  • Communication skills
  • Construction management
  • Construction projects
  • Cost estimates
  • EIT
  • Engineering projects
  • Geotechnical
  • Infrastructure projects
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Microsoft
  • Problem-solving
  • Structural analysis
  • Structural engineering
  • Subcontractors

Your task is to identify keywords and write them verbatim into your civil engineering resume if you meet the mark.

What’s the Point of an ATS?

Applicant tracking systems serve a couple of purposes, but the most important roles they fill are:

  • Ensuring that any resumes sent to human hirers are relevant to the job role in question.
  • Ensuring that any resumes sent to human hirers are “best fits” for the position and the company as a whole.

It’s really about saving time and improving accuracy while also helping to make sure that the right candidate gets the job. Hiring managers put vital keywords into job descriptions and job titles. They’re education, work experience and skills necessary to succeed at the job.

How to Ensure Your Civil Engineer Resume Is ATS-Friendly

So, how do you ensure that your civil engineering resume is ATS-friendly so that you have the best chance of having it sent up the chain to a human hirer?

First, you’ll want to use the right civil engineer resume template. At CVMaker, our templates are designed to be ATS-friendly from the very beginning. We use proven formats and layouts that get your content noticed.

Of course, that means you need to pay attention to the content you’re using. ATS and humans both want to see the same thing –– evidence that you’re the person for the job. That means talking about your skills, experiences, achievements, and education. However, you’ll need to add them the right way and know which sections matter most to potential hirers. Everything you need to know is discussed below.

Top Skills to Include on a Civil Engineer Resume

Technical Skills For Civil Engineering Example

Employers care about some very specific things when vetting applicants. They want to see that you have the education necessary for the position. They also like to see your experience, even if that’s only entry-level stuff. Most importantly, they want to know that you have the skills necessary for the job.

You’ll need to include a mix of technical, analytical, and interpersonal skills. The correct keywords matter in the skills section, as this is another favorite ATS hangout. You’ll find technical skills and soft skills in the job post; only use these specific skills to win over ATS.

Some of the top skills to include on the resume for a civil engineer include the following:

  • Technical Proficiency: AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Revit, and other engineering software.
  • Project Management: Experience leading and managing civil engineering projects.
  • Problem-Solving: Ability to troubleshoot and solve engineering challenges.
  • Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills for liaising with clients, contractors, and teams.
  • Analytical Thinking: Expertise in structural analysis, load calculations, and cost estimation.
  • Time Management: Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines.

How to Include References

Civil Engineer Resume References Example

End your CV for civil engineer jobs with the references section. You don’t need more than one or two. Opting for “available on request” is another alternative. All this resume section needs is the referee and company names, phone numbers and email addresses.

How to Highlight Civil Engineering Experience on a Resume

Professional Civil Engineer Experience Example

In addition to listing your skills, you’ll need to describe your experience. However, you can’t just list the positions you’ve held and the duration of each job. You should focus on highlighting measurable achievements and responsibilities, instead.

Applicant tracking systems head straight to this section, searching for keywords. It’s crucial to mirror keywords from the job description here. Targeting your work history in your civil engineer experience resume means parsers rank you highly. Whether tertiary engineering projects or voluntary infrastructure projects, it counts if it matches the job requirements.

Remember to make this information actionable, not just a dry list of facts and figures. Use action verbs to engage the reader. What does that mean? Think words like “designed,” “managed,” “developed,” and “coordinated.”

Not sure how that might look? Here’s an example of how you might showcase experience on a professional resume for a civil engineer:

“Led a team of five engineers in the successful design and construction of a $10 million highway expansion project. Reduced project costs by 12% through value engineering and advanced material selection.”

Avoid trying to impress by including information not in the job specification. It’s an unnecessary distraction that can confuse ATS in the screening stage, harming your chances.

A reverse chronological resume format works best for a CV for civil engineer. In other words, start with your most recent job and continue in descending order. Vitally, your work history must be easy to read and navigate. Use clear business-style fonts, bullet points and lots of white space. Customize each job responsibility to include keywords and fit in a single bullet point. A hiring team will likely view your civil engineering resume, so make it easy to follow, comment on, and share. Finally, use the same job title and follow the same job sequence as the post.

How to Write a Civil Engineering Resume with No Experience

In the example above, we talked about how to show your experience on a civil engineer resume. But what if you’re new to the industry? Recent college grads often don’t have a lot of experience to show, but they can still make a compelling case to a hirer.

The key here is to focus on your education, certifications, and any relevant internships or volunteer work that you might have. You should also emphasize transferable skills, like teamwork, problem-solving, and tech skills/capabilities.

Here are our key tips for maximizing your chances with the right civil engineering resume format:

1. Emphasize any unpaid experience, including internships and volunteer work. If you don’t have any, consider interning or volunteering before starting your job hunt.

2. Include relevant coursework on your resume to show technical skills, such as structural analysis or project management.

3. Highlight your software skills, because these will be in demand. Skip software like Office that doesn’t really speak to the job role and instead list position-specific things like Civil 3D or AutoCAD.

How to Add Education to a Civil Engineer Resume

Civil Engineer Resume Education And Certifications Example

We’ve covered adding experience and skills to your civil engineering resume. But what about education? In some professions, education is secondary to experience and skills.

However, because civil engineers require both degrees and licensure (except for some entry-level engineers in certain states), education is just as important as any other element to hirers. How do you add education to your resume and make it both accessible and pertinent to a potential hirer?

It’s relatively simple. List your degree(s), any specialization(s), and the institution(s) where you studied. Put all this information below your experience on the resume. If you don’t have a lot of experience, lead off with your education and then highlight internships and volunteer work.

Once again, list only the required education and certifications and your license details. The less work experience you have, the more the education section of your resume matters.

Here’s an example of how this might look within a customizable civil engineer resume template:

  • Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, University of California, 2020
  • Relevant Coursework: Hydraulics, Structural Engineering, Sustainable Design
  • Certifications: EIT (Engineer in Training), OSHA 30-Hour Certification

Make the education section easy to scan over and accurate: 

  • start with your most recent qualifications and continue in descending order
  • separate education, certifications, and registrations on your civil engineer resume
  • list the institution, qualification, and dates, if applicable.

Related Resume Templates

Civil engineering resume templates not for you? Apart from a civil engineer resume template, we have other resume samples that might interest you:

Key Takeaways: Building the Most Compelling Civil Engineering Resume Possible

Want to grab the attention of hirers in today’s ultra-competitive environment? A powerful resume is the key.

Your resume is the first thing a potential hirer sees, so it’s important that it’s formatted correctly and that it contains the right information. The goal is to ensure that you stand out from other applicants, and the right civil engineering resume format and segmentation will help you do that.

Customize

Make sure to tailor your resume to the specific job and employer. This isn’t optional. Don’t send the same resume out to five different companies. Each one should be customized to the job role and requirements, as well as the company’s culture.

Most of the information blocks on your resume (experience, education, etc.) will stay the same, but you’ll customize your personal profile/summary, and other elements to be as compelling as possible.

Focus

Focus on your technical skills and relevant experience. Assume that most of the people applying for the position will have similar education/degrees as you, so your skills and experience are the key to making your resume stand out from the crowd.

 Of course, for those who don’t have a ton of experience (or any), it’s important to focus on education and training, followed by real-world experiences where you could put that education to work, like internships and volunteer work.

Engagement

When speaking of your accomplishments and achievements, use action verbs. It’s all about being engaging and drawing the reader in. Dry lists of facts don’t do that.

Certifications/Licenses

Highlight your relevant certifications and licenses. Some of those that should be front and center include the following:

  • Professional Engineer (PE)
  • Project Management Professional (PMP)
  • Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP)
  • Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP)
  • American Concrete Institute (ACI) Certification
  • Engineer in Training (EIT)
  • Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)
  • Certified Construction Manager (CCM)
  • Structural Engineering (SE) License
  • Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC)
  • Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP)

Finally, make sure you include information about your experience with relevant software like Civil 3D and AutoCAD. If necessary, provide information about the amount of time/familiarity you have with this software. After all, someone who’s used AutoCAD intimately for five years might be a better fit for certain positions than someone who’s just completed an AutoCAD drafting course.

With the right information and the right civil engineer resume template, you’ll be able to make a strong first impression on hirers. And that’s what it’s all about –– making you a memorable candidate that stands out from others. Good luck with the job search!

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FAQ

1. How much do civil engineers make in the USA?

The average salary for civil engineers in the US varies by location, experience, and specialization. As of 2024, civil engineers typically earn between $68,000 and $110,000 per year, with senior positions earning even more.

Other variables that play into the question of annual salary include the organization employing you (private organizations tend to pay higher than government agencies, for instance), as well as the level of education you’ve attained.

2. What makes a good civil engineer?

Civil engineering is a very wide field, with plenty of opportunities for specialization. However, all strong candidates have a few things in common.

For instance, you’ll definitely need good technical expertise. However, strong project management skills (and a certification to back up your claims) are also important. You’ll need to have great problem-solving capabilities, as well as outstanding communication skills.

Of course, you will work as part of a team, so good teamwork skills are important. Teamwork and communication skills are important not just for those who work within an organization, but for engineers who take on their own clients.

3. How to become a professionally registered engineer?

First, understand that each state has its own education and licensure requirements for civil engineers. Make sure you understand those that apply to you. In most cases, the process you’ll follow will look something like this:

1. Complete the coursework necessary to pass a Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam.

2. Spend some time in the field via internships, volunteer work, and entry-level positions.

3. Take and pass the Professional Engineer (PE) exam.

4. Complete continuing education (CE) requirements to maintain your license. Note that CE requirements also vary from state to state.

4. What are civil engineering duties in a resume?

Civil engineering duties can include a broad range of related things, including the following:

  • Site inspections
  • Project management
  • Cost estimation
  • Ensuring compliance with local regulations

Civil engineers are responsible for designing, constructing, and maintaining infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, and buildings. Building a compelling resume means looking beyond the obvious. Including civil engineering duties can help show your expertise and experience in real-world situations.

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