Three trades that get lumped together as “construction” on job boards and are nothing like each other on site: ironworker, roofer and concrete finisher. Each one has a single number a foreman looks for, and most resumes in all three leave it off.
A complete sample for each below, plus what actually gets checked in each trade. If your trade is not here, the construction worker resume example covers the general shape.
What these three resumes have in common
More than you would expect. All three are:
- Production trades – paid on how much you put down, so quantity is the proof
- High-consequence – falls, dropped loads and rejected slabs. Your safety and quality record is a hiring criterion, not a footnote
- Crew-based – a foreman is hiring someone who will not slow down a gang of six
- Weather and schedule driven – availability for early starts, night pours and storm work is worth real money
So the shape is the same in all three: quantity, quality record, safety record, availability. Only the units change.
Ironworker resume sample
Eight years, structural side, connecting. Tonnage and storey height are the units here, and the tie-off line is not padding – erectors read it.
MARCUS TREJO Gary, IN 46402 | (219) 555-0141 | m.trejo.iron@email.com Structural ironworker | 8 years | Journeyman | OSHA 30 Fall protection competent person | Own truck and tools | Will travel SUMMARY Journeyman structural ironworker with 8 years on commercial and industrial steel. Connected on buildings to 14 storeys, set 2,800+ tons of structural steel, and 8 years with no falls or dropped loads. Certified rigger and signal person. EXPERIENCE Structural Ironworker - Calumet Steel Erectors, Gary, IN Apr 2020 - Present - Connecting on 11 commercial and industrial projects, buildings to 14 storeys - Set roughly 2,800 tons of structural steel: columns, beams, joists, deck and bracing - Rigged and signalled for mobile and tower cranes on every job - Bolt-up to spec including slip-critical connections with turn-of-nut and DTI verification - Detailed and plumbed steel to survey control - 100% tie-off above 6 ft; no falls or dropped loads in 8 years Apprentice Ironworker - Region Iron & Rigging, Hammond, IN Jun 2018 - Mar 2020 - Completed apprenticeship, 6,000 hours - Deck laying, welded studs, reinforcing steel placement SKILLS Structural connecting | Steel erection sequencing | Rigging Crane signalling | Bolt-up: slip-critical, turn-of-nut, DTI Welding: SMAW and FCAW, structural | Burning and torching Deck and stud welding | Reinforcing steel | Plumbing and detailing Fall protection systems | Blueprint and erection drawing reading CERTIFICATIONS Journeyman Ironworker - Ironworkers apprenticeship, 2020 AWS D1.1 - SMAW and FCAW, 3G and 4G - current NCCCO Rigger Level I - current NCCCO Signal Person - current OSHA 30-Hour Construction - 2025 Fall Protection Competent Person - 2024 First Aid / CPR - current
If you are on the reinforcing side rather than structural, swap tonnage for tons of rebar placed and add tying rates, mat and column work. Say rodbuster or reinforcing ironworker explicitly, because they are recruited separately.
Roofer resume sample
Ten years, commercial low-slope, now running crews. Square footage and systems are the units, and manufacturer certification is the thing that separates a commercial roofer from a residential one.
WESLEY BOUDREAUX Tampa, FL 33605 | (813) 555-0175 | w.boudreaux.roof@email.com Commercial roofer | 10 years | OSHA 30 | Fall protection competent Own truck | Available for storm work and out-of-town travel SUMMARY Commercial roofer with 10 years in low-slope systems. TPO, EPDM and modified bitumen on 120+ roofs from 4,000 to 90,000 sq ft, factory certified for two manufacturer warranty systems, and 4 years running crews of 5-9. No warranty callbacks on manufacturer-certified work. EXPERIENCE Roofing Foreman - Bayshore Commercial Roofing, Tampa, FL Feb 2021 - Present - Ran crews of 5-9 on 60+ low-slope projects, 4,000 to 90,000 sq ft - TPO and EPDM: mechanically attached, fully adhered and induction welded systems; hot-air weld testing and probe on every seam - Modified bitumen torch and cold-applied on 15 projects - Tear-off, deck inspection and replacement, tapered insulation layout to drains - Flashing detail: curbs, penetrations, parapets, scuppers, drains - Installed manufacturer warranty systems, 20-year NDL on 9 roofs, no warranty callbacks - Ran the fall protection plan: perimeter warning line, tie-off within 6 ft of edge, daily anchor inspection Roofer - Suncoast Roofing Systems, Bradenton, FL Mar 2016 - Jan 2021 - Low-slope install and repair, storm damage response - Shingle and metal on residential and light commercial SKILLS TPO and EPDM: mechanically attached, adhered, induction welded Modified bitumen: torch and cold-applied | Built-up roofing Tear-off and deck repair | Tapered insulation layout Flashing and detail work | Hot-air welding and seam probe Manufacturer warranty systems | Leak diagnosis and repair Fall protection planning | Crew supervision 5-9 | Storm response CERTIFICATIONS OSHA 30-Hour Construction - 2025 Fall Protection Competent Person - 2025 Manufacturer certified installer, two TPO systems - current Aerial Lift and Telehandler - 2025 First Aid / CPR - current
For residential roofing the emphasis moves: squares per day, shingle and metal systems, tear-off volume, and storm and insurance work. Both versions want the fall protection line.
Concrete finisher resume sample
Twelve years, commercial flatwork. Square footage is the headline number, but the one that actually gets attention is the tolerance line – finishing to an F-number spec is a different skill level from finishing a driveway.
ELENA VARGAS Sacramento, CA 95815 | (916) 555-0134 | e.vargas.finish@email.com Concrete finisher | 12 years | ACI Flatwork Finisher | OSHA 30 Own tools and truck | Available for night pours and early starts SUMMARY Concrete finisher with 12 years on commercial flatwork. Finished roughly 900,000 sq ft including 40+ warehouse and distribution slabs placed to F-number specification, and 5 years leading a finishing crew of 4-7. No slab rejected for tolerance. EXPERIENCE Lead Concrete Finisher - Central Valley Concrete, Sacramento, CA Jun 2019 - Present - Led finishing crews of 4-7 on 40+ warehouse and distribution slabs, 20,000 to 120,000 sq ft per pour - Finished to FF/FL specification on superflat and standard slabs; no slab rejected for tolerance in 6 years - Ride-on and walk-behind power trowel, laser screed placement - Placed and finished roughly 900,000 sq ft total across all work - Polished concrete: grind, densify and burnish on 6 projects - Decorative: stamped, broom, exposed aggregate and salt finish - Managed cure: wet cure, curing compound and control joint saw-cut timing in 100 degree summer conditions - Trained 5 finishers from labourer through to independent work Concrete Finisher - Delta Flatwork, Stockton, CA Aug 2014 - May 2019 - Commercial and residential flatwork: slabs, sidewalks, curb and gutter, tilt-up panels SKILLS Flatwork finishing | FF/FL tolerance work | Ride-on power trowel Laser screed | Polished concrete: grind, densify, burnish Stamped and decorative finish | Curb, gutter and sidewalk Tilt-up panel casting | Control joint layout and saw-cut timing Cure management | Formwork and edge setting | Crew supervision 4-7 CERTIFICATIONS ACI Concrete Flatwork Finisher / Technician - current ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician Grade I - current OSHA 30-Hour Construction - 2025 Silica Competent Person - 2024 First Aid / CPR - current
FREE DOWNLOAD
The 3 samples above, as one editable Word file
Word .docx · 37 KB · ATS-safe formatting, no tables. Delete the note at the top before you send it.
The number that matters in each trade
If you write one number on your resume, make it this one:
- Ironworker – tons of steel set, and the height or storey count. “Connected to 14 storeys, roughly 2,800 tons” places you instantly
- Roofer – square feet installed, broken down by system. TPO, EPDM, mod bit and BUR are different jobs and the mix tells a contractor what you can be put on
- Concrete finisher – square feet finished, and the tolerance spec if you have worked to one. FF/FL work is the dividing line in this trade
Second-order numbers worth adding: crew size led, projects completed, years without a recordable, callback or rejection rate. If you are struggling to find any of these, how to quantify physical work covers where they hide.
Certifications, by trade
Ironworker
- Journeyman ticket and the apprenticeship hours
- AWS D1.1 welding qualifications – process and position, written the way a QC reads them
- NCCCO Rigger and Signal Person
- OSHA 30 and Fall Protection Competent Person
Roofer
- Manufacturer certifications – name the systems. These are what allow a company to issue an NDL warranty, so they are worth money to an employer
- OSHA 30 and Fall Protection Competent Person
- Aerial lift and telehandler
- Torch safety for modified bitumen work
Concrete finisher
- ACI Concrete Flatwork Finisher and Technician
- ACI Field Testing Technician Grade I – rarer among finishers and it signals you understand what the testing lab is doing
- Silica Competent Person – relevant for grinding and cutting
- OSHA 30
Format them the way the issuing body does, with the year or expiry. How to list certifications on a resume covers this.
A note on the fall protection lines above, because ironworkers and roofers are not working to the same rule. General construction work triggers fall protection at six feet, but steel erection has its own standard, with a higher general trigger height and specific provisions for connectors and for deckers working in controlled decking zones. This is why “fall protection trained” is a weak line on an ironworker resume and a strong one on a roofer’s: for the ironworker, the reader wants to know which rule you worked under and whether you have connected. Name it that way — “steel erection, connecting” is worth more than any certification abbreviation on its own.
What employers check that you would not guess
- Ironworker: whether you have connected. Connecting is a specific job and not every ironworker does it. Say so either way – claiming it when you have not is found out on day one
- Roofer: warranty work. A roofer who has installed to manufacturer warranty spec has been inspected by that manufacturer. That is third-party proof of quality and almost nobody puts it on the page
- Concrete finisher: cure and joint timing. Anyone can trowel. Knowing when to saw-cut in hundred-degree heat is the part that prevents cracking, and mentioning it marks you as experienced
- All three: whether you travel. These trades follow work. A clear line about travel, per diem and out-of-town availability is genuinely useful to a contractor and costs you nothing
Mistakes across all three
- “Hard worker, reliable, team player.” Every applicant in these trades writes this. Attendance figures and a safety record say it properly
- No quantities. These are production trades. A resume without square footage or tonnage reads like someone who was not paying attention
- Listing tools. Owning a trowel or a spud wrench is assumed
- Silence on safety. Falls are the leading cause of death in construction and all three trades work at height or around cranes. A foreman reads silence as inexperience
- Burying the crew leadership. If you have run a gang, that belongs in the summary, not in bullet four of job one
Frequently asked questions
I do two of these trades. One resume or two?
Two versions of one document. Swap the summary line and reorder the top bullets to match the posting. Contractors hire by trade, so a resume that tries to be both usually reads as neither.
I am union. Does that go on the resume?
Yes – name the local and the apprenticeship. On union work it is essential information. On non-union applications it is neutral to positive and honest either way.
How do I handle seasonal layoffs?
They are normal in all three trades and nobody reading your resume is confused by them. Group work under the contractor and let the dates sit. See employment gaps on a resume if a gap is longer than a season.
My work was all residential. Is that a problem for commercial jobs?
Not if you say what transfers and what does not. A residential roofer moving to commercial should be direct about low-slope experience rather than hoping nobody asks.
How long should these resumes be?
One page under ten years, two over. All three samples above fit on one page in a normal font.
Related guides
General site work: construction worker resume example. Welding tickets for ironwork: welding certifications list. Framing and finish carpentry: carpenter resume. Safety cards: OSHA 10 vs OSHA 30. Formatting: ATS resume template.
If you would rather not write it yourself
None of these three trades needs a paid writer. The tonnage, the square footage and the safety record are the whole argument, and a stranger cannot supply any of them.
Do it yourself. A resume builder handles the single-column formatting that application software wants, which is the fiddly part. Take the template above, replace the content with your own numbers, and you are done in under an hour.
Pay someone to write it. Worth it mainly if you are stepping up to foreman or superintendent, where the resume has to argue about schedule, budget and crews rather than production. If you go that route, Resumeble is a US-based writing service – where the writer sits matters on trades work, because someone unfamiliar with the trade flattens your specifics into generic phrasing. If you do, the code HARDHAT10 takes 10% off. Expect to be asked for your numbers either way, so do that homework first regardless of which route you take.
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