How do you stand out in your search for a new Superintendent role? The usual things help, strong tenure, clear job titles, clean formatting, details on your education/certifications and a list of software you are proficient with. One thing often forgotten… Your Projects.
You never know who is reading your resume when you apply for a job. An external Recruiter may have experience in your industry (such as myself) or enough experience to know what each of your past employers typically builds. An internal Recruiter or Human Resources Administrator may be new to the industry and still learning the local construction and development market. One way to stand out is to make it clear what your experience is with examples.
If a fictional General Contractor (let’s call them ‘Supers GC’) is looking to build a 6-storey wood-frame rental building on a parkade, their top candidates for a Site Superintendent role would be someone who has recently completed one or more similar project. You may come from a well-known multi-family wood-frame builder, but why take the risk? Get your project details on your resume. Another reason is some larger employers have many specializations and build diverse projects such as Commercial Tenant Improvements (TI), Building Envelope Retrofits and new Townhomes and Wood-Frame Apartments. You may be their Building envelope expert, but if you don’t make that information ‘pop’ on your resume, they may pass you by without getting to explain your experience on a pre-screen phone call.
There are two main ways to highlight your project experience (ranked in my order of preference):
- Detailed under each employer, justified/formatted slightly different to stand out.
- At the end of your resume or as a separate document (‘Project List’) that can be sent alongside your resume.
If going with option 2 you can also order the projects chronologically or by sector (multi-family wood-frame, TI, modular and high-rise, etc.)
Here is an example in my preferred format (I’ve inserted a table to allow ‘my’ projects to stand out).
Site Superintendent May 2021 – Present
Supers GC
A general contractor specialized in Multi-Family Wood-Frame and Commercial TI in British Columbia.
- Lead my assigned projects as the Site Superintendent
- Schedule assigned projects and meet the deadlines through strong trade coordination
- Work closely with the Project Manager to keep the project on budget and avoid delays
- Etc…
| Supers Place (Vancouver) | Supers Coffee Shop (Burnaby) |
| – 6-storey wood-frame | – 1,200 sqft TI |
| – 2 level underground parkade | – Demo’d existing bank |
| – 128-units and a courtyard Koi Pond | – Tight 6-week schedule |
The example above may be simple, but you can see how the project details jump off the page. Some may be concerned that this will make your resume being ‘longer,’ but the two-page resume maximum is a myth (in my opinion). The key is to highlight the important details.
Give this a try on your next job search. If you find this information helpful be sure to let me know and I’ll try and create more blog posts with tips for your job search.