Land Surveyor Resume Example

The aim of this article is to equip you with all the knowledge required to create a resume that positions you to succeed in your land surveyor applications. The guide will show you practical examples of how to structure your resume to show off your best and most relevant skills and career achievements. It will also show you how to tailor your resume according to the job description and your unique skill set. Continue reading to find expert tips and advice from Jobseeker that will help you with your land surveyor resume.

What to include in a land surveyor resume

It's essential to include a few core sections in your land surveyor resume, while there are also a few optional sections you can make use of to strengthen your application. For junior candidates with little work experience, other sections of the resume take on more prominence and might be placed before the work experience section. These could include education, skills, projects, hobbies and volunteer work.

You will have some choice over your resume layout and structure, but be sure to include these sections as the core of your document:

Resume Header with Contact Details

In your land surveyor resume header, list your name, email address, phone number and address or location. You can also add your LinkedIn, if you have one, to help employers better understand your work history and skills. While in some countries, you might include additional personal information or a photo, these aren't necessary. Make your resume header clear, concise and as brief and compact as possible. Consider different layouts that spread the information horizontally across the page rather than using a different line for each piece of information.

Opt for a professional-looking email address based on your name. If your email address could be construed as unprofessional or inappropriate because it contains nicknames or unsuitable language, create a new, more professional email address for your job applications. Always check your contact details to make sure they're up-to-date before you send your resume.

Resume Summary

The next section is the resume summary. The section might also be called 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. This is a brief introduction to you, your key skills and your career achievements and ambitions. While a resume summary focuses on your career achievements and experience, a resume objective typically focuses on your ambitions for the future. In addition, your objective should highlight why you're an ideal candidate for land surveyor roles by showing key skills and qualities that reflect the job description.

Alternatively, write a paragraph that concentrates on your career objectives and how this role fits with your wider ambitions and progression.

The best resume summaries reflect the job description and focus on qualities that are relevant to working as a land surveyor, while highlighting elements of your personality that make you an ideal candidate. They also quantify the information provided with evidence. See below for some great examples of how to approach your land surveyor resume.

Alternatively, a poor resume summary would include bland, generic information that does little to prove your suitability for the role, while failing to provide any useful insights on you as a person or as a candidate. The graphic above shows some of the pitfalls to avoid when creating your resume summary.

Skills

The skills section of a land surveyor resume is a chance to list any skills you have that match those of the job description. You could include boundary analysis techniques, time management skills or any other skills that show you're a suitable candidate. Again, refer to the job description and make sure you include skills that the employer has listed as essential or desirable for employment as a land surveyor.

How to include hard skills on your land surveyor resume

In your hard skills list, include any specific abilities related to the role you're applying for. These could be technical skills or industry knowledge that showcases your expertise in your chosen profession. Furthermore, these skills are essential for a land surveyor resume as they showcase your expertise in the field. It's best to aim for four or five key hard skills that match the job description. These can really showcase your suitability for the job.

Your resume hard skills list should reflect your unique and specific industry expertise and experience, while also fulfilling the requirements listed in the job description. See the examples below for an idea of what an effective land surveyor resume hard skills list looks like.

Listing soft skills on your land surveyor resume

In your list of soft skills, add any personal strengths, qualities or transferable skills that make you a good fit for the job. Soft skills are often less specific to different industries, but that doesn't make them any less important. In fact, you can develop soft skills throughout your career, and they tend to be suitable for various roles and professions. Aim to include approximately five soft skills that reflect the skills listed in the job description.

A good soft skills section would include skills that match the job description, and also reflect your key strengths and qualities. See the graphic below for an indication of what to include in a strong soft skills section for a land surveyor resume.

Education

In this section list any educational qualifications or degrees that are relevant to land surveyor roles.

You don't tend to need a degree for land surveyor roles, but you'll still need to list any relevant qualifications, or your relevant educational achievements. If you have PLS (Professional Land Surveyor), add this here, along with any other education that shows your GIS mapping skills or total station operation.

Include any qualifications relevant to the role. For each, add the name and level of the award, the institution name, its location and your dates of study. If you have space, include some bullet points outlining any specialist areas of study, awards or high grades, so the employer can learn more about your unique skill set and knowledge.

If you organized or participated in any clubs or societies while at university, or you took part in any voluntary work, you could also mention these here.

Certifications and Training

Under certifications and licenses, add any further qualifications that show you're a good fit for the job. These might be licenses that show you're qualified to operate certain equipment, or certifications that give you the edge over candidates with otherwise similar career history. Therefore, include the details of any licenses and professional certifications required for land surveyor roles, along with completion dates so employers can see you're up-to-date.

Below you can find several examples of certifications for a land surveyor resume:

Work Experience

Next, list your relevant employment history and any key achievements that show you're suitable for a land surveyor position. Mention only the most appropriate and relevant jobs you've had in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent and working backwards. Add your job title, the name of the employer, the location of the role and your dates of employment.

Also include some bullet points for each job mentioned, showcasing your achievements so the employer can see the impact you made on the company. Pay attention to the job description and make sure each point is relevant to land surveyor roles.

A successful resume work experience section will always showcase skills and experience relevant to the job description, and how you put each to good use in your previous roles. Offering quantifiable evidence in a land surveyor resume proves you're a strong candidate for the job, such as client feedback, project outcomes, KPIs or financial results. See the examples below for some ideas of what a great resume work experience looks like.

Above, you can see a weaker example of a resume work experience section to best avoid. Ineffective work experience sections tend to focus too much on everyday responsibilities over skills and achievements. If you use vague descriptions of activities and fail to back up your achievements with evidence, you're likely to fail to make an impact on the reader.

Optional Sections

There are several additional sections you could add to a land surveyor resume, to improve your chances of success. Choose any optional sections that showcase essential or desirable skills or experience for land surveyor jobs.

Hobbies and Interests

Hobbies and interests can be a useful way of showing your skills and experience beyond your work and education. They also help to show a different side of your personality, and can help your resume create a more memorable impression on hiring managers. If you're short on real world work experience, hobbies and interests can be a useful way of providing more information about your qualities. If you're thinking about adding hobbies and interests, just make sure they add something unique to your application, and showcase your personality and interests in unique and interesting ways.

Voluntary Work

Adding voluntary roles can be a useful way of showing relevant experience and skills for land surveyor roles beyond your main employment history. Write your volunteer section in a similar format to your work experience, including your role, the organization name, relevant dates and the details of your contribution.

References

Standard land surveyor resumes don't tend to include references, but you might find them requested occasionally. Check the job advert to see if you'll need to add references to your resume. Before adding any referees to your resume, ask them for their assistance and prepare them for contact by the employer.

Best strong verbs for your a land surveyor resume

Action words can help illustrate to the hiring manager the difference you made in each of your previous jobs. Choose from the list of words below to increase the impact of your work experience section.

For help creating an eye-catching resume design to catch the attention of hiring managers, see Jobseeker's professional resume layouts. You can also use our clear, effective cover letter templates to complete your application.

Sample land surveyor resume

The land surveyor resume example below incorporates all the information from above into a full-designed resume template, so you can see how a final resume will look:

Tips on creating an ATS-optimized resume

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are increasingly taking responsibility for the management and processing of job applications, helping hiring practices to become more efficient. This can include screening resumes by scanning and ranking each application according to how closely it matches the job description. When drafting your land surveyor resume, there are a few guidelines to follow to give you the best chance of passing the ATS screening stage and progressing with your application.

Here a some simple tips to follow for an ATS-friendly resume:

• Adopt a traditional structure for your resume, such as a reverse-chronological format or a functional format. These are likely to be the easiest layouts for ATS software to scan.
• Add keywords that match the job description throughout your resume, as ATS applications scan for these and well-placed, considered use can help your resume rank more highly.
• Using clear, simple headings makes it easier for an ATS application to scan your resume, as it can easily identify what's in each section of your document.
• Utilize a clean, clear resume design that helps make your content more readable. Use simple fonts and subtle color accents and design elements that don't detract from the written content.
• Make sure your resume is as concise as possible, so ATS applications can easily scan and identify the required details.

Key points for your land surveyor resume

The key to a strong resume is to showcase your relevant skills and achievements through your work experience and other activities. Pick a resume format that matches your experience levels, and tailor the content of your resume to reflect the details of the job description.

Using the professional resume templates and resources of Jobseeker can help you create a great-looking resume that stands out from other applicants. Sign up today and follow the simple steps to get started. Jobseeker's expert-designed cover letter generator can help your applications make a strong first impression on hiring managers. Find detailed cover letter examples to complement your resume and get your application noticed.

Sources:

(1) Writing a Resume, California Department of Human Resources: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/resume-tips.aspx

(2) Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications, New York State Department of Labor: https://dol.ny.gov/resumes-cover-letters-and-job-applications