How to apply for a construction job

Writing a cover letter for a construction job

Cover letters can feel like a difficult task but they are as important as your CV when applying for a job. Think of them as the story of your CV – you will expand on the shorter points and bullet lists of your skills and show how your experience makes you the perfect fit for the role. 

The basics of a cover letter

Tackle the basics first and you’re on your way to an excellent cover letter. Don’t panic about the blank page - it will soon be filled with all the skills and experience you have. 

Write a fresh cover letter for each application 

It can be tempting to copy and paste your way through numerous job applications, but each letter should be unique. After all, each role is different, as is each company you apply to. It’s ok to have similar points and explanations for skills, but each letter should be tailored to the job in question.  

Don’t be afraid to use a template 

There are numerous templates online to help with your covering letter. It’s ok to use one, but make sure whichever template you choose it is clear and easy to read – not one big block of text.  

Keep it short and sweet 

The ideal length of a cover letter is one side of an A4 page – around five paragraphs. Any longer and you risk rambling and if it’s only one or two paragraphs you won’t have covered enough of your skills and experience or explained why you are a good candidate for the job.  

What to put in a cover letter

Your cover letter should certainly include the most relevant parts of your CV to show why you are best for the job, but you can also reference other things. If you have volunteered, have an interesting hobby or skill, or a story that applies to the job role, you can include it. Any official training should, of course, be on your CV, but some things that have developed you as a person or show you can tackle certain situations might make you stand out.  

Showcase what you can bring to the company 

What makes you uniquely perfect for this company? Do you support its mission statement in a hobby you have? Can you use your leadership skills to push a project they have forward? Have you done specific research into machinery they use? Anything you think can help them, include in your letter.  

Consider testimonials 

A testimonial about your skills or abilities from a teacher, trainer or professional who knows you well is a great way of giving kudos to your talents. You can include this as a short quote within the letter, or, if it is a longer testimonial, as an extra page to your cover letter. Make sure you highlight that it is included so it isn’t missed out.  

Tone of voice

A tone of voice in a cover letter should be convincing, friendly, approachable and confident.  

Try not to be overly formal 

It can be tempting to be extremely formal in a letter but try to remember the person reading it is a human being! It should tell an interesting story about your career and convince them to hire you, not baffle them with complicated wording or formal sentences. 

Write in the company’s ‘voice’ 

Your letter should be in your language and should, ultimately, sound like you. However, every company has a tone of voice and certain words or phrases will regularly be used to reflect its brand values. Try to naturally fit these into your letter.

Try writing the letter from your best friend’s point-of-view 

If you find it difficult to sell yourself or your talents, imagine your best friend is writing about you. They are likely to tell the company why you should get the job based on your abilities and explain what a good job you made of particular situations. They see you in a good light, so it will make your tone positive.  

Finishing your letter

Finish strong!

Don’t trail off, end with a final point about a skill or why you are most excited to get the job. What about this company excites you the most? Tell them this! End by thanking them for taking the time to read your letter and use ‘sincerely’ or ‘regards’ to sign off your letter.

Re-read your letter and make edits if you need to. Use apps like Grammarly or Hemingway to check for grammar, spelling and readability. Finally, get someone to check your letter – a friend, relative or someone who works in construction or a similar industry. They will give you honest feedback and spot any errors you’ve not seen.

How to write a construction CV

A CV, or curriculum vitae, is a document used when applying for jobs. It is a useful way to summarise your education, skills and experience, enabling you to successfully sell your abilities to potential employers and hopefully land your dream job.

Writing a CV can be stressful – but it doesn’t need to be. It’s important to get the basics right, which is to keep it concise (no longer than 2 sides of A4), make it easy to read and tailor the CV to the job you are applying for.

Structuring your CV

There isn’t a one size fits all approach to structuring a good CV, but there is certain information that all CVs should include, such as contact details and referees, and while most CVs contain the same sort of information, the way it is presented and ordered can make all the difference.

Contact details

Your name should be at the top of the document – there’s no need to write ‘CV’ or ‘curriculum vitae’. Below that, you should include:

• Your full address and postcode
• Landline or mobile number – whichever you’re most likely to be reachable on during a working day
• Email address – make sure to keep it professional

You don’t need to include other details such as your age, marital status, date of birth, nationality etc. If you have one, you can include a link to your profile on a professional social media site like LinkedIn.

Personal statement

A personal statement isn’t essential, but it’s a good way to introduce who you are, your career aims and key attributes. It is a short statement which aims to prove why you’re suitable for the role, helping you to stand out from the crowd. Keep it short with two to three sentences.

Education

Depending on your personal circumstances you may want to put work history next – if you have limited or no work experience, put education first.

In this section you will need to include in most recent order:

• The names and grades of your qualifications
• The school, college or university where you studied
• The dates you attended

If you completed a work placement, a traineeship or have work experience, this will be better placed under work history.

Work history

Even if you don't yet have any experience directly related to your chosen field, still mention any experience you do have. This could include part-time work, school work experience programmes, voluntary work and any apprenticeships you've done.

Outline your responsibilities and the duration of your experiences. You’ll need to give details of:

• The employer, with the most recent first
• The title of the job
• The dates you worked
• A brief outline of what you did

Hobbies, interests or achievements

This isn’t an essential section, so if you’re going to include it keep it short. It’s a good place to include achievements which aren’t related to work or education, such as running a marathon, winning an award or completing an endurance challenge for charity.

Skills

Some CVs include a separate section which lists their skills. In most situations, it isn’t necessary to include this as you will have mentioned all of your skills in the other sections. However, it can be a useful way to highlight skills if you are particularly experienced in a certain field.

References

Employers will take up references in the event of offering the job to you. They will usually ask for two referees, one of whom should be your last employer. If you haven’t had a job before, you can ask an employer you have done work experience for, a teacher or anyone who knows you who isn’t a member of your family. It helps if they are employed or work in a profession or industry.

How to prepare for an interview for a construction job

If your CV and covering letter have done their job, you could be offered an interview. An employer will usually base their decision on whether to employ a candidate on the strength of the interview. They will look at whether your skills, experience and personality meet the job requirements.  

Different types of interviews

Interviews can take the form of one-to-one chats or panel discussions (where there is more than one person interviewing you), in person, online or over the phone; they might be competency-based in content, or focus more on your character or specific situations.

Most interviews are competency-based. They will focus on the things you can do, so you’ll be asked to give examples to show you have the skills needed for the role. However, this guide will also include general advice, hints and tips which can be applied to any interview setting.

During the interview, you can expect the interviewer to ask about:

• Your skills and experience
• Your strengths (and potentially your weaknesses)
• Why you want this particular job
• Your understanding of the construction industry and the job at hand
• Your future goal

Common questions  

Strengths and weaknesses questions 

An employer will probably ask you to talk about your strengths and weaknesses. This can be awkward for some people because they find it difficult to talk about themselves like this, but interviews are about selling your skills, attributes and personality.  

When thinking about your strengths, try to relate them to the job description, and give examples of how those strengths were demonstrated. Identifying your weaknesses can seem much harder to do, but employers ask this question because they want to know about your level of self-awareness, and the potential you have for personal growth in a job role. Try to focus on those areas of your personality that do not reflect badly on yourself and would put someone off employing you. It is better to say, for example, ‘I am too much of a perfectionist’, than ‘I lose concentration easily’.  

Personality questions 

Skills and experience are important factors in your suitability for a job, but an employer will also want to know about your personality. This is not something that you can list on a CV but will determine how well you might be able to work with other people or how you could deal with workplace situations.  

You might be asked things like:  

• What makes you a unique candidate? 
• How do you manage anger or stress? 
• What are you passionate about? 
• How would your friends describe you?  
• How do you deal with criticism? 

Competency-based questions 

An employer may also ask a series of competency-based questions, which are designed to see what skills you have and how you have demonstrated them, either at work, in education or in other areas of your life.  

Competency-based interview questions could be: 

• Tell me about a situation when you handled conflict at work  
• Describe a time when you showed leadership 
• How well do you cope in adversity?  
• What has been your biggest achievement to date?  
• When did you show good decision making?  

Motivational interview questions 

Towards the end of an interview, you may be asked questions like: ‘what is your greatest ambition?’, ‘what do you dream of doing?’ or ‘where do you see yourself in five years' time?’  

These are called motivational questions and give employers an idea of what drives or motivates a candidate. If someone sounds ambitious or has clearly defined goals, this will help an employer to make a judgement about the development potential of a candidate. Are they willing to develop their skills beyond their current job role, motivate their co-workers or show leadership capacity?

How to prepare for the interview    

Remember the “5 P’s” (prior planning prevents poor performance) from school? It’s applicable to interviews too, because it's great to appear well-prepared.

A good place to start is to conduct some background research on the company interviewing you:

• Visit their website to find out their core values and areas of speciality
• Find out about any key projects they’re working on
• Look online for any news related to the company

Having some basic background knowledge of the company is something employers really appreciate, as it shows you’re genuinely interested in them. It can also serve as a handy way to break the ice.

Plan some answers to the common questions you might get asked, and have 2-3 questions ready that you can ask the employer. Put your research into bullet points on a series of cards or on your mobile phone, and revise them like you would before an exam.

The night before the interview don’t go to bed late. Getting a good night’s sleep will help you feel fresh and mentally alert in the morning. Make sure you know how to get to the interview, and allow enough time. If you’re using public transport plan your route. It’s better to be early than late! Dress smartly and appropriately. You will probably feel nervous on the day, but that is natural.

Finding a job in construction

Once you have written a CV and a covering letter, you will be able to apply for a job. There are lots of ways to search for jobs in construction. You could look on websites like Go Construct Careers, other online job portals or apply directly to employers. It won’t be long before you’re preparing for that all important interview!