What does a Construction Manager do?

Plan, direct, or coordinate, usually through subordinate supervisory personnel, activities concerned with the construction and maintenance of structures, facilities, and systems. Day to day that includes work like plan, schedule, or coordinate construction project activities to meet deadlines and Prepare and submit budget estimates, progress reports, or cost tracking reports.

What skills should a Construction Manager put on a resume?

O*NET rates Coordination, Management of Personnel Resources, Active Listening, Monitoring, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Construction Manager list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software, AEC Software FastTrack Schedule, and ArenaSoft Estimating. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Construction Manager work?

O*NET records 32 titles for this occupation, including Concrete Foreman, Construction Area Manager, Construction Superintendent, and Construction Foreman. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Construction Manager need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 90% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Construction Manager role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Construction Manager resume example

A resume for a Construction Manager needs to show the work itself: plan, direct, or coordinate, usually through subordinate supervisory personnel, activities concerned with the construction and maintenance of structures, facilities, and systems. Day to day that means work like this: plan, schedule, or coordinate construction project activities to meet deadlines; prepare and submit budget estimates, progress reports, or cost tracking reports. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Concrete Foreman
Construction Area Manager
Construction Superintendent
Construction Foreman
Construction Services Manager
Job Superintendent
Bridges and Buildings Supervisor
Commercial Construction Project Manager
Commercial Construction Superintendent
Commercial Superintendent
Construction Coordinator
Construction Director
Construction Project Manager
Drilling and Production Superintendent
Energy Efficient Site Manager
Environmental Construction Program Manager
General Contractor
General Superintendent

O*NET records 32 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Plan, schedule, or coordinate construction project activities to meet deadlines.
Prepare and submit budget estimates, progress reports, or cost tracking reports.
Interpret and explain plans and contract terms to representatives of the owner or developer, including administrative staff, workers, or clients.
Direct and supervise construction or related workers.
Prepare contracts or negotiate revisions to contractual agreements with architects, consultants, clients, suppliers, or subcontractors.
Confer with supervisory personnel, owners, contractors, or design professionals to discuss and resolve matters, such as work procedures, complaints, or construction problems.
Plan, organize, or direct activities concerned with the construction or maintenance of structures, facilities, or systems.
Study job specifications to determine appropriate construction methods.
Inspect or review projects to monitor compliance with building and safety codes or other regulations.
Investigate damage, accidents, or delays at construction sites to ensure that proper construction procedures are being followed.
Implement new or modified plans in response to delays, bad weather, or construction site emergencies.
Develop or implement quality control programs.

25 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Plan, schedule, or coordinate construction project activities to meet deadlines, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Prepare and submit budget estimates, progress reports, or cost tracking reports, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Interpret and explain plans and contract terms to representatives of the owner or developer, including administrative staff, workers, or clients, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Direct and supervise construction or related workers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

3M Post-it App
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Creative Cloud software
AEC Software FastTrack Schedule
ArenaSoft Estimating
Autodesk AutoCAD
Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
Autodesk Revit
Axios Systems assyst
Bechtel Software SETROUTE
Cadsoft Design/Build
CBS ProLog Manager
Computer aided design and drafting software CADD
CSI WSE CodeBuddy

64 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

DroneDeploy
Fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles UAV
Gas detection sensors
Laptop computers
Large-format scanners
Laser imaging detection and ranging LIDAR systems
Lasers
Levels
Multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles UAV
Personal computers
Pocket personal computers PC
RGB cameras

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

project scheduling
budgeting
subcontractor management
blueprint reading
OSHA
estimating
Procore
Project management

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Coordination
02Management of Personnel Resources
03Active Listening
04Monitoring
05Speaking
06Time Management
07Complex Problem Solving
08Critical Thinking
09Judgment and Decision Making
10Reading Comprehension

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Building and Construction
Administration and Management
Engineering and Technology
English Language
Customer and Personal Service
Mathematics
Public Safety and Security
Design

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

90%Bachelor's Degree
5%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
5%Associate's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Construction Manager do?: Plan, direct, or coordinate, usually through subordinate supervisory personnel, activities concerned with the construction and maintenance of structures, facilities, and systems. Day to day that includes work like plan, schedule, or coordinate construction project activities to meet deadlines and Prepare and submit budget estimates, progress reports, or cost tracking reports.
What skills should a Construction Manager put on a resume?: O*NET rates Coordination, Management of Personnel Resources, Active Listening, Monitoring, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Construction Manager list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software, AEC Software FastTrack Schedule, and ArenaSoft Estimating. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Construction Manager work?: O*NET records 32 titles for this occupation, including Concrete Foreman, Construction Area Manager, Construction Superintendent, and Construction Foreman. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Construction Manager need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 90% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Construction Manager role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.