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Surveyor resume example

A resume for a Surveyor needs to show the work itself: make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. Day to day that means work like this: direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles; prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed. 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.

  • County Surveyor
  • Land Surveyor
  • Licensed Land Surveyor
  • City Surveyor
  • Mine Surveyor
  • Professional Land Surveyor
  • Registered Land Surveyor
  • Staff Land Surveyor
  • State Surveyor
  • Construction Surveyor
  • Field Surveyor
  • Geophysical Prospecting Surveyor
  • Home Surveyor
  • Land Examiner
  • Land Measurer
  • Licensed Surveyor
  • Loss Control Surveyor
  • Mineral Surveyor

O*NET records 27 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.

  • Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles.
  • Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed.
  • Write descriptions of property boundary surveys for use in deeds, leases, or other legal documents.
  • Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.
  • Search legal records, survey records, and land titles to obtain information about property boundaries in areas to be surveyed.
  • Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features.
  • Prepare, or supervise preparation of, all data, charts, plots, maps, records, and documents related to surveys.
  • Compute geodetic measurements and interpret survey data to determine positions, shapes, and elevations of geomorphic and topographic features.
  • Calculate heights, depths, relative positions, property lines, and other characteristics of terrain.
  • Plan and conduct ground surveys designed to establish baselines, elevations, and other geodetic measurements.
  • Establish fixed points for use in making maps, using geodetic and engineering instruments.
  • Determine longitudes and latitudes of important features and boundaries in survey areas, using theodolites, transits, levels, and satellite-based global positioning systems (GPS).

24 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.

  • Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Write descriptions of property boundary surveys for use in deeds, leases, or other legal documents, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites, 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.

  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
  • Autodesk AutoCAD Land Desktop
  • Bentley GeoPak Bridge
  • Bentley MicroStation
  • Bentley Systems InRoads Suite
  • Cadcorp desktop GIS
  • Carlson SurvCADD
  • Carlson SurvCE
  • Carlson Survey
  • CE SURVEYOR III
  • CloudWorks
  • CMT Incorporated CogoCAD
  • Computer aided design and drafting software CADD

49 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.

  • Abney levels
  • Altimeters
  • Automatic levels
  • Automatic slope lasers
  • Barometers
  • Clinometers
  • Curvimeters
  • Depth gauge tapes
  • Digital laser rangefinders
  • Digital measuring poles
  • Direct elevation rods
  • Distance meters

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.

  • AutoCAD
  • AutoCAD Civil 3D
  • Bentley MicroStation
  • create maps

What this job rates as most important

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

  1. 01Mathematics
  2. 02Reading Comprehension
  3. 03Critical Thinking
  4. 04Writing
  5. 05Speaking
  6. 06Active Listening
  7. 07Coordination
  8. 08Active Learning
  9. 09Judgment and Decision Making
  10. 10Complex Problem Solving

Knowledge areas

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

  • Mathematics
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Geography
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Design
  • Building and Construction
  • Administration and Management

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.

  • 47%Bachelor's Degree
  • 21%Some College Courses
  • 16%High School Diploma, or the equivalent

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 Surveyor do?
Make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. Day to day that includes work like direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles and Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed.
What skills should a Surveyor put on a resume?
O*NET rates Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Writing, 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 Surveyor list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D, Autodesk AutoCAD Land Desktop, Bentley GeoPak Bridge, and Bentley MicroStation. 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 Surveyor work?
O*NET records 27 titles for this occupation, including County Surveyor, Land Surveyor, Licensed Land Surveyor, and City Surveyor. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Surveyor need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 47% 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 Surveyor 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.