As a plumber you keep households and businesses around the community in running order. While a job well done could go unnoticed for years, a poorly executed job will undoubtedly grab the attention of exasperated homeowners anywhere.
A well-written CV is much the same. When it’s done right, there’s not much more to say and your route to that dream job becomes much easier. That’s why writing a strong CV as a plumber is so important — if it’s executed poorly, it will certainly stand out. And for all the wrong reasons.
Luckily for you, the nuts and bolts of a great CV really aren’t so difficult. At Resume.io, we specialise in providing job-winning CV examples for various professions. You’re in safe hands!
This CV guide, and with the corresponding CV example will cover the following topics:
As a plumber, you could be the everyday champion that keeps the piping mains and fixtures working for families and businesses across the neighbourhood. You could also be an unsung hero in industrial settings or working on construction projects, depending on your speciality.
Whatever it is, you know a thing or two about the structures that keep water and gas supplies functioning as they should. In fact, plumbing is one of the professions that tends to see the least disturbance to demand during slumps in the market. At least those that maintain a living working in domestic settings. Households will always need access to plumbing fixtures, whatever the time of year or economic climate.
How much do plumbers earn?
According to Indeed.com, plumbers can expect an annual salary of around £30,000. However, this will depend on your location and level. In fact, Indeed also cites that a journeyman plumber could expect an average annual salary in the UK of just over £44,000.
Regardless of the type of job you’re applying for, your plumber CV example needs to meet some simple criteria. The very first step is understanding what sections to include. Your CV should contain the following elements:
Your CV should speak directly to the employer you’re hoping will hire you. That means the language and examples you choose throughout should correspond to what you think will impress them for this job in particular. Whether you’re applying via a job advert or a friend has encouraged you to send a spontaneous application, you have some tips at your disposal to decide the tone you’ll adopt for your entire CV. Formal? Friendly? Whatever it is, just make sure it stays professional. If you’re in doubt, follow some of these tips:
How long is too long?
The general advice is to keep your CV as short as possible.
However, the real question is how long is long enough to make sure the hiring manager will process the information you need to include on your CV? This can open up more questions on how long your CV should be.
As a rule of thumb, two pages should suffice if you have a few years of experience.
For most job seekers, the best CV format is reverse chronological. This concentrates on your employment history and makes it the central focus of your CV. However, as a skilled tradesperson, you may opt for the functional format for your plumber CV.
If you are looking for or finishing an apprenticeship, or even specialising in a certain area of plumbing, the functional CV format will be especially useful for you. This format allows you to focus your plumber CV on the skills section, and add further context to examples of your competencies.
Try not to feel overwhelmed when choosing a CV format. Asking yourself which CV format is best for you may get a different response depending on the job you’re applying for or the stage that you’re at in your career. The important thing is to remember who you’re talking to through this application. Choose the format that you think will speak best to them and show off your value in this particular job role.
The first content on your CV that you need to adapt to the job role at hand is the CV summary. This is also sometimes referred to as the profile. It sits below the header and tells the hiring manager who you are as a professional and why you think you’re a good fit for their advertised plumber position.
This is your chance to pump up your strongest points by making them abundantly clear. Throwing in some of the top keywords that have been emphasised in the job advert they’ve posted is a good idea, too. Remember, you have just a few phrases to convince the hiring manager to read on.
Optimise for the ATS
ATS stands for Applicant Tracking Systems. Most large organisations use these to sift through the many job applications they receive to save time and get rid of applications deemed as low ranking or irrelevant. The truth is that only the best of the bunch will make it in front of the eyes of the hiring manager.
How can you make sure to make the cut? The ATS algorithm usually scans for keywords and ranks the applications based on their presence. The job ad is a great place to look for clues on what those keywords will be.
Remember not to keyword “stuff”. Make sure the text continues to flow naturally, and use only the keywords that ring true for you.
We would recommend two or three strong sentences with descriptive action verbs showing off your top traits and/or accomplishments as a plumber. To save on your word count you can cut out “I am” or “I have” and simply write in the present or past tense. Check out the example content below for some inspiration on making your plumber profile shine. For even more ideas, check out our electrician CV sample and engineering CV sample.
Versatile and experienced Plumber with 10+ years of plumbing experience. Adept in servicing, installing, and maintaining a wide range of plumbing systems. Experienced in installing and repairing residential and commercial sewer and septic systems. Demonstrated consistent commitment to customer satisfaction and adherence to safety guidelines.
If you have selected the reverse chronological format, this section will be the longest one on your plumber CV example. List each of your previous positions clearly on your plumbing CV, putting the most recent role at the top and the least recent further down the page.
Every job position will serve as a mini sub-heading including your job role title, the name of the establishment that hired you, the location, and the dates you worked there. Underneath this, you can list bullet points with examples of your main achievements and responsibilities in the job. If you have selected the functional format, you will be focusing more on other sections. However, you can still list your previous roles and notable accomplishments during your time in each of them here.
This area is the prime surface area to make it clear what your strong points are in relation to what the hiring manager is looking for. Don’t waste precious space on examples which don’t paint a picture of why they should hire you for this role. Check out the CV sample content below for more ideas.
Measure your value
Adding a metric to your most impressive accomplishments can be a useful way to contextualise your value. The ins and outs of a project can be difficult to explain in a quick bullet point. That’s why figures like percentages, dates, or amounts of money can help the hiring manager see why the achievement was substantial in a language they’ll understand.
Plumber, Speedy Plumbing Services, Manchester
March 2011 - Present
A poor workman blames his tools. As a plumber, you know that so much of your value comes from the skills you have accumulated over the years. This is especially true if you are applying for a specialist role. It’s important to communicate them clearly in your plumber CV.
While your plumber CV is bound to focus on hard skills — that is, the technical skills that you have picked up along the way in your plumbing career — don’t forget to sell yourself based on your soft skills, too.
Hard skills focus on the technical expertise you’ve gained, whereas soft skills focus on how you execute a task. These could range from skills related to your communication, organisation, or even people skills. There’s no shortage of examples of soft skills for you to describe the way you work as a plumber.
The CV sample content below can help to point you in the right direction with your keyword inclusion, too. Remember the pesky ATS will be in action, and this can be a great section to include your relevant keywords.
Stable work
According to a survey conducted by Vanarama and Trades People, the most in demand type of tradesperson in 2020 were plumbers. Despite the pandemic, most people were still happy to allow tradespeople in their homes.
As a plumber, you know what it means to put hard work into studying your profession. However, the journey to becoming a plumber can look different for different people. Aim to list your formal education in this section such as high school and college education. When it comes to the various certifications you may have picked up in relation to your plumbing, you can list these in a separate section labelled “training” or “certifications”.
Plumbing Apprenticeship, Manchester Plumbing Services, Manchester
November 2008 - December 2010
Just like a well-done plumbing job, before you leave you need to tidy up so your work looks as great as it performs. Your plumber CV is no different. In fact, the appearance of your CV is the first thing a hiring manager will notice.
Take the time to format your CV properly and choose a nice layout. If aesthetics aren’t your thing and you don’t want to lose time, then consider using one of our professionally-designed CV templates. Our CV samples have been HR tested and should be able to save you some patience from working on that fiddly formatting.