Writing a simple CV for a trade job

One page is enough for a trade role. Here is what it should contain and what to leave out.

A tradesperson’s CV is not an office worker’s CV. An employer wants three things quickly: your trade, your years of experience, and whether you can start. One page is enough, sometimes less.

What belongs at the top

• Your full name as it appears in your passport.
• Your trade, stated precisely: "construction electrician", not "worker".
• Years of experience as a number.
• Your phone with country code, and WhatsApp if different.
• Nationality and where you currently live.

Experience: facts, not adjectives

For each past job write the employer, the years, the place, then one line on what you actually did. For example: "Contracting company — Riyadh — 2021 to 2024 — electrical installation in residential buildings, working in a team of six."

Numbers help. "Installed AC units in 40 flats" says far more than "extensive AC experience".

Skills and certificates

Name what you can actually do: the equipment you operate, the systems you have worked on, your driving licence and its class, any safety or vocational certificate. If you hold a certificate, give the issuer and the year.

What to leave out

• Unnecessary photographs and details unrelated to the work.
• Generic phrases like "team player" with nothing to back them.
• Very old jobs unrelated to your trade.
• Anything untrue — it surfaces at the first practical test.

Practical points

Send it as a PDF with a clear filename: "name - trade.pdf". If your trade is visible work, attach three to five photographs in one file. Write an English version as well as an Arabic one if you can — some employers hand it to staff who do not read Arabic.

Finally, check your phone number is written correctly. More opportunities are lost to a mistyped number than you would think.

Rules and fees change and differ by country and employer. Always check with the official authorities before paying or signing anything.