Civil Engineer Skills for a Resume

Firms and agencies hire civil engineers who design safe, buildable projects and get them through permitting and construction. Show the projects, your design software and methods, and results on schedule, budget and approvals.

Updated

13 skills at a glance

Hard skills

What the work takes, how a hiring manager judges each skill, and a bullet point that shows it.

  1. Civil design software (Civil 3D, AutoCAD, MicroStation)

    Name the software and what you designed in it.

    Example bullet pointDesigned site plans, grading and utilities in Civil 3D for commercial developments.

  2. Hydrology and hydraulics

    Show the studies and models you ran.

    Example bullet pointModeled the storm drainage for a 40-acre subdivision in HEC-RAS, with a rational method check.

  3. Site grading and drainage

    Show the projects, and how your design solved site problems.

    Example bullet pointRedesigned the grading of a sloped site to cut imported fill, saving the client $120,000.

  4. Structural or transportation design

    Name the structures or roads you designed.

    Example bullet pointDesigned intersection improvements and signal layouts for a city transportation project.

  5. Permitting

    Show the permits you obtained and how quickly.

    Example bullet pointObtained stormwater and right-of-way permits for six projects without a resubmittal.

  6. Construction inspection

    Show your role on site and what you caught.

    Example bullet pointInspected utility installation and compaction, catching a pipe grade error before backfill.

  7. Cost estimating

    Show your estimates and how close they came to the bids.

    Example bullet pointPrepared engineer's estimates within 5% of the low bid on most projects.

  8. Project management

    Show the projects you managed and the outcomes.

    Example bullet pointManaged design for a $4 million road project, delivering plans on schedule.

Soft skills

Shown through what you did, never claimed as adjectives.

  1. Clear communication with clients and agencies

    Show how you explained designs and won approvals.

    Example bullet pointPresented a drainage plan to a city council and answered residents' questions at a public meeting.

  2. Problem solving

    Describe a site or design problem you solved.

    Example bullet pointRerouted a sewer line around an unmapped utility found during construction, avoiding a long delay.

  3. Organization

    Show how you kept several projects and deadlines on track.

    Example bullet pointKept deadlines for five projects at once on a shared tracker for the team.

  4. Attention to detail

    Show errors you caught in plans or calculations.

    Example bullet pointChecked plan sets against the specifications before submittal, reducing review comments.

  5. Teamwork

    Show work with surveyors, contractors and other engineers.

    Example bullet pointCoordinated surveyors, structural engineers and contractors to keep a bridge project on schedule.

Licenses and certifications

Give them a section of their own, with who issued each one and the year or expiry date.

  • Professional Engineer (PE)
  • Engineer in Training (EIT) or Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)
  • Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM)
  • OSHA 10-Hour Construction

Keywords from civil engineer job postings

Use the ones that are true for you, in your bullet points as well as your skills list.

  • stormwater
  • grading
  • utility
  • permit
  • Civil 3D
  • construction
  • projects
  • schedules
  • sites

Each posting has its own words. Our guide to tailoring your resume to a job description shows how to find them and where to put them.

Where to put your skills

  • In a skills section: a short list of the hard skills the posting names, in its words.
  • In your bullet points: every skill that matters should show up in something you did, with a result. That is where a hiring manager believes it.
  • In your summary: two or three of the skills the job asks for most.

More on choosing them in how to choose and prove the skills on your resume.

Questions

What skills should a civil engineer put on a resume?

Civil design software, hydrology and hydraulics, grading and drainage, structural or transportation design, permitting, construction inspection, cost estimating and project management, plus clear communication.

Should I list my PE license?

Yes, near the top in a licenses section with the state. List your EIT if you are working toward the PE.

How do I show results as a civil engineer?

Give project values, permits obtained, schedules met and the savings your designs brought.

Put them to work

Start from a civil engineer resume that already uses these skills, for an invented person, and make it yours in the builder.

Use this exampleRead the civil engineer resume example