Examples & writing guide
Quantity Surveyor Resume Examples and Writing Guide
Updated 22 September 2026
In the US, quantity-surveying work may be advertised as cost management or cost consulting, so lead with the cost work requested in the posting instead of relying on your title alone. The two examples and this guide show how to present relevant responsibilities, credible figures, and increasing scope from entry level to senior work.
Examples by experience level
Junior Quantity Surveyor
TemplateModern 24 / 5
Why this works
Uses project values, cost variances, and reconciliation results to turn a short work history into credible evidence of cost-management ability.
Continue writing your resumeSenior Quantity Surveyor
TemplateSimple1 / 5
Why this works
Shows leadership through portfolio scale, forecast accuracy, accepted savings, and responsibility for a commercial team.
Continue writing your resumeJunior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Professional summary | Lead with relevant education, placements and early evidence of numerical or cost-analysis ability. | Lead with project scale, cost-management ownership and measurable commercial outcomes. |
| Cost evidence | Show accurate takeoffs, estimates or cost checks completed under supervision. | Show ownership of cost planning, cost control, value engineering and final account outcomes. |
| Project scope | Name the package, project phase and value associated with each contribution. | Describe oversight across medium or large projects, complex workstreams or several cost packages. |
| Client work | Show clear reporting and examples of building working relationships with clients or contractors. | Show how advice, explanation or persuasion affected procurement, risk or commercial decisions. |
| Delivery responsibility | Focus on analysis, records and support provided to the wider project team. | Show contract management, subcontractor oversight, payment valuation and accountability for results. |
How to write a quantity surveyor resume
Use a reverse-chronological resume with your current or latest position first. One page is usually enough for an early-career applicant; use a second page only when relevant projects and results need the space. A clean section order is contact details, professional summary, experience, skills, education, and selected extras.
A US quantity surveyor posting may emphasize cost planning, estimates, cost control, risk management, value engineering, project controls, procurement advice, contract management, or final accounts, depending on the client and project scope. Read the posting closely and select the work you can prove. Match its relevant terminology where that wording accurately describes your experience.
| Section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Professional summary | Current level, relevant project setting, strongest cost-management evidence, and one defensible result |
| Experience | Employer, title, dates, project scope, actions, and measured outcomes |
| Skills | Methods and knowledge that appear in the posting and in your actual work |
| Education | Awarded degree, field, institution, and graduation year |
| Extras | Relevant languages, volunteering, publications, or credentials only when they add useful evidence |
Keep the summary to two or three sentences. In experience, place the result near the front of each bullet and give enough context to make the number meaningful. The skills section should support the evidence elsewhere rather than introduce unsupported claims. Education can carry more weight for a new graduate, while an experienced applicant can keep it brief. Omit unrelated extras that distract from project and commercial evidence.
If the vacancy is titled Site Manager instead, use the Site Manager resume examples to shape the application around that specific title.
Professional summary examples
Quantity surveyor with seven years of construction cost-management experience across commercial projects valued up to $85 million. Managed estimates, cost reporting, change reviews, and final-account activity while helping project teams identify $1.4 million in documented savings through approved value-engineering proposals. Known for explaining cost options plainly to clients and maintaining reliable commercial records.
Hard-working quantity surveyor seeking a challenging position with a good company. I have excellent communication skills, work well alone or in a team, and can handle many construction tasks. I am looking for an opportunity to grow and use my abilities.
Writing your experience
Strong experience bullets connect an action to its scope and result. Start with what you changed, controlled, analyzed, or delivered. Then add context such as project value, package count, reporting cycle, or number of bids. Finish with a verified outcome: an approved saving, improved forecast accuracy, faster review time, or fewer unresolved items.
Quantity-surveyor work can include preparing estimates for materials, labor, time, and project risk. Depending on the engagement, it can also cover cost control, value engineering, project controls, procurement advice, contract management, subcontractor oversight, payment work, and final accounts. Do not claim the whole list. Choose the activities that belonged to your assignment and state your level of ownership.
| Weak bullet | Stronger version |
|---|---|
| Prepared estimates for projects. | Analyzed quantities and supplier pricing for 14 bid packages on a $22 million renovation, keeping the submitted estimate within 2.3% of the approved award value. |
| Handled subcontractors. | Tracked commercial performance across 11 subcontract packages and closed 37 pricing queries before the monthly forecast deadline. |
| Managed project costs. | Updated the cost plan for a $48 million build and documented six approved value-engineering changes that reduced forecast cost by $620,000. |
These numbers are illustrative. Replace them with figures supported by your own cost plans, bid records, change logs, payment records, or closeout documents. If a dollar result is confidential, use another defensible measure, such as package count, review volume, project size, turnaround time, or variance percentage.
Use verbs that name the work: estimated, analyzed, valued, forecasted, reconciled, negotiated, reviewed, certified, allocated, advised, controlled, and settled. "Assisted with" is acceptable when it reflects your authority, but explain what you personally completed. For example, "Assisted with monthly reporting" says little; "Reconciled 126 cost-code entries for the monthly report and cleared 18 discrepancies before submission" gives the reader something concrete.
Keep project context short. One compact phrase can establish sector, value, and stage without turning the bullet into a project description. Subcontractor coordination or final-account work belongs on the resume only when it formed part of the candidate's actual client and project scope.
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
Qualification expectations vary by employer. The evidence here supports requirements and preferences in specific Turner & Townsend US Cost Manager/Quantity Surveyor postings, not a nationwide entry rule for quantity surveyors.
| Evidence status | Posting-specific detail | How to present it |
|---|---|---|
| Required in the cited postings | A relevant bachelor's degree | Give the awarded degree, field, institution, and graduation year exactly as recorded. |
| Required for the cited Phoenix role | At least three to five years of relevant construction cost-management experience | Let dated experience entries demonstrate the duration; do not rely on a summary claim alone. |
| Required for the cited heavy-civil role | Three to five years of construction cost-management experience, including applicable medium- or large-project exposure | Identify the project scale and relevant setting in the experience section. |
| Required for the anticipated cited senior role | Five to seven or more years of relevant experience on medium- to large-scale projects of moderate to high complexity | Show progression, project scale, and the commercial decisions you owned. |
| Preferred in cited roles | Construction-consultancy experience for the Phoenix and anticipated senior openings; data-center or comparable large technical-facility experience for the anticipated senior opening | Label the setting and sector accurately without presenting a preference as a universal condition. |
For an entry-level resume, place Education above Experience when the degree is the clearest relevant evidence. Add two or three concise notes only if they help, such as a substantial project, a relevant research topic, or a distinction. Experienced candidates can move Education below Experience and usually omit coursework.
Certifications are optional additions unless the particular vacancy states otherwise. List only credentials you hold, using the exact credential name, issuer, and award date. Do not add a familiar industry acronym merely because it appears on other resumes. If a credential expires, include its status or date accurately rather than implying that it remains valid.
Common mistakes to avoid
AvoidRepeating duties without showing the size or result of the work.
InsteadAdd defensible figures such as project value, estimate variance, package count or savings. Use only numbers you can verify.
AvoidSending the same resume for every quantity surveyor opening.
InsteadSelect evidence that matches the specific position and organization, since cost planning, project controls and construction-stage work may receive different emphasis.
AvoidCopying keywords without evidence.
InsteadUse relevant wording from the job description only where it accurately describes your experience.
AvoidListing estimates without explaining their scope.
InsteadState what the estimate covered, such as materials, labor, time or project risk, and give the supported outcome.
AvoidClaiming client communication without showing what changed.
InsteadDescribe the service, option or cost issue you explained and the decision, agreement or next step that followed.
AvoidPresenting every possible service as a routine duty.
InsteadTie procurement, project controls, risk management or value engineering to the client need and project scope in which you performed it.
Frequently asked questions
Use one page when you are early in your career and can present the relevant evidence clearly. A senior applicant can use two pages when project scope, leadership and results justify the space.
Use relevant coursework, internships, construction work, volunteering or projects. Describe what you did with action verbs and quantify only results you can defend.
Leave the photo off. Use the space for cost, project and commercial evidence that helps the reader assess your fit.
List credentials you hold when they are relevant to the posting. Give the exact credential name and issuer, and omit unrelated or unverified certificates.
Translate your experience into specific evidence of estimating, cost control, procurement, contracts, project controls or client communication. Keep your original job titles accurate and explain your contribution rather than implying ownership you did not have.
It can be useful in the US, where comparable work may appear under quantity surveying, cost management or cost consulting titles. Read the responsibilities closely instead of assuming the titles are interchangeable.
From example to application
Turn this quantity surveyor example into a resume that sounds like you.
Keep the structure that works. Tailor the details around your experience, strengths, and the role you want.