Construction Job

Hey guys, I am new to the forum & just wanting some information .
I was born & raised on a several thousand acre farm & have been working full time for several years. I have seven years of heavy equipment experience on excavators & dozers and am wanting to change careers from ag to construction. Problem is I have applied to several equipment operator jobs on (Indeed) over the past year & haven’t had any consideration. What does it take for a man with some experience to get a chance in this field?

How many is several? Is construction busy where you are ? How old are you ?how did you contact them

I have applied to at least ten different construction companies on the indeed website for operator position. Construction is booming here in Charlotte, NC. I am 27 years old

I guess I'd want to see the jobs that you're applying for and what your resume looks like.

If your applying for a job where they want 5 years experience, or for a foreman, I could see you not getting a response.

It may be that you just don't have enough experience for the jobs you are applying for. I can run a backhoe or a excavator or a dozer, and push a little dirt around, but I'm in no way shape or form a truly experienced operator of that equipment.

If someone just sees "farm" experience, and is looking for a good dozer operator, you really don't meet their requirements. If its "farm" work, and your just pushing out old fence rows, its a little different than running the d8 on a road project with a timeline and a budget to meet. They don't have the time and money to train you.

Generally if someone puts up a ad, they are actually looking for help, not to turn away people. I always think that someone that calls the business, or even shows up for handing in a application, will get a little more consideration than just a emailed application.

Most guys start at the bottom, being a general laborer/hand, and get a little seat time starting out a hole while someone is gone for the morning, stockpiling dirt with the backhoe, loading trucks, running the skid loader etc.

I think you'll do better talking to somebody in person. That may limit you to smaller companies, that's just the way it is. An online application is fine for somebody who's already in the position they're seeking, easy to reach out with nothing invested. If I were you, I'd be trying to network as best you can, even if that's knocking on the office door knowing very little about the outfit.

Appreciate the info guys & I understand, that’s kind of what I figured especially coming from a family operation. I reckon I do need to try to contact some companies in person because I actually have lots of experience grading & clearing on large sized machines like Deere 350D 210G D6R dozer & 750k dozer

10 responses isn’t a lot in 12 months . I agree with meeting in person.

Now days, if you prove your drug free and can show up on time, everyday........your ahead of a lot of others.

Talking in person is great but nowadays a lot of places want to do it all by e-mail and don't want you to call them or the job is posted by a third party that screens everything before forwarding it. They often don't even list a contact person and the process is so involved you don't even know if they got your application. Having said that I got a job at one place because I went and talked to shop manager in person. The job required me to have my pressure welding ticket and I said I'd have renew it. They have to be renewed every 2 years. He pointed to a stack of about 40 resumes on his desk that had been sent in or dropped off at reception. I thought there's no chance I'm getting the job. About 3 days later I got a call from him and he said if I can renew my pressure ticket he'd have a job for me. I booked some practice time at a welder training facility that is also licensed to do requalification tests. I'd never done a retest on 2" pipe. The guy showed me how to prep the pipe and fit it and then how to weld it. Practiced for a couple hours then took the test that has a time limit and passed.

Went to the job the following Monday and had another surprise. They purchased a brand new Miller Dimension 452 and 60 series wire feeder for me to use. These are a sweet machine. I asked the shop manager why I got the job when there are clearly more experienced applicants. He said, you came in and talked to me and I liked you... and I didn't want to go through all those resumes. By far the best boss I've ever had!

Another job I got was because I went in and talked to the guy and about a week later made a follow up call to see if he decided anything. He said I should come and see him again and he offered me the job. He even told me there was a more experienced applicant but he throws out resumes of anybody who doesn't follow up with their application. In this case I think he's shooting himself in the foot but I was happy to get the job. This was a sales/warehouse type job. Not the greatest job because the boss thought he knew everything but a job none the less when I needed one.

My advice is to try and get in to talk the person hiring and be positive without being annoying. Don't embellish your experience but talk about projects you've done and offer to show them what you can do. Having a farm background is a great asset and you should use it to your advantage. You know how to load a grease gun, you know how to watch and listen for problems with the machine, you know how to do basic maintenance and change hydraulic hoses, etc. You're not the guy that says the machine was making a funny noise and smoking for a few hours and then "suddenly" died. Also nothing wrong with just stopping by construction outfits asking if they might be hiring. Sometimes they might be considering it and you're in the right place at the right time.

Facebook belive it or not. Hired our last two operators off of face book.

Did you apply at union or non-union contractors ? If they were unionized you gotta have a membership in the OE.
Non-union go out to the jobsite and talk to the foremen.

grownc said:

Hey guys, I am new to the forum & just wanting some information .
I was born & raised on a several thousand acre farm & have been working full time for several years. I have seven years of heavy equipment experience on excavators & dozers and am wanting to change careers from ag to construction. Problem is I have applied to several equipment operator jobs on (Indeed) over the past year & haven’t had any consideration. What does it take for a man with some experience to get a chance in this field?

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I'm in Charlotte and I can tell you for sure that if you put in a little time showing up in person, you will have a job in no time. We are hiring all the time. Biggest mistake most young people make starting out is asking for top wages with limited experience. Get your job first and let your work earn you more money.

I'm getting ready to start an new job in a couple weeks, stopped by a local fleet general service shop not knowing whether they were even hiring, dropped a resume and had an interview on the spot, turned out my ex foreman also works for them at a different shop, talked to him and hired me the next day pending background, physical, etc. Said i didn't have the best resume he had seen for the position, but after talking to my old foreman and seeing me show up in person to drop off a resume, it let him know that I was truly interested and willing to drive on. Basically, networking and showing up in person goes a LONG ways in the job search.

You got to go to the job site where the job being held walk in the trailer talk to the superintendent or at least ask them if they're hiring anybody we hire is either the word of mouth or a walk in doing things in person is always the best