Urban Planner Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Urban Planner resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Urban planners are tasked with creating sustainable, functional cities that are also beautiful and enjoyable places to live. They help establish zoning regulations, coordinate infrastructure projects, and advise on development proposals. They’re also responsible for projecting future growth, creating long-term plans, and steering cities toward success.
If this sounds like the kind of work you’d love to do, it’s time to write a resume that will get you noticed by hiring managers at urban planning firms and city governments across the country. Here are some tips and an example to help you put yours together.
How to Write an Urban Planner Resume
Here’s how to write an urban planner resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
When it comes to writing bullet points, the more specific you can be, the better. Rather than simply saying you “managed city planning projects,” you could say that you “managed city planning projects for new residential developments in downtown area, resulting in increased tax revenue for local government by $2 million over five-year period.”
The second bullet point is much stronger because it provides specific details about what you did, how you did it, and the results of your work. It also includes quantifiable results, which makes it easy for a reader to understand your contributions.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you submit your resume online, it’s likely that it will be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. These programs look for certain terms related to the job opening in order to determine whether you’re a good fit. If your resume doesn’t include enough of the right keywords, the ATS might discard your application.
The best way to make sure your resume includes the right keywords is to read through the job posting and take note of the terms that are used most frequently. Then, work those keywords into your resume where they are most relevant. Here are some common urban planner keywords to get you started:
- Urban Planning
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Urban Design
- City Planning
- Urban Studies
- Urban Redevelopment
- Urban Renewal
- Land Use Planning
- Public Policy
- Comprehensive Planning
- Transportation Planning
- Sustainability
- Neighborhoods
- Community Development
- Policy Analysis
- Mapping
- Environmental Policy
- Government
- Spatial Analysis
- Project Management
- Data Analysis
- Civil Engineering
- Project Planning
- Microsoft Access
- Construction
- Strategic Planning
- Research
- Negotiation
- Management
- Customer Service
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As an urban planner, you are responsible for designing and overseeing the development of urban areas. So it’s important that you are proficient in the use of technology in order to carry out your work.
Some of the programs and systems that urban planners are typically expected to be proficient in include: CAD software, geographic information systems (GIS), land surveying software, and transportation modeling software. Additionally, urban planners need to be familiar with the zoning and planning regulations of their municipality.