15+ Janitor Resume Examples and Templates

Perhaps you’re under the impression that a janitor doesn’t need a polished resume. Not so! As with any other field, you are looking to market your skills in the most refined and thorough way possible.

Just because there is no shortage of janitorial jobs doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make an effort to impress a potential employer with your list of accomplishments.

Whether you’re applying for a janitorial job at a school, office building, or private residence, a cohesive and well-structured resume will set you apart from your competition by showing your true value through a professional janitor resume.

So how do you break down your work history and janitorial experience for your resume?

What points and details do you need to highlight?

Let’s get started!

Your starting point.

Every good janitor resume is made up of a few key elements.

These include:

• Proper resume formatting for optimal readability
• How to write specific, informative content
• How to write a resume with little or no experience
• Resources for power words, hard/soft skills, and more

Summary

1. Resume Template
2. Formatting
3. Writing Your Resume Summary
4. Areas of Expertise
5. Writing Your Work Experience
6. Writing Your Education Section
7. Additional Sections
8. Resume Points to Remember
9. Resume “Don’ts” to Remember
10. Some Helpful Tools

Let’s begin with a sample janitor resume to demonstrate how all the resume pieces fit together. Then we will break each section down to really drill into how to write the best janitor resume you possibly can.

Janitor Resume (Text Version)

You want your janitor resume to be easy to read. A hiring manager should be able to look over your resume and get an immediate sense of your experience and skill set.

Achieving readability in your resume depends on formatting.

These days, the average resume spends roughly 6 seconds under the eyes of a hiring manager. So you want to ensure that your formatting and language are correct and pleasing to the eye.

In terms of formatting, you need to structure your resume in reverse chronological order.

List your most recent position first, then work backwards.

Doing this will give a hiring manager or client immediate knowledge of your recent position and if it aligns with what they’re seeking.

Fonts

Another important aspect of resume formatting is the font you use. Choose something simple and common for your font, nothing fancy or difficult to read.

Make sure to watch your spacing as well. Well-defined white spaces on your resume page will aid in readability and be attractive to the eye. A resume that looks crowded and busy is not what you want.

Why should a potential employer favor you over other applicants? What sets you apart and makes you special?

These are the questions you want to answer in your resume summary.

It is the first resume element that will be read, your first impression.

So let’s make it a good impression.

In 2-3 sentences, you need to sum up what makes you the ideal candidate for the position or job. While it may seem challenging at first, it really is possible to distill your experience/attributes and create a lasting first impression.

An important thing to remember when writing your summary is not to be general. You need to be as specific as possible about your skills.

You need to demonstrate clearly your worth and viability as a candidate.

What specific janitorial tasks do you excel at? What responsibilities have you been tasked with?

The use of power words can really add a kick to your summary. Power words convey action and initiative, as opposed to passive language, which doesn’t really convey aptitude or expressiveness.

(See below for a helpful list of power words for your janitor resume.)

Crafting a direct and accurate resume summary is the best way of assuring that the rest of your resume will be considered.

Pro Tip: While your obvious objective is to acquire the offered position, you shouldn’t state this in your summary. The summary should be a short and impactful statement communicating your expertise. It is then the role of the potential employer to determine your suitability.

To gain an idea of what makes a summary effective and what does not, see the examples below:

Can you spot the key differences between the two examples?

The first is a comprehensive (though brief) breakdown of your specific skills and attributes. You can see how a hiring manager or client can acquire an immediate impression of your experience.

You not only indicate the environment you work in, but you point out your strongest skill areas. You then end your first impression with information that not only can you function in the role of janitor but also as Head Custodian of a large convention center. Impressive!

The second example is everything you don’t want in your summary. It is too general and lacks specificity about your skill set. It makes use of the first person in its language, which you never want.

It also states your objective, which once again is a “no-no”.

There is nothing in the second example that makes you stand out from the crowd, which is what you want to do with a detailed yet succinct resume summary.

The next part of your resume is just as important as your summary.

You need to identify your areas of expertise and key accomplishments. These will then be structured and formatted as a bulleted list of hard skills and soft skills.

Even more so than the summary, this portion of your resume will provide a direct overview of your expertise.

Below is an example:

• Organization
• Steam Cleaners
• Leadership
• OSHA Guidelines

Simple and to the point!

Really consider your skills and accomplishments, because this section is an opportunity to show them off.

Your list of areas of expertise and key accomplishments should be comprised of both hard and soft skills.

Hard skills are quantifiable, teachable skills, such as knowing how to use a certain piece of equipment.

Soft skills have more to do with who you are as a person and what personal attributes you bring to your work. How is your work attitude? Are you good at communication and working with a team? How about any leadership qualities?

Make sure to go over your list again when you have it down.

Have you missed anything relevant to the position you’re seeking?

PRO TIP: When considering your soft skills, think of things that people/employers have praised you for in the past. What personal attributes have been an advantage to you in your line of work?

(See below for a helpful table of some suggested hard and soft skill ideas to inspire you in writing your skills section.)

The work history section of your resume gets to the core of your suitability. It is an overview of your career to date, and so is of crucial importance to the overall impression your janitor resume will make.

Unless you’ve just graduated or are new to the working world, your work history will comprise the largest section of your resume.

So where do you start?

Layout is crucial!

Remember reverse chronological order? You want to list your work experience from the most recent position to your first position of note. You do not need to include every job you’ve ever had unless you lack work experience.

Your most recent position reflects the apex of your working life thus far. So that’s why we lead with it in this section of your resume.

The key here is identifying relevant positions you’ve held and the central tasks you performed within those positions.

The layout of your work history should follow this structure:

• The company name
• Where the company is located
• What job you performed there

You can also include dates of employment. If you only held a position for a short time, or there are gaps in your work history, you may consider leaving dates out.

Just remember that the topic may come up in an interview. So you must be prepared to answer questions about dates and gaps regardless of what’s on your resume.

In a bulleted list of 3-5 points, talk about the roles and functions you performed for each position.

You want to strike a balance between too little information and too much information.

Here are some examples:

The first example is a cohesive list of 5 points that clearly demonstrate the day-to-day tasks of the position. Note the action words that begin each entry.

The second example lists what you did in the position, but does so in a way that lacks detail and power.

Also note the first person “I” in one of the bullet points. Keep it impersonal.

Remember, you want your work history to stand out, and further prove your competence.

PRO TIP: As you list your work experience, keep in mind the description of the position you’re seeking. Identify the key points in your experience that best correlate to that description.

A Word About Bots

Some employers use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). This is an automated system that uses bots to evaluate resumes. The bots scan for relevant keywords to determine the eligibility of candidates.

To better satisfy an ATS, some applicants opt for a paragraph format when writing their work history.

So instead of a bullet point layout:

Burton Properties | Fort Worth, TX | Janitor | May 2015-Present

• Vacuumed office spaces twice weekly
• Dusted all surfaces
• Cleaned and sanitized restrooms
• Steamed carpets once monthly
• Emptied waste paper baskets

You would use a paragraph:

Vacuumed office spaces twice weekly, dusted all surfaces, cleaned, and sanitized restrooms. Steamed carpets once monthly and emptied waste paper baskets.

Limited use of bullet points may be desirable if you have particular skills or tasks to highlight:

Vacuumed office spaces twice weekly and dusted all surfaces. Cleaned and sanitized restrooms and emptied waste paper baskets.

• Used steam cleaner to clean carpets once monthly
• Kept inventory of all supplies

Use of a paragraph or partial paragraph format for your work experience could help your resume get past an ATS scan. A paragraph lends itself to the use of multiple keywords, which increase your janitor resume’s scannability.

Keep in mind though, that the paragraph format makes your work history harder to read, which is a disadvantage should your resume be looked over by a hiring manager.

If your summary and areas of expertise are impressive enough, a hiring manager may be willing to read a work history comprised of paragraphs.

However, we recommended that you use bullet point formatting for your work experience section.

You’ll want to list your education from the highest level achieved on down.

If you have received higher education, then list your degree(s) first, from highest to lowest.

Example: Master’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, Associates Degree.

Make sure to list your field of study as well as the college or institution you graduated from.

If high school is the highest level of education you achieved, list your school and graduation date.

High School Diploma
West Dallas High School, Dallas, TX,
Class of 2006

Additional Sections of Your Resume

Perhaps you have limited work experience, or maybe you have some notable achievements or special work to point out.

If either is the case, you might consider adding an additional section to your resume.

Here are some options:

• Awards and honors
• Publications
• Noteworthy Projects
• Social Media Influence
• Speaking Engagements
• Hobbies/Interests
• Volunteer Work

No Experience?

Are you just starting out in the field of janitorial work?

Perhaps there are gaps in your work history.

There could be several reasons why your janitor resume is lacking in work experience, but you’ll still want to begin your resume with a strong summary at the start.

In terms of alternative formatting, you could place your education section directly after the summary to give an immediate sense of your qualifications.

Your education will be your greatest asset if you lack actual work experience.

In listing what work history you do have, be sure to emphasize elements most closely related to the position you’re seeking.

You may be surprised at what comes to mind and is relevant.

Perhaps you cleaned houses as a teen.

Perhaps you’ve been involved in activities that required observation and checklists.

Consider your entire working life.

Mine it for all relevant experience points.

Time to sum up with a few important points to remember when creating your resume.

Remember to include your contact information

It is obvious and should go without saying, but sometimes the simplest things are the easiest to overlook. Make sure to include a Linkedin profile if you have one, your email address, and phone number.

Remember spacing

Proper spacing is essential for the overall look and readability of your resume, so make good use of it.

Power words are a strong ally

Take the time to identify and use a variety of power words. Try not to use the same one repeatedly. There are plenty to choose from. Power words convey action and a sense of “I can get it done”.

A proofreader can help you

After working hard to put together your janitor resume, you may need a second set of eyes to review it. Have a proofreader scan for typos and bad grammar.

Here are a few things you don’t want when writing your resume:

No first-person language

Using “I” and “me” may feel natural and sensible, but it’s not preferable on a resume. It’s already implied that you are speaking about yourself, and using personal pronouns will make your resume seem badly written and unprofessional.

One page is all it takes

Rarely is it necessary to exceed one page when creating a resume. You should be easily able to summarize your experience, education, and accomplishments on a single page.

Avoid repetition

Don’t say the same thing over and over again. It’s easy to do sometimes, but be careful to avoid it. Even if writing is not your strong suit, use as much variation and power words as you can.

Some Helpful Tools

Power Words

• Delegated
• Implemented
• Created
• Sanitized
• Managed
• Performed
• Initiated
• Cleaned
• Maintained
• Prioritized

Skills List