Gardener Resume: A Complete Resume Guide with Examples

To apply for the BEST gardening jobs in the market, you need a well-written gardener resume.

Why does your resume matter for a gardener job?

Because your application is not alone on the hiring manager’s desk – there’re hundreds of more applications and all striving for the same job.

You can only make noise through your resume.

This article includes:

• A complete gardener resume sample that you can copy.
• A step-by-step guide to writing each section on your resume.
• 15+ highly demanding gardening skills to include in your resume.
• Pro resume writing tips.

Most good gardening jobs are last moment fast hiring that won’t last long. If your resume is not yet ready, you might miss out on a lot. Try our resume builder to create an outstanding gardening resume in 10 minutes so you won’t miss your perfect opportunity.

This isn’t what you were looking for? Don’t worry. We have a large collection of resume writing guides that will match your search. Check out more resume examples.

How to Create a Professional Gardening Resume From Scratch?

There’re a few standard practices that make an excellent gardening resume.

When you approach a gardening job, you will define your plan of action based on your client's requirements before you simply start the lawn mower.

Same way, when you create your gardening resume, you should start with a simple plan. We call this the layout of your resume.

After creating the layout, you need to figure out how you can write your experience section – which is the most important section on your resume – in a way that is more clear to your reader. We call this the format of your resume.

Let’s define both these right away, so your CV will look like a professional gardening resume.

The layout for your gardener resume

When you write your layout, you should include the headings, subheadings, and other important information you’re planning to include on your resume.

A good layout helps you write the resume fast and make sure you don’t miss anything significant.

We recommend the following layout for a gardener's resume:

• Header.
• Professional summary.
• Work Experience.
• Education.
• Skills.
• Additional sections (certificates, languages, and interests).

Pick the right resume format

The right resume format makes the readers’ life easy.

There’re three standard resume formats in use named skill-based, reverse chronological, and combination formats.

In skill-based resume format, you’ll write your experience section based on the skills you developed in your career.

In reverse chronological resume format, your experience section will start from your recent job and will extend chronologically to your past jobs. This format is simple. You should start with your most recent job as a gardener. Under that, you should explain your achievements and responsibilities.

The combination format is of course a hybrid version of the above two.

Reverse chronological format is the most used resume format by all professionals and that's the format we suggest for gardener resumes.

Don't worry much about the standard HR terms as all our experience sections in this article are written in reverse chronological order. So you have plenty of examples to refer to.

If you need a little guidance on creating your resume, our resume builder is just the thing for you. Simply include your job-specific details and in 10 minutes, you’ll have a perfect gardener resume ready.

Start Your Gardener Resume with the Header

You should include your name and contact information in the header. This is the section your hiring manager will refer to when they want to contact you for an interview.

Therefore, make sure all the information you put here is correct and up to date.

Here’re examples of CORRECT and INCORRECT headers👇

A good & a bad header

CORRECT

Mat Fraiser

Gardener

Matfraiser@gmail.com

(234)567-8910

Washington DC

INCORRECT

Gardener

Mat Fraiser

(234)567-8910

101 street, apt 304,

HT Tower,

Washington DC,

USA

Here's why the first header is much better than the next:

• Start with your name followed by the position you are applying for.
• Write your personal email and mobile number.
• Write the city you reside in.
• Do not write your full physical address.

Get Attention with a Resume Summary

Write a 2 sentence summary that highlights your best achievements and skills with your industry experience.

This is like the sales pitch on your resume. Think of you talking to a potential customer. If you got only 10 seconds to impress them and get the landscaping job, what would your pitch be like?

You will talk about what you can offer them (your skills) and what you have done (your experience).

Writing a professional summary does not have to be a grinding task.

In the first sentence, explain your experience, skills, and your key achievements in the previous job.

In the second sentence, describe why you would like to join the new company.

Learn this pattern from the following examples and you’ll surely improve your professional summary.

Example professional summary/ resume summary

CORRECT

A dedicated gardener with over 15 years of experience in maintaining garden irrigation systems and landscaping carried out a pest-controlling schedule on a half-acre follower bed saving 80% of the crop from pests. Seek to join Camila Florists to keep flourishing outdoor spaces with my expertise in the field.

INCORRECT

I have 15 years of experience in gardening and looking for a new job to get a higher salary. I am skilled in operating lawnmowers, maintaining gardens, tree trimming, and flowering plants.

Demonstrate Your Gardening Experience

Now you know you should write the experience section in reverse chronological order.

The experience section is the most important section of your resume. This would decide whether your resume gets shortlisted, you will land the job at an average gardener salary, or you will get higher pay for your skills.

Writing a solid experience section needs a thorough understanding of the profession and the psychology of the hiring manager.

This is where most resume writers make a ton of money. We are going to share all that secrets with you here to write an experience section better than 95% of the other candidates applying for the same job.

Here’re the guidelines to write your experience section:

• Don’t just write a set of duties and responsibilities you performed. Write a list of achievements and accomplishments in your job.
• Start each sentence with an action verb. Words such as carried out, developed, and maintained demonstrate your personality.
• Use numbers such as dates, number of acres, number of team members, and project value to increase the credibility of your statements.

Refer the following example to learn how we have put these into action:

Experience section for a gardener resume

INCORRECT

Aug 2015 to Present

TML Landscaping

Gardener

• Operated power mowers.
• Removed pests affecting landscaping.
• Maintaining ground covers.
• Prune trees.
• Use commercial detailing equipment.
• Cust grass.
• Did garden planning.

CORRECT

Aug 2015 to Present

TML Landscaping

Gardener

• Managed 2 acres of commercial property – kept it mowed, weeded, and cleared of debris with a team of 3 gardeners.
• Carried out plant maintenance including pruning trees and shrubs, maintaining existing flower beds, and weed control from 7 am to 11 am.
• Created new vegetable gardens in the back of the house in my free time impressed the owners.
• Used gardening equipment such as power tools and other power-operated equipment to maintain grounds and routine maintenance following safety guidelines.
• Carried out snow removal operations using hand and power tools during winter.

You will see there’s a noticeable difference between the two example experience writeups. You will write your experience section the same way when you incorporate the 3 guidelines we have mentioned.

In fact, you will save hundreds of dollars going after resume writers.

Writing your experience section is not a one-time job. Based on the response, you need to optimize it. If you're not getting many interviews, the most likely reason is your experience section.

Write Your Education Section

The education section on your resume is not going to influence much on your resume getting shortlisted.

Most hiring managers do not state mandatory education qualifications for gardener jobs.

However, if you have completed high school, that would be a great addition to your resume. Most recruiters like to work with gardeners with a high school diploma or similar education qualification.

Key Skills for Well-Paid Gardener Jobs

A carefully written skills section showcases the candidate’s maturity and understanding of the responsibilities while also helping your resume rank well among other candidates.

We have listed down the skills a typical gardener possesses. Now, pick the right skills for you. Write about 5-7 key skills on your resume.

Make sure you give priority to the skills that are listed in the job advertisement as they will use those skills to rank your resume.

There’re basically two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. Write both on the resume.

Soft Skills for gardeners

• Multitasking
• Emotional intelligence
• Communication skills
• Time management
• Interpersonal skills
• Reliability & resourcefulness
• Exceptional customer service
• Leadership skills
• Accountability
• Critical thinking
• Attention to detail

A gardener needs to have a solid understanding of the job as he would be required to perform the tasks under minimal supervision. In such situations, communication with the supervisors and clients would be important.

The soft skills will help you understand the client’s priorities and plan work accordingly.

A senior gardener might get to supervise a team to get a job done.

Technical Skills for gardeners

• Lawn maintenance
• Plant flowers
• Irrigation systems
• Flower beds preparation
• Landscape maintenance
• Weed control
• Handling power tools
• Plant maintenance
• Pruning trees
• Tree trimming
• Pest control
• Plant growth methods
• Personal protective equipment knowledge

Depending on the type of job you are applying for, the technical skill required will vary. If the job is in a third-party maintenance company, you will be required to have a diverse skill set, whereas if it is on private property, most skills would be around landscaping and garden maintenance.

Additional Sections for Gardener Resumes

Apart from the basic section, every gardener writes on their resume, we should write a couple of additional sections to make your resume a bit more interesting to the hiring manager.

Among thousands of resumes your hiring manager gets, we need to find ways to stand out and this is one of the proven methods.

In additional sections, we write your special skills and achievements that set you apart from the other gardeners.

These small targeted sections typically get the hiring manager’s attention rather than information in the conventional long sections.

Here're some of the additional sections you could use on your gardener resume:

• Certifications
• Training
• Languages

Certifications

There are industry-renowned certification programs for gardeners. The courses vary from Professional Gardener Programs, and Certificates of Home Horticulture, to Master Gardener Certifications.

The validity of the certifications depends on geographical factors. Some certifications have more value than others in different regions. Therefore, research the certificate programs you should take up before blindly taking an online certificate.

The best place to find this information is in the job advertisements. Let the hiring managers do the research. They will mention what certificates they value. Get those certifications and you will make a better profile than 95% of the other gardeners.

Training

If you have undergone any training program at your previous workplace, you can mention them in a separate section.

Practical on-the-job training programs add a lot of value to your profile.

Here’s an example:

Languages

As a gardener, your communication skills would be something your supervisor would worry about. If you’re not a native English speaker, state the level of English language proficiency.

If you speak a second or third language, that would help boost your profile for sure.

You could use one of our resume templates to list your language proficiency in a more organized way.

CORRECT

Languages

English Native

Spanish Full working proficiency

INCORRECT

Languages

English

Chinese

German

Tips to Improve Your Gardener Resume

Here're more tips to make your gardener resume better:

• Use proofreading software like Grammarly to double-check the spelling and grammar on your resume. Make sure you don’t send the resume with a silly grammar mistake.
• Tailor your gardener resume to different jobs you apply for. You will have to change your professional summary, experience, and skills section for most jobs.
• Use a modern resume template to make your resume. The traditional resume templates are not going to make your CV stand out.

Writing a Winning Gardener Resume: Summary

• Start your resume with the header: include your name and contact information.
• Write a 2-sentence summary about your experience, skills, and achievements.
• Tailor your experience section to the specific job requirements. Give priority to relevant achievements.
• Keep your education section short.
• Add the right soft and hard skills.
• Include a couple of additional sections to stand out.

Complement Your Resume with a Cover Letter

Write a cover letter that complements your resume.

Some hiring managers ask you to send one together with your resume. However, if you’re applying for a gardener resume without any experience, a cover letter would be a great addition to your application.

Use it to communicate your interest in the job and how the skills you have acquired in your previous job would benefit you to become a productive gardener.

If writing cover letters from scratch scares you, try our cover letter builder with ready-to-fill templates which you can tailor to your profile.

FAQ

How to become a gardener with no experience?

First things first, you need to create a solid gardener resume that convinces the hiring manager to give you a chance.

If the market you are applying in is a bit saturated for gardeners, try to get a contract-based work that pays per hour you work. Most maintenance companies have overtime work they outsource for contract employees. Get your experience there.

However, it’s advisable to follow a certificate or training program to learn the basics of gardening and power tools so that you will be more confident to apply for a job.

What tools do I need to learn to become a gardener?

There is a long list of tools a gardener needs to be familiar with. However, you’ll learn most of the tools on the job. These are the basic gardening tools you should know:

• Shovel
• Rakes
• Garden fork
• Lawnmower
• Pruners
• Trowel
• Dutch hoe
• Gardening knife