Skilled Trades & Construction · Mid-Level (3+ yrs)

Painter and Decorator Resume

This sample shows a painter and decorator handling surface preparation, interior and exterior paintwork, and wallpaper. A resume for this job should make clear what finishes and tools you know, how you protect occupied spaces, and whether you can work safely on ladders or access equipment.

Summary

Painter and decorator with four years of experience on residential and small commercial jobs. Skilled in scraping, filling, sanding, cutting in, and hanging wallpaper, with care for protecting furniture and leaving rooms tidy. Holds a vocational painting certificate and follows site safety instructions when using ladders.

Experience

Painter and Decorator at Northline Finishes (2022 – Present) - Prepared and painted 2 to 3 rooms per week, including filling cracks, sanding, priming, and applying finish coats. - Protected floors and furniture before work and cleared each room at the end of the shift, with no reported damage on recent jobs. - Hung wallpaper in 8 rooms and matched pattern repeats to keep joins aligned. Painter's Assistant at Cedar & Brush Works (2020 – 2022) - Scraped, filled, and sanded walls and woodwork before painting on residential jobs. - Cleaned brushes, rollers, and work areas daily, helping the team start each shift with tools ready.

Education

Painting and Decorating Certificate — Northfield Vocational Centre (2020) Secondary School Diploma — Meadowbrook Secondary School (2019)

Skills

Surface preparation
Interior painting
Exterior painting
Wallpaper hanging
Filling and patching
Cutting in
Brush and roller work
Color matching
Ladder safety
Site cleanup

Training

• Painting and decorating vocational certificate • General construction site safety course

Equipment

• Brushes and rollers • Orbital sander • Extension ladder

Use this example

Open the builder with this Painter and Decorator resume, then replace the example with your own details.

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Common keywords

Skills and tools often listed for this role. Use only the ones you have, in the job advert's wording. Click one to copy it.

Action verbs

PreparedPaintedScrapedFilledPrimedHungCleaned

How to write a Painter and Decorator resume

Show the full job process

Put recent painting work first, then describe the work from preparation through cleanup: scraping, filling, sanding, priming, applying coats, and protecting the room. Name the surfaces and finishes you have handled, such as walls, ceilings, trim, or exterior woodwork. This helps an employer see what you can take on without claiming skills you have not used.

Use honest measures

Add a modest measure when you can explain it, such as rooms completed in a week, wallpapered rooms, or the number of properties on a project. Include whether you worked alone or with a crew. If you do not track numbers, describe the type of job and your part in it; clear tasks are more useful than guessed figures.

Name tools and training

List tools you have actually used, such as brushes, rollers, sanders, or an airless sprayer, and say what you used them for. Put relevant certificates or courses in a separate section with their generic names. Requirements for working at height and site safety vary by employer and country, so do not claim a certificate you do not hold.

Include small jobs clearly

Short contracts, seasonal work, and paid jobs for households can show useful experience. Label private or informal work honestly and give approximate dates if exact dates are unclear. Group several small jobs under a heading such as self-employed painter, if that reflects how you worked. Leave out unrelated personal details and unsupported claims like flawless work.

Questions about this role

How long should a painter and decorator resume be?

One page is usually enough for a few years of experience. Include the most relevant recent jobs, tools, finishes, and training. If you have many years of varied trade work, a second page can be useful when it adds relevant projects or responsibilities. Keep descriptions concise and remove older details that do not help show your painting skills.

Can I apply without formal painting experience?

Yes. Include practical work such as helping a contractor, painting rooms for householders, or assisting a family member, and label it accurately. Describe specific tasks you performed and tools you used. You can also list a short course or supervised practice. Do not present occasional help as full-time employment or claim work you did not do.

Which certificates should I list?

List a painting and decorating qualification, site safety course, or working-at-height training if you have completed it and it is relevant to the job. First aid may also help for some sites. Certificate names and requirements vary by country and employer, so use the certificate's actual name and do not imply that a course is a licence.

Should I include short or seasonal painting jobs?

Yes, if they show relevant work. Mark temporary or seasonal roles clearly, and give dates as accurately as you can. Several brief household jobs can be grouped as self-employed or contract painting when that describes the arrangement. Add one or two concrete tasks for each entry, and explain a gap briefly only if it helps clarify your work history.