Short version: A strong Landscaping and Groundskeeping resume (BLS 37-3011) proves three things fast — that you can run the equipment (mowers, blowers, trimmers, aerators, skid steers, chippers), lead a crew (crew size, route stops per day, on-time completion), and hold the certifications the customer or municipality requires (pesticide applicator license, CDL for towing a heavier trailer, first aid). Keep it to one page, name every piece of equipment you can operate, and quantify almost every bullet — properties per day, revenue served, retention rate, or a specific safety record. Below is a complete example you can model line for line.
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What a landscaping and groundskeeping worker actually does
A landscaping and groundskeeping worker (BLS 37-3011) maintains the outdoor grounds that everyone else takes for granted — commercial properties, HOAs, municipal parks, school campuses, cemeteries, athletic fields, resort grounds. About 1.2 million people work in the role in the U.S. and hiring is steady year-round in warm climates and spring-through-fall in the North. The job splits across three modes of work: maintenance (mowing, edging, blowing, weeding, pruning), installation (bed prep, planting, sod, hardscape support, irrigation install), and seasonal (leaf cleanup, snow removal, mulch install, winterization). Foremen and lead workers add crew leadership, route planning, and customer communication.
On a typical shift, a worker will run one or two of the following: a walk-behind or ride-on mower, a string trimmer, a backpack blower, a hedge trimmer, a chainsaw, a stump grinder, an aerator, a skid steer, and often a full truck-and-trailer setup. Foremen add pesticide application, irrigation troubleshooting, and customer handoff.
What hiring managers & ATS look for
Two readers screen your resume. The ATS wants literal terms — landscape maintenance, hardscape, irrigation, pesticide applicator, skid steer, OSHA 10. The owner or general manager wants proof of three things: that you know the equipment, that you can be trusted on a residential property or in front of a customer, and that you have (or can quickly get) the right license stack.
- Equipment named. "Proficient with landscaping equipment" is invisible. "Ride-on Toro Z-Master, Stihl BR 800 blower, Echo trimmers, Kubota SVL75 skid steer, Bobcat T650" is a keyword match on every major brand.
- License stack. State pesticide applicator (Category 3A / turf & ornamental), CDL Class A or B for heavier trailers, OSHA 10 or 30, Certified Landscape Technician (CLT), or state-specific irrigation licensing.
- Crew size and route. "Two-worker crew, 14 properties/day" tells a manager exactly what pace you can hold.
- Customer-facing signal. Homeowner walk-throughs, HOA reports, complaint resolution.
- Safety record. Zero-incident streaks, safety-committee membership, EMR history.
- Bilingual coverage. Especially Spanish/English on many commercial and residential crews.
Full landscaping worker resume example
Here is a complete, realistic one-page example for a mid-tenure landscaping foreman.
Marco Delgado — Landscape Crew Foreman
Charlotte, NC · marco.delgado@email.com · (704) 555-0119 · Bilingual (English/Spanish) · Valid CDL Class B · Pesticide Applicator (NC-3A)
Professional Summary
Bilingual Landscape Crew Foreman with 7 years across commercial maintenance and high-end residential install, managing crews of 3–5 across 40–60 properties/week and a $1.4M annual maintenance route. Trusted with equipment operation across mowers, aerators, skid steers, and chippers; state pesticide applicator (Category 3A). Zero recordable incidents on my crews in 4 years, and a 96% customer-retention rate on residential accounts.
Core Skills
Landscape maintenance · Hardscape (paver, retaining wall, edging install) · Irrigation troubleshooting · Fertilization & weed control · Turf renovation (aeration, overseeding, sod) · Pruning & ornamental care · Snow removal & ice management · Route planning & customer handoff · Bilingual crew training
Equipment
Ride-on mowers (Toro Z-Master, Exmark Lazer Z, Scag Turf Tiger) · Walk-behind mowers · String trimmers & hedge trimmers (Stihl, Echo) · Backpack blowers (Stihl BR 800) · Chainsaws (Stihl MS 261) · Skid steer (Kubota SVL75, Bobcat T650) · Aerator (Ryan Lawnaire) · Stump grinder · Chipper (Vermeer BC1000XL) · Truck & trailer (F-350 dually + 20' dual-axle)
Licenses & Certifications
CDL Class B (NC, current) · NC Pesticide Applicator, Category 3A (Turf & Ornamental) · OSHA 30 · NCTS Certified Landscape Technician (CLT) · First Aid / CPR
Professional Experience
Landscape Crew Foreman — Green Horizon Landscaping (Charlotte, NC) · 2023–Present
• Lead a bilingual 4-person crew across a 52-property residential and light-commercial route generating $1.4M in annual maintenance revenue.
• Averaged 14 properties/day on the standard route with 97% on-time completion tracked in Aspire; kept crew hours-to-revenue ratio at 34%, ahead of the 38% company target.
• Held a 96% renewal rate on the 40-property residential book across two seasons — driven by same-day walk-throughs and a Friday recap text to every customer.
• Ran seasonal install work: 6 paver patios, 12 retaining walls, and 4 irrigation retrofits, totaling ~$220K in add-on revenue.
• Zero recordable incidents across 4 seasons; certified crew on skid-steer and chainsaw handling.
Landscape Technician — BrightGreen Property Services (Raleigh, NC) · 2020–2023
• Operated mowers, blowers, trimmers, and aerators across a 90-property/week commercial route (offices, HOAs, retail); consistently held a 12-property/day pace as the sole operator.
• Earned Category 3A pesticide license in Year 2; applied liquid and granular treatments across 45 residential accounts with zero application-related complaints.
• Trained 3 new hires on equipment operation and route procedures; promoted to lead technician after 18 months.
Groundskeeper — City of Raleigh Parks & Recreation · 2019–2020
• First landscape role; maintained 3 municipal parks including turf, playground surfaces, and shelter grounds. Handled leaf cleanup, trash haul, and event setup/breakdown.
Education
AAS, Turfgrass & Landscape Technology — Central Piedmont Community College · 2019
Build a resume like this — free.
Start from this exact structure in the free Marqee Resume Builder. ATS-ready formatting, trades-specific prompts, and an instant keyword check.
Build yours free →Browse templatesKey skills & ATS keywords
Pull the eight to twelve terms the posting names. Include both spelled-out and abbreviated forms where they exist (Pesticide Applicator / 3A).
landscape maintenance · groundskeeping · lawn care · hardscape · softscape · irrigation · pesticide applicator · fertilization · weed control · turf renovation · aeration · overseeding · sod · pruning · mulch install · snow removal · ice management · route planning · Aspire · LMN · ServiceTitan · CDL · OSHA 10 · OSHA 30 · Certified Landscape Technician · CLT · bilingual · Spanish/English · skid steer · Kubota · Bobcat · Toro · Exmark · Stihl · Echo · Vermeer
A realistic pay range
Landscaping and groundskeeping pay varies widely by region and role. In the U.S. most workers earn between $16 and $24 an hour, with a national mean hourly wage near $18 and a mean annual wage of about $37,000–$40,000 based on BLS OES data for occupation 37-3011. Entry-level workers commonly start between the state minimum and $17. Crew foremen and pesticide-licensed technicians reach $22–$32. Regional operations managers and account managers with a book of business often clear $70,000–$95,000 once bonuses are counted. Snow-belt seasonal overtime and Southern-market year-round hours both push totals higher.
Common resume mistakes
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A one-page, single-column resume with a name, title, contact line, license stack at the top (CDL, pesticide applicator, OSHA, CLT), a short summary that names your crew size and route revenue, a core-skills grid, an explicit equipment block, two or three roles with quantified bullets (properties/day, revenue, retention, incidents), and an education line.
One page for almost every worker and crew foreman. Only regional operations managers, account managers with a book of business, and estimators with a portfolio should consider a second page.
Equipment operation named by brand and model, pesticide application (state category, e.g., 3A Turf & Ornamental), irrigation troubleshooting, hardscape install, turf renovation (aeration, overseeding, sod), pruning, snow and ice management, route planning, and bilingual (Spanish/English) crew coverage.
Route stops per day, revenue served, on-time completion rate, customer retention or renewal rate, add-on install revenue, safety record (recordable incidents, EMR), crew size, and hours-to-revenue ratio. 'Averaged 14 properties/day with 97% on-time completion' beats every adjective.
Yes — at the top. State pesticide applicator category (3A is most common for turf and ornamental), CDL class, OSHA 10 or 30, Certified Landscape Technician (CLT), and any state-specific irrigation license. Commercial and municipal employers gate-check the license block before they read anything else.
Lead with any outdoor or physical work — construction laborer, farm work, warehouse, athletic groundskeeping, camp counselor, agricultural volunteering. Add any equipment you've operated (personal mower, chainsaw, ATV, tractor), any customer-facing work, and a two-line 'Availability' block naming weekends, early mornings, and seasonal willingness.
Single-column, reverse-chronological, standard headings, and a .pdf. Commercial employers use ATS like Aspire, LMN, or ServiceTitan-adjacent systems; two-column layouts scramble. Keep the file name job-focused (e.g., marco-delgado-landscape-foreman-resume.pdf).