How to hire construction laborers

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Clean or prepare construction sites to eliminate possible hazards.
• Dig ditches or trenches, backfill excavations, or compact and level earth to grade specifications, using picks, shovels, pneumatic tampers, or rakes.
• Load, unload, or identify building materials, machinery, or tools, distributing them to the appropriate locations, according to project plans or specifications.
• Lubricate, clean, or repair machinery, equipment, or tools.
• Measure, mark, or record openings or distances to layout areas where construction work will be performed.
• Read plans, instructions, or specifications to determine work activities.
• Signal equipment operators to facilitate alignment, movement, or adjustment of machinery, equipment, or materials.
• Tend pumps, compressors, or generators to provide power for tools, machinery, or equipment or to heat or move materials, such as asphalt.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: No formal educational credential]
• Strong speaking and active listening skills
• Working knowledge of building and construction
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $22.66 an hour ($47,120 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for construction laborers

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to clean or prepare construction sites to eliminate possible hazards. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to dig ditches or trenches, backfill excavations, or compact and level earth to grade specifications, using picks, shovels, pneumatic tampers, or rakes. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to load, unload, or identify building materials, machinery, or tools, distributing them to the appropriate locations, according to project plans or specifications. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to lubricate, clean, or repair machinery, equipment, or tools. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
6. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
7. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What construction laborers do

• Clean or prepare construction sites to eliminate possible hazards.
• Dig ditches or trenches, backfill excavations, or compact and level earth to grade specifications, using picks, shovels, pneumatic tampers, or rakes.
• Load, unload, or identify building materials, machinery, or tools, distributing them to the appropriate locations, according to project plans or specifications.
• Lubricate, clean, or repair machinery, equipment, or tools.
• Measure, mark, or record openings or distances to layout areas where construction work will be performed.
• Read plans, instructions, or specifications to determine work activities.
• Signal equipment operators to facilitate alignment, movement, or adjustment of machinery, equipment, or materials.
• Tend pumps, compressors, or generators to provide power for tools, machinery, or equipment or to heat or move materials, such as asphalt.

Skills that matter most

SpeakingActive ListeningBuilding and Construction

Education, experience and outlook for construction laborers

• Typical education to start: No formal educational credential (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 3 months (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Short-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: +7.3% over ten years, faster than average · about 120,000 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay construction laborers

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See construction laborers pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
• Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
• Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
• Pipelayers
• Structural Iron and Steel Workers
• Brickmasons and Blockmasons
• Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
• Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters
• Carpenters
• Maintenance Workers, Machinery

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.