How to Apply for a Construction Job That Requires a Software You Don’t Use

construction+technology

10 years ago, the most computer knowledge any construction company would require of its applicants was a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel or a scheduling software.  Now, construction companies are finally getting wise to the fact that project management and document management software like Procore, Bluebeam, and PlanGrid can provide an efficiency boost to their projects. Because of this, many employers now have job openings that require knowledge of their software of choice. 

If you’ve never used that specific software, how can you make yourself eligible for that role?

Procore

Procore’s marketing team recently sent me some data from popular job posting sites and found that there are hundreds of open jobs that specifically require knowledge of their program. Specifically, there are 566 jobs on Indeed, 355 on Monster, 64 on Career Builder, and a search of my own determined that there are over 200 jobs on Zip Recruiter that want Procore experience.   

Unlike some of the other software, Procore actually makes it extremely easy to get experience on their software without knowing anything about it previously.  On Procore’s education website, you can take 10 FREE courses that allow you to become Procore certified.  Once complete with all the lessons in the course, you’ll receive a certificate of completion, which you can add to your resume. The 10 different certification courses are specific to certain roles, including Project Manager, Engineer, Architect, Superintendent, Subcontractor, Associate, and Student. Their education website also offers hundreds of free non-Procore specific construction continuing education courses, as well.

PlanGrid

If the job requires PlanGrid experience, it’s not quite as straight forward.  PlanGrid’s website does have a group of 8 training videos that you can watch and an in-depth 45 minute webinar, but you won’t get a certificate for participating in those.  By including that on your resume, it will still look better than no experience at all.  To actually become PlanGrid certified if your company does not currently use the program, the only currently scheduled opportunity for the public will be at PlanGrid’s first annual Construction Summit, which is in San Francisco in June.

Bluebeam

Bluebeam also offers a large amount of free training videos and webinars to push you in the right direction, but their more formal Bluebeam Basics online certification course via Bluebeam University is an 8-hour course that will cost you $99 for a year.  For more advanced training, the “Power Package,” which includes the Bluebeam Basic course, Document Control, Takeoffs & Estimation, Punch & Back Check, Beyond the Basics, and Creating Project Dashboards costs $249/year. Zip Recruiter currently also has over 200 jobs across the US wanting Bluebeam experience.

Others

Other programs like Aconex provide learning content for free, but formal certification requires a small fee.  There are also free training webinars available for Autodesk’s BIM 360, but I have not been able to find a formal certification process for that specific Autodesk software. 

Conclusion

Whether or not you have used a specific construction software in the past does not automatically disqualify you from applying for a job that requires it. All it takes is a little  extra effort to familiarize yourself with these programs through available online training.  Not all companies make it easy to achieve a formal certificate like Procore does, but any upfront effort might be a big selling point for your potential future employer.