Janitor resume example

Choose the right format for a Janitor resume

Use a reverse-chronological format. Facilities managers and building supervisors scan quickly, so your most recent job needs to appear first. Keep the resume to one page if you have fewer than ten years of experience; two pages are acceptable if you have held multiple long-term custodial or facilities roles.

Use clean section headers, a standard font like Arial or Calibri at 10–12 pt, and half-inch margins. Avoid tables or columns — many applicant tracking systems (ATS) used by property management companies and school districts parse single-column layouts more reliably.

• Sections in order: Contact Info → Summary → Work Experience → Skills → Education/Certifications
• File format: PDF unless the job posting specifically requests a Word document
• No photos, no graphics — they confuse ATS and add no value for this role

Write a professional summary that gets you past the first cut

Your summary sits directly under your name and contact information. It should be two to three sentences that state your years of experience, the environments you have worked in (hospitals, schools, office buildings, industrial facilities), and one or two standout strengths. Skip phrases like 'hard worker' and 'team player' — every applicant uses them.

Example: "Dependable custodian with 8 years of experience maintaining cleanliness and safety standards in a 400,000 sq ft public school district. Proficient in floor care equipment including ride-on scrubbers and automatic burnishers, with a clean background check record and OSHA 10 certification. Reduced chemical supply costs 12% by standardizing dilution-control dispensing systems across six buildings."

Write work-experience bullets that show impact, not just duties

Do not list job duties — describe outcomes. Hiring managers already know janitors mop floors and empty trash. Tell them how large the facility was, how many rooms you serviced, how fast you turned over spaces, or how you contributed to inspection scores. Use past tense for previous jobs and present tense for your current role.

Start every bullet with a strong action verb: maintained, sanitized, inspected, restocked, operated, trained, reduced, coordinated. Quantify wherever possible — square footage, number of restrooms, shift size, inspection scores, or budget figures.

• Maintained daily cleanliness of a 180,000 sq ft hospital wing covering 240 patient rooms, consistently achieving a 96% or higher score on Joint Commission environmental rounds.
• Operated 28-inch automatic floor scrubber and high-speed burnisher to refinish 40,000 sq ft of VCT flooring nightly, cutting strip-and-wax cycle frequency from quarterly to twice yearly and saving $3,200 in contractor costs annually.

Skills and certifications recruiters and ATS systems look for

Include a dedicated Skills section with a tight list of hard skills. Soft skills belong in your bullets, not here. Spell out equipment names in full because ATS matches keywords exactly — write 'TENNANT T7 floor scrubber' not just 'floor machine.' List any certifications on their own line with the issuing body and year.

Healthcare and school district employers often require specific bloodborne pathogen training and chemical handling knowledge, so call those out explicitly if you have them.

• Floor care: strip, wax, buff, and refinish VCT; carpet extraction; hard-surface scrubbing
• Equipment: ride-on scrubbers (Tennant, Nilfisk), backpack vacuums, pressure washers, pallet jacks
• Chemical handling: OSHA Hazard Communication (HazCom), SDS interpretation, dilution-control systems
• Certifications: OSHA 10 General Industry, ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS), CPO (Certified Pool Operator) if applicable
• Soft skills to weave into bullets: reliability, attention to detail, ability to work overnight or rotating shifts

Education, licenses, and extras that strengthen your application

A high school diploma or GED is the standard minimum for most janitorial roles. List it with the school name and graduation year. If you did not finish high school, list your GED with the issuing state and year — do not leave the section blank.

Some roles — particularly in healthcare, food processing, or government buildings — require a valid driver's license, a clean background check, or drug screening clearance. Note your license class (e.g., 'Valid Class C Driver's License, Texas') in this section. If you have completed any employer-sponsored training programs, ISSA courses, or custodial management workshops, list those here as well. Bilingual ability (English/Spanish is common in this field) is worth noting if it applies to you.

Mistakes to avoid

• ×Listing only vague duties like 'cleaned building' without specifying the type of facility, square footage, or scope of work gives hiring managers nothing to evaluate.
• ×Omitting equipment names means your resume fails ATS keyword searches run by property management companies and school districts that filter for specific tools.
• ×Skipping certifications such as OSHA 10 or bloodborne pathogen training is a missed opportunity because many healthcare and government employers treat these as minimum qualifications.
• ×Using a generic objective statement instead of a targeted summary wastes the most-read section of your resume on filler that tells the employer nothing specific about your value.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a resume for a janitor job or can I just fill out an application?

Most large employers — school districts, hospitals, property management companies, and government facilities — require or strongly prefer a resume even when an online application exists. A resume lets you include metrics, equipment experience, and certifications that a standard application form has no fields for. Submitting one when it is optional almost always works in your favor.

What certifications should a janitor put on a resume?

The most recognized credentials are OSHA 10 General Industry, ISSA CIMS (Cleaning Industry Management Standard), and bloodborne pathogen training certificates. If you work around pools, a Certified Pool Operator (CPO) license from the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance is valuable. List the certifying body and the year you earned each credential.

How do I write a janitor resume with no experience?

Lead with any related experience: landscaping, dishwashing, warehouse work, or home caregiving all involve cleaning, sanitizing, or equipment operation. Include any volunteer work where you maintained a space, and complete a free or low-cost OSHA HazCom or bloodborne pathogen online course before applying so you have at least one credential to list. Emphasize availability, reliability, and willingness to work overnight or weekend shifts, since those are the hardest slots for employers to fill.