I only ever helped sand and fit hinges — what do I write to still get called?

Write exactly the related work you did: sanding along the wood grain, helping cut boards to the size the team leader gave, fitting hinges and drawer runners, helping install at customers' homes — one line per task stating your role. Do not invent wardrobe building or door making you never did.

Should I list every wood type I have ever heard of?

List only the wood and board types you really worked with, and only to the level you can do. The workshop will hand you a real part to test in exactly that type — claiming one you never worked with and being found out on the test is a minus.

I worked in a team with a head carpenter — how do I state my part without misleading anyone?

State your role in each step: cutting boards, joining, sanding, PU finishing or installation. Claiming a whole item as built by you alone shows up at once when the workshop asks you about that wardrobe door in detail.

Where should my strongest item go in the CV?

Right after the role line, at the top of the CV, with the step you handle (building wardrobes, making wooden doors, or installation). The workshop places you in a team by item before reading about character — an item left at the end is often never read.

I never did PU finishing — should I write that?

Write plainly that you never did PU finishing, and list the work you did instead: cutting boards to size, tight mortise-and-tenon joints, sanding flat along the grain, fitting hinges and drawer runners to standard. The team can place you on work that does not need PU finishing yet — claiming it and then ruining a furniture surface is the real minus.

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Job seekers8 min read

CV for carpenters and wooden furniture makers: write it so the workshop sees at once that you can build furniture true to size

Keep it to 1–2 pages: one line with the role plus the item and work mode, 4–6 real woodworking tasks such as building wardrobes, tables and chairs, wooden doors, stairs, wood panelling and installing furniture at customers' homes, the wood and boards you have worked with, the machines and tools you have used, and whether you can read furniture drawings and travel to install far away. Skip vague lines like “good at woodwork, skilled hands, hard-working” with no real item attached — the workshop then has nothing to place you in the right team.

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How a wood workshop reads a CV

Unlike a construction worker's CV — bricklaying, plastering and tiling items and site pace — or a tailor's CV — cutting and sewing to body measurements — a carpenter's CV is judged in exactly three places: the wooden items you really built, how true the finished piece is (square, flat-faced, tight joints, doors opening and closing smoothly), and how you keep wood from warping or cracking after delivery. The workshop looks for four answers: which wooden items you can build, which step in the team you were responsible for, whether you can use the workshop's machines and tools, and whether you can read furniture drawings and install at customers' homes. Missing any one of the four usually puts the CV behind others, even if you are genuinely skilled and hard-working. So put the item and the step you handle right after the role line, then machines and tools, then wood and board types and wood treatment last in the main part. The faster you show a real item, the more likely you get the call.

One role line: title + item + work mode

Open the CV with exactly one line: the title you want, the item, and the work mode. Examples: “Carpenter building wardrobes and engineered-wood kitchen cabinets, workshop-based, available to install at customers' homes.” For a wooden-door maker: “Carpenter making solid-wood doors and stairs, working in a team, available on weekends when the workshop needs an urgent delivery.” For a carpentry assistant: “Carpentry assistant, workshop shifts, ready to help with sanding and installation.” One such line tells the workshop at once whether you fit the team that needs someone, instead of forcing it to read the whole CV only to learn you only help with sanding while the team needs a wardrobe builder, or only build tables and chairs while the team needs someone for solid-wood doors. The most common mistake is writing it too generally (“looking for woodwork”) or naming the title without the item and work mode — both force the workshop to ask, and when hiring urgently to deliver furniture on time, people who need asking are usually skipped first.

Items and steps: one item per line, exactly what you did

This section is mandatory for carpentry CVs and is the biggest difference from other skilled trades. List the items you have built, one line each, written as concrete tasks. For wardrobes and cabinets: building wardrobes and kitchen cabinets — your work was measuring, cutting boards to the drawing, drilling cam locks, fitting hinges and drawer runners, and checking that doors open and close smoothly before delivery. For tables and chairs: building wooden tables and chairs — your work was cutting and planing wood, joining with mortise and tenon, sanding, and checking sturdiness and tabletop flatness before finishing. For wooden doors: making wooden doors and frames — your work was measuring the opening, cutting and joining the frame, fitting locks and hinges, and checking that the door opens and closes without scraping the floor before delivery. For installation: installing furniture at customers' homes — your work was transporting, installing wardrobes and shelves to the drawing positions, adjusting doors and handles, and clearing wood shavings after installation. State clearly which items you only helped sand or fit hinges for, and do not claim a whole item as built by you alone from start to finish. Claiming an item you never built to “make the CV look good” shows up at once when the workshop hands you a real wardrobe door to test — and costs you the place in that team.

Machines, tools and wood and board types: only machines, tools and materials you really used

Machines and tools are what set this CV apart from other CVs — state clearly: machines you really used (table saw, board cutter, router, sander, drill — list the machines you really used, and state plainly any machine you have not used), tools you used (tape measure, try square, hand plane, chisel, wood clamps — list the tools you really used, never a blanket “can use all tools”), and wood and boards you worked with (solid wood, MDF, MFC, finger-jointed wood — list the types you really worked with, never claim one you never handled). The workshop assigns items by skill level — overstating it and then building a whole set of cabinets off-size wastes everyone's time. State your real level from the start, even if you are strong on engineered-wood wardrobes and only support on installation, rather than writing vaguely and then struggling when the workshop needs someone to read a solid-wood door drawing.

Reading drawings, treating wood and handing over: measure right and deliver wood that does not warp to stay in the team

Each point on drawings, wood treatment and handing over needs just one line stating the main task: reading drawings (reading overall dimensions, each part's dimensions, and hinge and runner positions on a furniture drawing — state the real method, not a vague “can read drawings”), treating wood (drying and checking solid wood moisture before building, sanding along the grain, priming and applying PU coats correctly — state the real method, and mention PU finishing only if you really did it), and handing over (checking squareness, flat faces, tight joints and smooth door movement before handing to the workshop head, delivering on the date promised to the customer — state the real handover, and mention fixing faults only if you really did it). If you once built an item wrong (for example a wardrobe off-size, a door scraping the floor, or a tabletop with a rough finish), do not hide it: note it and what you changed afterwards (removing the off-line door and recutting to standard size, planing the door foot and resetting the hinges, sanding again and recoating). One mistake fixed with a clear checking process is not an absolute weakness here; hiding it and being found out by the customer is.

Experience, hours and how you take work: only what is true and checkable

State your experience clearly: years in woodwork (the true number of years), item types you built (wardrobes, kitchen cabinets, tables and chairs, wooden doors, stairs, shelves — list the types you really built, never name a private customer who ordered furniture), and your strongest item (the item you built most). State your hours clearly: workshop hours, overtime when an urgent delivery is needed, travelling to install far away, Saturdays and Sundays — and state plainly any mode you cannot do. Do not claim items you never built or machines you never used, and skip hobbies and elaborate portrait photos. The workshop mostly calls or messages — your phone number must be one you actually use and answer outside workshop hours.

Contact details and next step

At the end, only four things are needed: full name, phone number, title and strongest item, and the work modes you accept. No detailed home address, no hobbies, no elaborate portrait photo. Next, create an account and upload your CV so workshops can find it: register as a candidate on timviecde.vn (/register). Note: with an unverified email you cannot upload a CV or receive selection emails — verify your email right after registering, before uploading.

Do this next

One role line: the title you want + the item + the work mode.
Real wooden items built, the step you were responsible for, machines and tools used, and how you treat wood before delivery.
State plainly what you have never done; a phone number you actually use and answer outside workshop hours.

Common questions

I only ever helped sand and fit hinges — what do I write to still get called?: Write exactly the related work you did: sanding along the wood grain, helping cut boards to the size the team leader gave, fitting hinges and drawer runners, helping install at customers' homes — one line per task stating your role. Do not invent wardrobe building or door making you never did.
Should I list every wood type I have ever heard of?: List only the wood and board types you really worked with, and only to the level you can do. The workshop will hand you a real part to test in exactly that type — claiming one you never worked with and being found out on the test is a minus.
I worked in a team with a head carpenter — how do I state my part without misleading anyone?: State your role in each step: cutting boards, joining, sanding, PU finishing or installation. Claiming a whole item as built by you alone shows up at once when the workshop asks you about that wardrobe door in detail.
Where should my strongest item go in the CV?: Right after the role line, at the top of the CV, with the step you handle (building wardrobes, making wooden doors, or installation). The workshop places you in a team by item before reading about character — an item left at the end is often never read.
I never did PU finishing — should I write that?: Write plainly that you never did PU finishing, and list the work you did instead: cutting boards to size, tight mortise-and-tenon joints, sanding flat along the grain, fitting hinges and drawer runners to standard. The team can place you on work that does not need PU finishing yet — claiming it and then ruining a furniture surface is the real minus.

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