Resume guide · Job Zone 5

Urban and Regional Plannersresume guide.

Develop comprehensive plans and programs for use of land and physical facilities of jurisdictions, such as towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas. A strong Urban and Regional Planners resume shows active listening, judgment and decision making and speaking, and names the tools you have worked with, such as Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks and Bentley MicroStation.

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01Also called

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City PlannerCommunity Development PlannerCommunity PlannerDevelopment TechnicianHousing Development SpecialistNeighborhood PlannerPlannerPlanning ConsultantPlanning TechnicianRegional Planner

02Skills employers expect

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Importance is how much the skill matters to the job; level is how much of it the job demands. Both are worth naming on the resume, in this order.

SkillImportanceLevel
Active ListeningVery highAdvanced
Judgment and Decision MakingVery highAdvanced
SpeakingVery highAdvanced
Critical ThinkingVery highAdvanced
Reading ComprehensionVery highAdvanced
Systems AnalysisVery highAdvanced
WritingHighAdvanced
Complex Problem SolvingHighAdvanced
Systems EvaluationHighAdvanced
Social PerceptivenessHighIntermediate

03Knowledge areas

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  • Law and Government
  • English Language
  • Geography
  • Transportation
  • Communications and Media
  • Administration and Management
  • Sociology and Anthropology
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Design

04Common responsibilities

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Ordered by importance. Each one is a bullet waiting for a result and a number.

  1. Design, promote, or administer government plans or policies affecting land use, zoning, public utilities, community facilities, housing, or transportation.
  2. Advise planning officials on project feasibility, cost-effectiveness, regulatory conformance, or possible alternatives.
  3. Create, prepare, or requisition graphic or narrative reports on land use data, including land area maps overlaid with geographic variables, such as population density.
  4. Hold public meetings with government officials, social scientists, lawyers, developers, the public, or special interest groups to formulate, develop, or address issues regarding land use or community plans.
  5. Mediate community disputes or assist in developing alternative plans or recommendations for programs or projects.
  6. Recommend approval, denial, or conditional approval of proposals.
  7. Conduct field investigations, surveys, impact studies, or other research to compile and analyze data on economic, social, regulatory, or physical factors affecting land use.
  8. Evaluate proposals for infrastructure projects or other development for environmental impact or sustainability.
  9. Discuss with planning officials the purpose of land use projects, such as transportation, conservation, residential, commercial, industrial, or community use.
  10. Keep informed about economic or legal issues involved in zoning codes, building codes, or environmental regulations.

05Software and tools

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77 tools across 24 categories. The six largest categories are below; Hot marks a hot technology, In demand a tool employers ask for most often.

Computer aided design CAD software12
  • Autodesk AutoCADHotIn demand
  • Dassault Systemes SolidWorksHotIn demand
  • Bentley MicroStationHotIn demand
  • Autodesk 3ds Max Design
  • Autodesk AutoCAD Map 3D
  • Caliper TransCAD
  • 3D urban simulation modeling software
  • CommunityViz
  • e-on VUE
  • MultiGen Paradigm 3D GIS
  • Tangible Media Group Luminous Table
  • UrbanSim
+ 7 more
Geographic information system9
+ 4 more
Map creation software9
  • RockWare ArcMapIn demand
  • Leica Geosystems ERDAS IMAGINE
  • Geomechanical design analysis GDA software
  • Intergraph MGE
  • Criterion Planners INDEX
  • ITC Integrated Land and Water Information System ILWIS
  • ITSpatial InterSCOPE
  • Spatial decision support systems SDSS software
  • Telogis GeoBase
+ 4 more
Data base user interface and query software7
+ 2 more
Graphics or photo imaging software7
+ 2 more
Analytical or scientific software4
  • Citilabs TRANPLAN
  • Location allocation decision support system LADSS
  • Scientific Software Group ModTech
  • Transportation planning software
Document management software3
Electronic mail software3
Enterprise resource planning ERP software3
Compliance software2
  • Accela PERMITS Plus
  • Accela Tidemark Advantage
Desktop publishing software2
Office suite software2
Project management software2
Spreadsheet software2
Desktop communications software1
  • RhinoSoft FTP Voyager
Development environment software1
  • Software development toolsIn demand
Enterprise application integration software1
Internet browser software1
Object or component oriented development software1
Presentation software1
Time accounting software1
  • Sage Timeslips
Web page creation and editing software1
  • Adobe Dreamweaver
Web platform development software1
Word processing software1

06Education and preparation

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Typical education
Master's Degree
56% of surveyed workers. Others report Bachelor's Degree (40%) and First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work (4%).
Preparation level
Job Zone 5 · Extensive preparation
Usually a graduate degree and extensive related experience.

07Putting it on your resume

ResumeXRays guidance
BEE · How to show it

Lead with what you built. For a Job Zone 5 role, hiring managers and parsers both look for outcomes before credentials. Put two or three results at the top of each job entry, with the scale or effect stated plainly.

Name the tools exactly. This occupation is heavy on named software. A skills section that says "Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, Bentley MicroStation, ESRI ArcGIS software" matches more job descriptions than a general phrase. Use the spelling employers use.

Show judgment and decision making and speaking, not just active listening. Judgment and decision making and speaking rank close to active listening for this occupation. One bullet per role that shows a decision, a tradeoff or a result covers them.

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