Truck Driver Resume Sample, Job Description & Writing Guide for 2024
As a trucker, you’re in the right industry at the right time. The ongoing global truck driver shortage means there are way more trucking vacancies than applicants. Actually, the need for certified drivers with a clean driving record is so severe trucking companies worldwide are attracting drivers with innovative incentives.
With the proper credentials and endorsements, experienced drivers can handpick from various jobs locally and internationally. However, having so many choices doesn’t mean you don’t need a professional truck driver resume. Even though it’s a candidate-driven market, you still want to put your best foot forward.
A well-presented trucking resume is not only a reflection of your professional image but also assures your application gets considered. Reputable companies have hiring processes that involve recording, reviewing, and vetting each job applicant. They want to ensure they employ the best, and in turn, you know you’re working for an employer of choice.
While truck drivers are hands-on, independent, responsible, and adaptable, they’re usually not good administrators. Don’t let that aversion to admin put you off writing a trucker resume.
We’re going to tell you exactly how to craft the perfect resume time and again.
This resume writing guide packs top resume tips and expert hints for landing your best job to drive trucks. It includes a complete sample truck driver resume and explains keywords, applicant tracking systems, essential resume sections, and optional subsections.
That’s not all!
We have a fantastic resume template library where you can choose a template that compliments your style. Our truck driver resume templates are continually updated to align with current hiring trends. Plus, making your resume on CVMaker’s resume builder ensures you’ll be on recruiters’ shortlist.
Let’s get started.
Truck driver resume writing guide: Where to start?
Truck drivers work across many industry sectors, delivering all sorts of goods locally and across borders. Driving anything from vans to pickups, semi-trailer trucks, tankers, and 18-wheelers, they transport goods weighing a few kilograms each to tons. Each vehicle type needs a specific driver’s license category, and various certifications and permits apply to cargo, such as hazardous materials or livestock.
Aside from having the necessary credentials, a truck driver must be fit and healthy, with good eyesight and reflexes. Not only are they responsible for vehicle, passenger, and load safety, but they’re also responsible for the well-being of other road users. Besides cargo, load, and vehicle regulations, truckers must know traffic laws, understand traffic conditions, and be good at driving in adverse road conditions. As if that’s not enough, each country and frequently states within countries have their own requirements and federal regulations.
Being a truck driver is no mean feat and requires a strong work ethic. Here’s a closer look at what truckers do on a daily basis:
Safety
Safety procedures apply to every aspect of trucking. They’re written into international, national, local, and company safety regulations, such as DOT regulations in the USA.
A prime priority for drivers is taking care of company equipment, which includes:
- Truck
- Trailer
- Unloaded freight
- Emergency equipment
- Accessories and tools
- Load-related documentation
Vehicle safety begins with a daily vehicle inspection to ensure a safe operating condition. Depending on the circumstances, drivers are expected to undertake minor repairs, meaning they must understand the truck’s mechanics.
Furthermore, truckers keep accurate records in a vehicle log, including miles per week, last vehicle service, and other info on the company checklist. A driver log is another daily essential. It includes details of the driver's actions, such as:
- Time of vehicle inspection
- Loading time
- Size of load
- Planned delivery routes
Load
Every load or cargo must be recorded and handled per company procedures, as well.
Cargo records include cargo content description, like hazardous materials, refrigerated goods, electronics, etc. Comprehensive delivery records are a further necessity and encompass the following:
- Scheduling trucks into loading
- Customer schedules
- Pickup documentation
- Documentation for completeness
- Signals from loading crew
What's more, drivers must time deliveries well, particularly at peak delivery times, which takes us to route planning.
Routes
Planning routes properly is crucial to maintaining ETA commitments to customers and business profitability. Depending on how well they know the area, delivery routes can be familiar or unfamiliar to drivers. They must also know the types of roads they’re traveling on and the road signs they’ll encounter.
This can make cross-border and interstate routes challenging for novice drivers. Consequently, these routes are taken mainly by experienced drivers. Alternate routes are also vital as a backup to keep deliveries in motion.
Alternate routing plans relate to cargo too. Heavy loads, or loads of a specific height, can’t travel on general loads, and drivers must consider this. Route to document weight or height is an integral part of route planning.
Customer service
Customer service is another facet of being a trucker.
Customer satisfaction requires far more than meets the eye and doesn’t start and end with sales and a quality product. It starts with brand reputation and promise, which follow the sales journey to product delivery. Companies create expectations that customers buy into. If these expectations aren’t met at the delivery stage, it impacts the entire deal. That’s irrespective of whether the product or sales service is excellent.
Timely delivery is in the hands of the truck driver, and so is courteous service. Depending on the industry and product, these things are written into customer contract agreements.
Trucking comes with multiple responsibilities that hiring managers will look for on your resume for truck driver job applications. However, the freight industry is fast-paced, and there’s no time to search truck driver resumes for specific details. The reality is that your resume will be reviewed for suitability in seconds before a reader moves on. So, it’s up to you to grab and hold the attention of recruiters and hiring managers so they see your value, and you get a callback.
It’s not as difficult as it sounds. Following our tried and tested resume-writing tips will get you in the interview chair in no time.
Getting started writing a truck driving resume
Maybe you’ve got a generic truck driver resume for when you see the perfect vacancy. Unfortunately, submitting an outdated, generic resume is no way to boost your professional image and get noticed. Don’t make job applications a hit-and-miss affair, even if it’s a candidate’s market.
Before writing your resume, you must understand how the hiring process works.
Today, recruitment works like this -
Line managers give recruiters a job description with the specific driver skills and experience required for the vacancy. These skills and expertise become keywords for the role. Quoting these keywords verbatim on your resume is crucial to making the interview shortlist.
Here’s why -
Recruiters flag these keywords as they load the job to websites, social media, and job portals. AI in parsing software retains the keywords to use when screening incoming applications. In other words, your trucker resume gets scanned for these keywords immediately after your application is uploaded. The AI identifies the keywords and averages the overall ratio. If your resume meets the minimum count, it moves to the recruiter’s inbox; if not, your application gets declined.
To better explain, ATS or applicant tracking systems in HR tech include parsing software. Job boards use parsing software too. All applications go through these parsers on submission to get scanned for specific keywords that are or aren’t there. The total keyword ratio gets calculated in seconds, and resumes are flagged accordingly.
Confirming your resume has vital keywords, is parser-friendly, and showcases your value takes planning, which starts with a master truck driver resume.
Master resume for truck drivers
When you’re pushed for time, submitting a generic resume is tempting. The problem with generic resumes is they include all past and current work experience, meaning they’re full of irrelevant details. They don’t contain the right keywords, either.
The result? Parseres reject your generic resume immediately, and you never hear back.
Get around this by writing a job-specific truck driver skills resume for every job application. But, since starting from scratch each time is time-consuming, compiling a master trucking resume upfront makes it a breeze.
A master resume lets you make quick and accurate job applications every time. Keeping your master resume as a living document means there’s no delay when you see an amazing truck driver job opportunity.
To create a master resume, start with your current or most recent role and list all job responsibilities in detail. Continue in descending order, recording every driving job you’ve had. Add employer details, dates, and any significant achievements. Do the same with your education, courses, licenses, and certifications.
Save your master resume to an easily accessible folder with supporting documents.
Job-specific truck driver resumes
A job-specific resume is short and contains only the required driver skills and experience listed in the job post. Job-specific resumes are also known as targeted or tailored resumes.
To get your application spot-on, you must understand the job requirements and the company if you know who they are. You need to know what products you’ll be transporting, the travel distances, truck types, customers, etc.
You’ll get this type of info from job posts, potential employers’ websites, and social media pages. Taking time to do upfront research enhances your application, giving you an edge over other candidates. It’s also a great confidence booster in interviews and impresses the hiring team.
Before you start crafting your job-specific resume, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I have the required certifications and licenses?
- Do I have a clean driving record?
- Am I familiar with the distribution environment?
If the job matches your truck driver career ambitions, it’s time to write your truck driver responsibilities resume.
Recruiters and hiring managers only want to know if you meet the job requirements and nothing else. They’re not interested in any other experience you’ve got that’s irrelevant to the role. Their immediate focus is the skills, experience, and certifications/licenses resume sections.
Your task is convincing them that you meet their requirements. And that you can solve their problems by successfully filling their open vacancy. That’s what hiring teams are looking for – the best candidate for the job.
So, begin by comparing the job specifications with your master resume. Extract the skills, experience, and qualifications and see how well you compare. If you meet the most crucial requirements, start writing a job-specific resume, including keywords.
Remember, a job-specific or targeted resume only includes the criteria of the job ad. Exclude all skills, experience, and education irrelevant to the selection criteria.
Core responsibilities for a resume for truck drivers tend to remain the same, however, potential employers might use varied descriptions. Edit the words on your job-specific resume to match the ad, including the job title. This is how you ensure critical keywords get included throughout your job-specific trucker resume. Critically, keywords must be precise to get past the AI in ATS and job boards.
Finally, organize your truck driver responsibilities to match the hierarchy of the job post. Frequently, job duties are listed in order of importance and scored accordingly.
As a last word in this section, always be honest on your resume. During the interview stage, the details on your resume get verified. Any discrepancies will likely cost you the opportunity.
Format for a job-specific trucker resume
Usually, a reverse chronological format works best for a truck driver skills resume. Depending on your situation, a functional or functional format can work, too. If you’re unsure of the best layout, browse our resume templates library for a sample truck driver resume that suits you.
All resumes have mandatory and optional sections. Your resume must include the following sections:
- Education/courses
- Personal details
- Resume objective
- Skills
- Work experience
Optional sections depend on the job requirements or can be included if they’re relevant to the job and enhance your application. They include:
Not mentioned in a resume photo. That’s simply because including an image depends on the country where the potential employer is based. Generally, English-speaking countries in the West legislate against resume photos to prevent hiring bias. Across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America is more tricky, with some countries expecting resume images and others not. A quick online check on labor legislation in a country will guide you.
Use a black business-style font on a white background to write your resume. Include bullet points where necessary and have white space between sections. You want your truck driver resume to be reader-friendly, scannable, and saved in pdf format. A resume builder takes care of these things for you so that you can focus on quality content. That’s why it’s your best option.
Lastly, keep your trucking resume to one and no more than two pages. You want your potential to excite readers and land you on the interview list. Wordy, unrelated details are a waste of time and will likely see your resume binned.
Expert hint
Check out a few sample resume for truck driver with experience before you start making your resume. That way, you’ve got a clear picture of how to do it.
Sample truck driver resume
This truck driver resume sample pdf belongs to Craig Clarke, who’s chosen our blue Stanford truck driver resume template. Craig is an experienced driver whose resume focuses on driving experience and skills. Education is omitted and replaced with courses and certifications. Note that he includes a first aid course that’s unlikely specified in the job post but is very useful for a truck driver. The sample resume for truck driver with no experience belongs to Roy Penn. He has opted for our Oxford truck driver resume template etched with blue. Notice how Roy focuses on courses and certifications to compensate for lack of previous experience.
What to include in a trucking resume? Writing tips and examples
The job post dictates your truck driver job description for resume content.
Apart from personal information, contact details, and references, every section must include keywords. Parsers and readers spend the most time on skills and experience to see if you meet the job criteria.
Sometimes, non-essential details can strengthen your application, but ensure it relates directly to the job. For example, adding language skills to your resume can be beneficial. Restoring trucks in your spare time can be helpful, too, especially when it comes to maintaining your truck condition.
Carefully assess if optional enhancements, like impressive key accomplishments, add or take away from your application. Irrelevant things make a resume for truck drivers boring. On the other hand, too little detail can make you seem underqualified.
How to write a resume summary on a truck driver resume
A professional resume must have a truck driver resume summary as an opener.
Also known as a resume objective or personal profile, it summarizes your skills, experience, and qualifications related to the job. It’s a flash introduction to what readers can expect in your more detailed truck driver skills for resume applications.
Keep your resume summary relevant to the job description, use statistics, and quantify specifics for more impact. Ensure it contains vital keywords, is engaging, matches your resume, and makes an impact.
The truth is, this is your first and only opportunity to make a good impression. You have to get the reader’s attention immediately and keep them reading. Take time, write persuasively, express confidence, and use action verbs. If your resume summary is dull, hiring managers won’t continue reading and reject your resume.
Common action verbs include:
- Navigating
- Planning
- Organizing
- Repairing
- Scheduling
Don’t confuse a truck driver resume objective with a cover letter, though. Not every application needs a truck driver cover letter, but every trucker resume needs a resume objective.
Where a resume objective opens and is part of a job-specific resume, a cover letter is a separate, more detailed document. Anyone who reads the resume will see the summary statement. Whereas a separate, more elaborate cover letter only gets read by the person it addresses.
A resume objective has around 80 to 100 words. In contrast, a cover letter is approximately 300 to 400 words on a single page.
Cover letters can confuse ATS because they’re wordy, which can reduce keyword count, moving your resume down the candidate ranking. Therefore, only include a cover letter if the job post asks for one.
Truck driver resume objective statement examples
These two examples are typical for truck driver resumes. As a rule, a resume objective is used for inexperienced or novice drivers. For experienced drivers, it’s known as a resume summary.
Experienced truck driver resume summary
Dedicated truck driver, certified CDL-A OTR Driver with 10+ years of experience driving 15-ton freight truck hauling hazardous waste material cross-border. Clean record and professional experience across Central Europe and the United States, particularly the Pacific Northwest. Extensive knowledge of road signs, traffic conditions, alternative routes, and driving in adverse road conditions. Well-versed in national, international, and federal regulations regarding hazardous materials and cross-border trucking. Trips average 3-4 weeks on the road, including basic maintenance like checking radiator fluid and other minor repairs. Excellent rate of customer satisfaction and rehire rate. All visa, vaccination, and physical exam requirements are up-to-date.
Objective sample resume for truck driver with no experience
Keen, dedicated truck driver looking to gain OTR experience with logistics companies. Advanced driving skills, Certified CDL-A Driver for 2 years, and recently achieved Certified CDL-A OTR Driver status from trucking school. Previous experience as a local delivery driver driving commercial trucks with capacities ranging from 16 to 25 tons. Able to drive freight in FTL, LTL, and PTL categories. Experienced in driving in dangerous conditions, basic vehicle maintenance tasks, and keeping accurate logbook records. Immediately available and eager to join a professional trucking team with high company standards and an outstanding safety record.
Expert hint
Writing your truck driver resume objective once you’ve completed your job-specific resume is best. That way, you know the details it’s based on and can craft a brilliant trucker resume opener.
Skills to list on a truck driver resume
Skills are an essential section on your truck driving resume. It’s one of the first places parsers and recruiters visit to see if you can do the job. Soft skills are as important as technical skills, and you’ll find them listed in the job post.
Soft skills are personality traits or interpersonal skills that are characteristic or developed. A typical example is time management. Contentious people are naturally better at managing time. Others need to practice self-discipline and get some coaching to complete tasks in a timely fashion.
In contrast, technical skills are taught through education, training, and hands-on experience. Initial training develops into solid skills through practice and continuous use. For instance, when you first become a commercial driver, the common skill of customer schedules might seem challenging. Before long, however, destination per customer contract soon becomes a breeze.
The more years of professional experience you have, the more driving skills you’ll have. While all your skills must be on your master resume, a job-specific resume only has the relevant skills listed in the job post.
Typical truck driver resume skills include:
- Commercial motor vehicle
- Commercial truck driver
- Customer service skills
- Excellent customer service
- Organizational skills
- Safe driving record
- Strong work ethic
How to write work experience on a truck driver resume
The experience section of your resume for truck drivers is second only to the skills section regarding ATS and recruiters. It’s also the section that gets the most attention during the interviews.
Consequently, you must use this section to convince a potential employer that you’re the best driver and the obvious hire. The more compelling your resume, the sooner you’ll get an interview.
Many job seekers think the most experienced or cost-effective applicant gets the job, but that’s not true. In reality, it’s the first candidate most likely to succeed in the role that gets hired. Employers must fill jobs quickly, and employees who excel at what they do stay longer. This equates directly to team success and profitability.
Truck driver work experience for resume examples
These truck driver resume examples perfectly communicate current and previous work experience:
Truck driver description for resume example
- Making on-time deliveries to ensure the uninterrupted flow of supply chains.
- Extensive knowledge of efficient route planning based on size of load and content description, including devising alternative routes in case of adverse road conditions.
- Checking vehicle service repair status and the condition of emergency equipment.
- Doing basic vehicle maintenance tasks when necessary, like changing radiator fluid.
- Daily contact with supervisor and reporting issues with equipment to management.
- Maintaining daily driver log in compliance with company SOPs.
Novice driver work experience sample
- Bringing trucks into loading and taking signals from loading crew.
- Checking unloaded freight and ensuring crew assists in loading.
- Planning daily deliveries and verifying delivery time to ensure timely delivery.
- Delivering courteous service to maintain customer satisfaction history.
- Continuing safety record and zero tolerance of traffic violations per company policies.
Trucking school trainer work experience example
- Maintaining in-depth knowledge of national and international trucking industry standards, rules, regulations, and laws.
- Training new drivers per Department of Transportation curriculum, including CDL Transportation Truck Driver and Certified CDL-A Driver education.
- Driver education class in specialized vehicles, check vehicles, route to document weight, safe operating condition, truck condition, and miles per week.
- Introduction to billing statements, commercial accounts, company personnel policies, preserving company property, accurate logbook records, delivery tracking records, company regulations, to drive freight in adverse road conditions, and safely moving hazardous waste material.
Expert hint
Multiple people may read your resume, so make it easy to follow, comment on, and share. Make your trucking resume reader-friendly with clear business font, proper spacing, and bullet points.
How to list education on a truck driver resume
The driver resume education section features lower down as it’s less significant than your skills, certifications, and work experience.
There’s no prescribed education level, and you don’t need an academic degree or college degree. A high school diploma is adequate for entry. Then again, trucking part-time is the ideal gig while studying for an academic degree. The irregular hours are perfect for fitting in online classes and theory.
You can actually leave this section off your truck driver resume if you’re an experienced truckie and refer to your licenses and certifications instead.
If you want to include an education section, keep it uncomplicated and accurate. Only have school or academic projects relevant to the job; exclude results unless they’re phenomenal.
Always list education in descending order, starting with the most recent. Include the school or tertiary institution name, dates attended, and education level achieved.
Expert hint
Licensing and certifications are more critical for experienced drivers than education. Omit this section if the job post doesn’t mention education. You can elaborate during the interview process.
How to list courses and certificates on a truck driver resume
A commercial truck driver resume must have a section for courses and certifications, as many of these are mandatory qualifications.
Keep this section straightforward and in the same format as the education section. Start with the most recent qualification and continue in descending order. List the trucking school or institution name, date achieved, and qualification.
Verifications and non-driving courses can be included in this section as well, such as a clean driving record and a first aid course.
Key takeaways on building a professional truck driving resume
So there we have it!
You now know how to make your resume stand out from the average truck driver resume to win jobs with your flawless driving record.
Let’s recap the most crucial resume tips to land you that killer trucker job.
- Create a detailed master resume upfront.
- Read job adverts thoroughly before applying.
- Research the company before applying.
- Match the job criteria to your master resume.
- Compile a job-specific resume tailored to the role.
- Use the exact job title on your resume.
- Limit your resume to no more than two pages.
- Use the right resume template to showcase your talents.
- Proofread and re-check your resume before submission.
- For absolute professionalism, use a resume builder.
- If in doubt, opt for a professional resume-writing service.
Next steps
You’ve got the licenses, certifications, and other trucking credentials. All that stands between you and those fantastic job opportunities is an awesome truck driving resume. Of course, you can find plenty of free resume examples and layouts online, but you’ve got to do the work editing it. And you don’t even know if it’s a modern-looking ATS-friendly resume.
Another option is selecting a perfect resume template from our library of truck driver resume samples.
What if you don’t like your choice?
No problem - you can change templates with a single click. In the end, you get a spectacular resume in minutes. Our resume templates also come in various colors that complement your style.
Make a stunning first impression on ATS and recruiters with CVMaker resume templates.
Resume writing service
Most truckers aren’t keen on things like resume writing; it’s not their core competency. Why not give it a professional touch by using our expert team of resume writers? They’re just a click away.
Let our resume writers take your truck driver resume skills and make it brilliant. A professionally crafted trucking resume is like cruising an open highway to career success. Click Resume Writing Service on the CVMaker website now.
What are the duties of a truck driver for resume purposes?
Besides being licensed and certified to drive trucks and having delivery and load-related experience, truck drivers have no standard duties. Depending on the industry and job requirements, individual job responsibilities are drawn from a vast range of tasks. These include minor repairs, complying with safety standards, and maintaining an accurate driver log and comprehensive delivery documents.
What does a truck driver resume look like?
A perfect truck driver resume should be no more than one page. It must only contain your skills and relevant experience that matches the job requirements. A commercial truck driver has many duties and carries a lot of responsibilities, but to get onto the interview list, only include what details from the post.
What is a good objective for a truck driver resume?
Your truck driver resume objective must be a summary of your resume content. It must contain keywords taken from the job post. You also want to use adjectives that describe you. For example, “focused, safe driver with a solid track record …” Your objective is an introduction to tell readers what to expect from your trucker resume.
Are there specific resume truck driver skills?
Truck drivers must have certifications, such as Certified CDL-A Driver or Certified CDL-A OTR Driver. They must also have a clean record relating to driving and safety regulations. Basic vehicle maintenance, use of emergency equipment, route planning and navigation, and load and delivery knowledge are essential.