You’ve read all the stories about perceived truck driver shortages and think the great pay and flexibility might be a good fit for your career goals, so what’s the next step? Commercial trucking jobs very rarely require a resume, but a great resume can give you the edge to land the job that you want.
Tips for Writing Your Trucking Resume
Before the digital age, a resume served primarily as a summary of your work experience and capabilities. Today, it also functions as a digital tool to make you and your job history easily searchable. A well-crafted resume, rich with the right keywords and relevant job descriptions, helps recruiters quickly assess your qualifications and determine if you're a good fit for the position.
Resume Writing Tips for Truck Drivers
- Be honest - Lying on your resume will only backfire. If you lie about your education or certifications, you will be asked to do tasks that you’re not able to do. You may be fired as a result.
- Use consistent formatting - Format your resume so that it’s easy to read. Use fonts like Ariel, Calibri, or Times New Roman. Divide your resume into sections like work experience, relevant skills, education, and certifications and licenses.
- Use action statements - When describing what you did at your past job, use action words like ‘drove’, ‘measured’, 'operated', and ‘delivered’. This shows the recruiter exactly what you did at your previous job in clear terms.
- Have an objective statement or a resume summary - Start your resume with a bit about yourself that tells the recruiter who you are, what job you’re looking for, and your best qualities. You can also tell them your best work-related accomplishment in this section to make you stand out from other candidates.
- Only use relevant information - Try not to include information that isn’t relevant to the job you’re applying for, like jobs that you held over 10 years ago, hobbies that don’t relate to the position you’re applying for, or pictures of yourself.
- Demonstrate measurable results - When describing your work experience, use phrases that tell the recruiter what you improved. For example, say: “I drove 600 more miles per week” to demonstrate your ability to go above and beyond and make you a more appealing candidate.
Truck Driver Resume Template
Ready to write your own resume? We’ve provided a sample truck driver resume here for your reference. Once you’ve polished your resume and you’re ready to put it to work, DriverWave can help you find trucking jobs near you to apply for.