It often feels that truck drivers have a special selection process or that their job application process is different from others. Of course, there is a difference in skill set when it comes to truck drivers versus any office worker. However, the very process of looking for a job is the same.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, pegs the average
truck driver’s salary
at $48,310 per year and $23.23 per hour.
A truck driver looking for entry level trucking jobs or a professional changing a place of work should have a truck driver resume. In its turn, it should meet resume writing requirements and industry standards to get more interviews. A good truck driver resume example not only shows a candidate as a professional but also builds their image, combining their expertise and people skills.
To land a job, every truck driver should prove they can handle difficult situations on the road in a timely and efficient manner. Also, they should be responsible and dependable. Excellent discipline and work ethics should be the key characteristics of a successful truck driver applicant.
Should you feel uncertain about your existing resume, we suggest that you should take a look at our truck driver resume examples. Our writers and career advice experts worked hard to craft a winning resume so that you know how to improve your driver resume according to the recent trends.
How to Write a Truck Driver Resume
If you hesitate about your truck driver resume sample, spare some time to work on it. Our job-winning tips on how to write a resume for a truck driver should help you with that:
- Carefully study truck driver job description for resume. You can find most of the answers there. Keywords, job requirements, key skills, and so on are all listed in job descriptions. Even if you do not plan to land a particular truck driving job, having several job descriptions at hand is very helpful.
- Make sure your resume is not repetitive. We are used to seeing chronological resumes where all employments are listed in order and described. Inexperienced truck drivers have nothing to write there. The experienced ones, on the contrary, have plenty of quite similar information for each place of employment. Therefore, choose the functional format for your truck driver resumes. Focus on skills and accomplishments rather than timeframes.
- Add keywords and action verbs. Like any other resume, a good sample of truck driver resume will be full of keywords and action verbs. Remember that you have to use them naturally in the text for it to stand out and make it through the applicant tracking process.
- Write down only the most relevant information. A great truck driver resume does not take more than two pages. Recruiters prefer one-page resumes even more.
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Write a Truck Driver Resume Summary or Summary Objective
The resume summary section is one of the most important sections in a truck driver resume sample. This is the place where you can describe yourself as a professional and a person. Moreover, a hiring manager often judges candidates in the first 8 seconds of reading their resumes. If you fail to write a great truck driver resume objective, you may lose a competition.
To write a good truck driver description for yourself, you need to combine your key skills, accomplishments, and future career goals in a few sentences. Do not tell too much about yourself but make sure it describes who you are.
A good resume objective for a truck driver reads as follows:
A confident and experienced driver looking for entry level truck driver jobs to get new experience and contribute to the logistics success of prospective employers. Skilled in basic vehicle maintenance and troubleshooting as well as trained in first aid and basic life support.
How to Write a Resume for a Truck Driver with No Experience
If you are only starting your career path, you may feel lost since you have no experience to mention in your truck driver resume sample. In that case, you might fear that your resume looks empty and simple. However, it’s not a problem.
Your resume is not only about your past. It is also about your present and future. If you have no career resources to mention, write about your career goals and expectations. Help recruiters understand you better.
For example, a great truck driver resume no experience will contain a section where you list things you are ready to do for an employer to help their business. Read the job description and think about what skills you have that allow you to become an outstanding truck driver.
After all, a truck driver is not about experiences only. This job requires discipline, physical endurance, dependability, and time management to be good at it. Turn your career gaps and a lack of experience into a weakness that you admit and are willing to improve.
A truck driver no experience can get employed if they use their soft skill set to influence recruiters and managers. People hire humans, and they look for human virtues in each of us.
In case you need a more detailed answer, we'd recommend reading this article: 8 Super Powerful Techniques How to Write a Resume With No Experience.
Put Your Education on Resume for a Truck Driver
A higher education diploma or a college certificate is not usually required from a truck driver. Instead, a well-written truck driver resume should contain information that can highlight your driving competence and skills. For example, if you have any professional training or courses that can help you handle vehicle maintenance, improve your map reading skills, or teach you to deal with fatigue, they need to be added to your education section.
Any licenses including your driver’s license should be placed in your sample truck driver resume as well. However, remember that this information must be relevant to the job description.
If you do have a college diploma that is irrelevant to driving, mention it in passing. If your diploma makes you a specialist in Mechanical Engineering, Heavy Equipment, Electronics, etc., this can be an advantage. The employer will see that you can handle small issues on the road easily thanks to your background knowledge.
Put Skills on a Truck Driver Resume
You must be especially cautious when you talk about truck drivers skills. Putting skills in your resume should be done thoroughly. Start by reading the job description in front of you. Highlight the truck driving skills you find there. Then, think of the context to put them in your resume.
Since you need to create a bot-beating resume, this is the time to make your resume ATS-friendly. Truck drivers skills will be scanned as keywords in your resume. Therefore, you must use them as organically and naturally as possible to make your text flow while passing the ATS.
Should you have trouble thinking what keywords qualify the most, the must-have truck driver skills resume should contain are the following:
- Safe driving
- Concentration and focus
- Mechanical knowledge
- Cleanliness and order
- Responsibility and dependability
- Communication and listening skills
- Organizational skills
- Safety and health
- Vehicle repair skills
- Time management
- Critical thinking
- Problem solving
- Analytical skills
- Adaptability
- Collaboration
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Visit this page if you want to know more about resume tips for crafting your perfect resume.
Add Contact Info to Your Resume
A truck driver sample resume is no different from any other resume in terms of contact information and its importance. Contact information is the key line in your driver resume because if you make a mistake in it, you’ll have no one to blame for a lack of response from recruiters.
Therefore, put your address, phone number, and email in your sample truck driver resume. Let your recruiters decide whichever way is best for them to reach out to you. If you hesitate about data security, do not leave your home address. Instead, mention only your city and state.
Add Other Sections to Your Effective Resume
A great sample resume truck driver can include such sections as community involvement or volunteer experience. If you have some interesting facts to share, do mention them in a separate section. It will prove that you are a communicative and people-oriented person.
Also, if you have served in the military, mention that in your resume sample truck driver. The army has always been associated with physical endurance and discipline. Those skills are useful for drivers as well.
Regardless of all rules and standards, your resume is your document. You, as an author, make a final decision on what to include in it. There are a few details that you can include to show that you are a perfect truck driver for a job. For example, some people prefer to mention their hobbies and interests or name the church they attend.
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Add Cover Letter to Your Truck Driver Resume
Unfortunately, many applicants feel reluctant when it comes to cover letter writing. It’s indeed time-consuming but it is never a waste of time. Your cover letter is the first thing recruiters see. It definitely helps to build a stronger applicant profile.
A good sample for truck driver undoubtedly contains a cover letter. There is no reason you should reject this extra opportunity to influence recruiters and make them decide in your favor.
A cover letter is less formal compared to a resume. You can get more personal concerning issues that, in your opinion, need additional explanation. For example, you can describe certain specific skills that you have and that you believe will be useful in the position. You can explain career gaps and other issues that may be left unclear in the resume.
In addition, a sample truck driver resume cover letter can help you focus recruiters’ attention on the things you believe are meaningful. You can stress your experience or personal skills, highlight your driver’s licenses or emphasize the education you have.
Also, a resume truck driver sample with a cover letter is perceived as a more professional way to apply for a job. In other words, whether you have experience or not, a well-written cover letter will explain your career goals far better than a one-page formal resume.
Use Key Action Verbs
Truck driving resumes are no different from the resumes of any other specialists. You still have to impress your readers with your professionalism and personal qualities. To do that, you have to use action verbs and resume keywords. The first makes your resume sound stronger, the latter helps it get through ATS bots.
For example, ‘succeeded in logistics and map reading’ sounds better than ‘drove safely according to the approved route.’ Do not be afraid to be at the center of everyone’s attention. It’s your resume and you are trying to sell your skills. Market yourself as an achiever and initiator.
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Professional Delivery Driver Resume Sample
The difference between a professional truck driver resume and a truck driver no experience resume is in the fact that the first tells about the driver’s competencies based on existing accomplishments while another relies on skills as prerequisites of future endeavors.
As a professional, you have to make sure your resume sends the right message. Check our sample of a truck driver resume. It is written to list truck drivers skills and tell how good the author was at their practical application. With the right keywords here and there and key career highlights separated from the rest of the sections, this job application is powerful enough to secure the desired job.
This sample resume for a truck driver also reflects that the author invested in their career by taking professional courses and gaining a formal degree. At the same time, the fact that the author had time to engage in community and volunteer activities proves that they know about work-life balance.
The more achievements you have to highlight, the better. However, be realistic and reasonable and try to understand the hiring managers. They look for the ideal person for a job and judge based on professionalism and relevant skills.
And one more tip: should you have any problem in your writing business, do not ever hesitate to get professional help.
Our resume writing service online can help you in case you are not sure about your writing skills. It's easy to use and guarantees fast delivery.
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