Contemporary Truck Driver Resume Examples and Templates for 2023

Contemporary Truck Driver Text-Only Resume Examples

Years of Experience

Tips for Writing a Better Contemporary Truck Driver Resume

To build a compelling truck driver resume, you need to highlight your career accomplishments. This can often be difficult for commercial driving professionals because a daily delivery may sometimes feel like simply a routine task. The key to crafting a strong resume is recognizing the value you bring to the organizations you work for and framing your job responsibilities as achievements. For example, you may want to draw attention to the monetary value of the shipments, the number of hours you drove, or your on-time delivery rate. This exercise will provide a sense of scope to your commercial truck driving experience for the reader and maximize your chances of landing the interview. Below, you’ll find some expert tips to help you craft an accomplishment-driven resume.

1. Highlight your CDL license and certifications

Without a doubt, the most important aspect to feature on your resume is your CDL license. This is the first thing the hiring manager will look for, and as such, you’ll want to include this directly in your professional profile. In addition to the Class A CDL, which is the gold standard for commercial truck drivers, you may want to consider obtaining additional endorsements for your license. For example, getting a Hazmat (H) endorsement will certify you to transport large shipments of hazardous materials and may open a career path toward higher-paying job opportunities. In the example below, the job seeker has obtained numerous endorsements, which should provide them with a significant edge over the competition.

2. Quantify your commercial truck driver experience

Incorporating numbers and metrics from your career into your resume can significantly enhance the impact of your bullet points. For employers, your on-time delivery rate will likely be the most important metric to include, but there are other opportunities to quantify your truck driving experience. In the example below, the job seeker showcases an achievement where they could optimize route planning for their company, which generated significant cost savings. Regardless of the scale of your accomplishments, it’s important to frame your bullet points proactively emphasizing your ability to create value for your employers.

3. Feature your knowledge of safety regulations

Another important aspect of your experience hiring managers will be looking for is your knowledge of OSHA and DOT safety regulations. When operating vehicles with heavier capacities, the risk of safety issues increases significantly. Data indicates that there were over 4,842 fatal accidents in 2020, which was an 18% increase from 2011. In the example below, the candidate highlights their experience in performing vehicle inspections and safely operating larger truck models. They also draw attention to their background in hazardous materials handling, which may help to differentiate them from other candidates during the job search.

Key Skills Hiring Managers Look for on Contemporary Truck Driver Resumes

Employers rely on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to identify qualified candidates during the hiring process. To ensure your document meets the necessary criteria of the ATS scan, you’ll want to incorporate specific keywords from the job description into your resume. Although some may be obvious, such as Class A CDL License or OSHA safety, others may be less clear. Below, you’ll find a list of keywords that you may encounter over the course of your job search:

Common Action Verbs for Contemporary Truck Driver Resumes

You may find that you begin to run short on action verbs during the resume-building process. Identifying alternative vocabulary to describe an achievement or job responsibility may be difficult in some cases. Incorporating a mix of action verbs can help keep your content fresh and enhance the overall reading experience for the hiring manager. Below, you’ll find a list of action verbs you can use to improve the quality of your bullet points:

How to Align Your Contemporary Truck Driver Resume With the Job Description

Now that you’ve seen examples of how to write a contemporary truck driver resume, you need to tailor your document to the job description. Pay close attention to the types of trucks you’ll be operating in the new position, and be sure to mention your experience driving and maintaining them in your bullet points. If the organization emphasizes its safety culture, you may want to include your knowledge of OSHA standards directly in your professional profile. The key to grabbing the hiring manager’s attention is to feature the most relevant aspects of your commercial driving experience as close as possible to the top of your document. Aligning your resume with the needs of individual employers will go a long way in securing your next interview.