Writing the Perfect Truck Driving Resume

Most people feel stressed out searching for the right job in any field. Being confident and organized between jobs isn’t easy. The trucking field is no exception. The transportation agency is very stable which means companies aren’t constantly hiring. In your driver job search, you’ll face some tough competition. However, if you present the right resume as soon as possible, you’ll be one step ahead of the game.

You might find organizing the content and layout of a truck driving resume challenging. Some people even feel so overwhelmed by the technical aspect of word processing software that they choose to hire a professional resume writer.

Although, driver recruiters usually just skim over applications to find people that best match the driving qualifications. You want to make sure the relevant information is easily visible. Fancy colors and font don’t necessarily help you.

CSS receives dozens of applications a week. We throw out the spam and unqualified candidates. Then, it’s another chore to sort the applications by their location, experience, and licensing. If any information is missing or disorganized, it makes the process difficult for everyone in involved.

Today, you’re going to learn how to craft and distribute the best kind of resume to attach to your next truck driver application. You don’t need to spend money on a writer or be a master wordsmith yourself. You do, however, need to include some basic information in an easy to follow format. Then, be sure to proofread and review for simple grammar and spelling.

You’re already an awesome truck driver. Now you have to articulate your skills and work history clearly to make you stand out from the crowd.

4 Key Features of a Powerful Trucking Resume

Writing a trucker resume is easy if you sort the information into these four major parts:

(1) – Includes Brief Cover Letter

Cover letters are one to two paragraph summaries of your career intentions and objectives that applicants usually attached as separate documents.

Some truck driver job sites might want you to submit it with your resume while others want it in another field. If they want it as separate upload, make sure to title the file with your name and the phrase “cover letter”. This labeling will help the recruiter in putting the two documents together.

In a cover letter, you want to state the position you’re applying, what makes you qualified, and a brief history of your past jobs. Then, end with a thank you line and the best way to contact you.

Even though you’re probably applying digitally, you should write a cover letter in the form of an actual letter with a professional greeting and salutation line. If you can, you also ought to address the recruiter by name.

Since cover letters should very brief, stick to one paragraph about your career goals and objectives and then another that describes your trucking skills and job history.

Some applicants include photos of themselves at the start of their cover letter. It’s always a good idea to personalize your application while remaining professional.

Remember that cover letters are usually optional for truck driver job postings. Still, any effort above and beyond what’s required is noticed by the employer. To save time, you should create one general document and simply manipulate a few lines as needed for each application.

(2) – Highlights of Your Trucking Experience

The next section of your truck driving resume should include a detailed list of your relevant work history. To keep things simple, create subtitles that include each job title, employer, and the years you worked. Then under each one, create 3-5 bullet points that summarize your main functions and achievements under those positions.

Think of this section as your “highlight reel” or the “best hits album” of your career. If you worked fifteen different jobs over the ten years of your professional life, you probably wouldn’t be able to fit them all on the paper and still do justice in explaining them. You can roll over into a second page, but that’s far from ideal. Try to pick the most important positions you’ve had within the last five years. When you apply for a driver job, you don’t need to include a part-time job you had at your college library or your recent experience working at a pizza joint. Prioritize including commercial trucking jobs first (even if they aren’t recent chronologically in your professional life). If you worked for Uber or as a school bus driver, list those next. Finally, if you have space, list any other non-driver positions you may have held.

(3) – Provides References

If you include a reference section, it will make it much easier for us to follow up with your previous employer to confirm information and process onboarding paperwork. List the names, position titles, and contact numbers for each of your most recent supervisors. Make sure you have their permission before using their personal numbers. Otherwise, you can include their office number.

While not required, it’s even better if you arrange to get a reference letter from a previous fleet manager or dispatcher. This document is a formal written letter that is addressed to potential employers and details your skills and successes in a few paragraphs. Usually, it’s physically signed and dated by the person at the end, just like a real letter.

Most driver job vacancies don’t ask for these references letters, but, again, if you go the extra mile, you’ll always get priority in the application process.

(4) – Beautifully Designed Template

Above are the three main sections you’ll want to include in a truck driving resume. Once you’ve drafted out all the information for them, the next step is deciding how you’ll want to present it. Just haphazardly typing it all out might not be useful. Good employers will be able to read and make sense of it. However, you want to try and format the information so that it catches the eye of the reader.

You can try experimenting with different fonts and heading titles for your resume sections, but it’s way easier to start with a template. While a Microsoft Office subscription costs around $70 a year, Word already has several templates built into the program. For the best free templates, check out the many Google Doc resume templates. Take some time to search key terms like “truck driver resume templates”. You’ll be amazed at all the colorful and creative samples you’ll find.

When you find a workable resume template, it’s just a matter of copy and pasting your information into the right places.

Your main objective is selling yourself as a truck driver. If you’re an amazing driver, you still will have competition from the broader pool of candidates. Your presentation and drive for success always indicate you are a serious applicant and a dedicated professional.

Distributing Your Truck Driver Resume

After you’ve organized your information and formatted it an easy-to-follow resume template, you need to plan how you’ll distribute it throughout the trucking industry.

Most companies prefer online submissions and no longer accept snail mail applications. If you know of a decent company around you, you visit their website directly and review their application process.

Although, by that method, you won’t necessarily know if they currently have truck driving job openings. If you familiarize yourself with a few major job search websites, you’ll easily find ad postings that target your qualifications.

Here are a few programs transportation companies often use to find qualified drivers:

Indeed

Indeed is the most popular job posting site on the web. It’s very easy to set up a profile and start importing information into a digital resume. From the homepage, you’ll want to type in specific keyword phrases like “commercial truck driver”, “CDL driver”, and “trucking jobs”. Then, you can choose to filter your search by location, job type, and salary range. Indeed lets you save jobs for later, allows employers to message you within the program, and gives you email updates on new related postings.

Critical Supply Solutions Inc primarily uses Indeed to post driver job ads. Under the “advanced job search” option, you can search our company name to see all the active jobs we have posted.

As a downside to Indeed, it blocks employers from seeing the applicants email and instead creates a unique Indeed address that works with their messaging tool. Most of the time, we can communicate with driver applicants just fine, but, eventually, we’ll need your preferred email to move forward with the onboarding process.

Monster

The website Monster is very similar to Indeed, but it has a very slightly different interface and search algorithm. They also have a massive library of career resources, like interview tips and salary guides.

Unfortunately, Monster is not free for employers to post openings. While this weeds out most scams, it limits your searches to mostly more established transportation companies and recruiters. If you’re not a very experienced driver, you’ll have a harder time finding the right job through Monster.

Driver Pulse

Driver Pulse is by far the simplest program to navigate to find truck driver job postings. It’s made by the Tenstreet, the program that most trucking companies use to process driver information. You don’t even need to create an account. Just sign in as a guest and start searching for jobs by position (company driver, owner operator, or team) and location.

Tenstreet has published a mobile app version that visually the same as the desktop version. You can install it on either an Apple or Android phones, or directly on many ELD devices.

Search “Critical Supply Solutions” in the Driver Pulse app to find our profile for details on all our current driver positions.

Social Media

Believe it or not, Facebook is increasingly becoming popular as a business platform for transportation and logistics companies. Company profiles can post jobs that you can find by typing terms like “truck driver jobs” in Facebook’s main search bar (where you would also type to find friends and pages you follow). You’ll also find countless Facebook groups, both private and public, that truckers use to network and connect with each other. Modern companies will post information, links, and media on their Facebook account at least once a week. You can get an idea of a trucking company’s culture by reading over their Facebook feed. If you have any questions, try chatting directly with the company through their page’s messenger.

Connect with us on our Facebook for the latest news and job opportunities.

For a more business-oriented social media, set up a quick profile on Linkedin and start searching top trucking companies to see which are hiring now. Your employer now might have a Linkedin profile. By connecting to their network, you’ll appear in more searches related to your field and look more professional in your online presence.

We recently created our company Linkedin page and are accepting driver applications and clients for transportation needs.

We hope you found this post helpful for your truck driver job search. If you’re an experienced driver, we’re always looking for new applicants across the country. Feel free to message us on our website’s chat program or through Facebook. If you’re confident and have the time, fill out the information on our Tenstreet application link.

We look forward to hearing from you!