6 Truck Driver Resume Examples & Writing Guide

Truck driver resume template (text format)

Job-specific truck driver resume examples

To provide you with some inspiration when writing your own resume, we’ve put together several job-specific resume examples for a variety of truck driving jobs.

CDL driver resume

Driving commercial vehicles is a big responsibility — they’re some of the most dangerous vehicles on the road. This CDL driver resume example shows you how to prove you can handle them:

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CDL driver resume example highlights

• Graduated in a relevant program: This applicant’s education section makes it clear that they’ve not only relevant work experience, but they also have a strong foundation because they’ve studied transportation and logistics in class. This could be the deciding factor for employers.
• Has a short resume objective: Resume objectives are normally 3–5 sentences long, but this one is much shorter, letting the applicant have more space to describe their work accomplishments, skills, and licenses.

Tow truck driver resume

When applying for tow truck driver positions, your resume needs to quickly demonstrate to employers that you have driving skills, mechanical knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and customer service skills. For example:

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Tow truck driver resume highlights

• Relevant technical expertise: The resume emphasizes technical skills that are crucial for tow truck drivers, like using GPS, conducting roadside services like fuel delivery, lockout resolution, battery testing, etc.
• No obvious fluff: Every point included seems relevant to tow truck driving without any extraneous or generic statements, allowing it to be impactful while still concise.

Dump truck driver resume

This dump truck driver resume sample provides a helpful reference to guide you when writing your own resume:

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Dump truck driver resume example highlights

• Emphasis on safety: Safety is critical for dump truck drivers. This resume highlights the candidate’s safe driving record and knowledge of safety protocols and regulations.
• Concise opening summary: The resume’s introduction effectively summarizes the candidate’s relevant experience and key skills in just a couple of sentences.

Flatbed truck driver resume

Our flatbed truck driver resume example provides a framework you can use to craft an effective resume:

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Flatbed truck driver resume example highlights

• Quantified achievements: The bullet points contain impressive metrics like “over 3,000 deliveries” and “100% accurate daily pay/time sheets.” These help demonstrate the candidate’s productivity and reliability.
• Includes relevant education: While formal education may not be required, including an associate’s degree in a related field enhances the candidate’s credibility.

OTR driver resume

Our OTR driver resume example shows you how your own resume can tell employers you can drive coast to coast safely and on-time:

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OTR driver resume example highlights

• Uses an eye-catching design: Each section header on this resume uses white text on a black background, helping them stand out to employers.
• Specifies distances traveled: OTR drivers spend their time driving the country, so their mileage is important for employers to know. This driver states they drive 2,500 miles per week, indicating a lot of experience.

Average truck driver salaries in the US

The following table includes information from O*NET Resource Center by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license, this data is pulled from the most recent US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment & Earnings report (as of 10/16/2024), featuring the top states by use.

How to write a truck driver resume

We’ve put together this writing guide to help you land your next truck driving job.

1. Highlight your strengths in your resume summary

The main goal of a resume summary is to introduce yourself to a company and emphasize what you can offer to help them achieve their goals. As a truck driver, one of the best ways to help your resume stand out and encourage the hiring manager to keep reading is by writing a resume summary that highlights your certifications, truck driving experience, and safety record.

Here are some examples to help you write your own:

2. Describe your work experience in a compelling way

When you write your work experience section, avoid using boring phrases such as “responsible for” or “tasked with.”

Instead, use action verbs to describe your accomplishments and work-related responsibilities. This helps give the hiring manager or recruiter a better understanding of exactly how you contributed to your last company.

For truck drivers, you’ll want to use action verbs in bullet points that are synonymous with logistics, driving, safety, time, and teamwork. Here’s an example of three work experience bullet points, with the action verbs highlighted:

• Ensure 95% on-time deliveries. Coordinate with management to carefully plan alternative routes to avoid congested traffic conditions and mitigate safety concerns.
• Reviewed and organized stock inventory before each departure, correcting log mistakes and errors.
• Adhered to and trained novice drivers on all organizational, DOT, and OSHA rules and guidelines regarding handling of hazardous waste materials. Develop company SOPs for accidents and emergencies.

Additionally, we’ve included a list of other truck driver-friendly actions verbs below:

Also, you should quantify your responsibilities in past jobs wherever possible, like this:

• Operated a 53-foot refrigerated trailer to transport perishable goods, safely covering an average of 120,000 miles annually
• Consistently achieved a 97% on-time delivery rate while maintaining strict adherence to HOS regulations and company safety policies
• Trained 5 new drivers, ensuring a smooth onboarding process and helping them achieve a 92% on-time delivery rate within their first 6 months

Here are some other hard data points you can include in your work experience section:

• Miles driven
• On-time delivery rate
• Fuel efficiency gains
• Safety record
• Years of driving experience
• Loads delivered
• Regions covered
• Customer satisfaction ratings
• Efficiency improvements
• Regulatory compliance
• Training and mentorship
• Paperwork accuracy

3. Include relevant truck driver skills

Truck drivers need a range of technical skills to do their jobs well.

Here are a handful of important truck driver skills to list on your resume:

• Vehicles: Proficiency in operating various types of commercial trucks, such as tractor-trailers, flatbeds, tankers, and box trucks.
• Technical: How to do basic vehicular repairs, like oil and tire changes and engine maintenance
• Physical: The ability to lift, stretch, and do physical activities.
• Inventory Mmanagement: The ability to organize, log and store inventory that you’re hauling. Multiple deliveries can happen on a single trip. It’s important to only drop off the relevant materials for each customer. Losing items = loss of money and reputation.
• Logistics: Using GPS, maps, and routing software to plan efficient and safe routes, considering factors like traffic, weather, and road conditions.
• Customer service: The ability to resolve client disputes in a polite manner
• Clean driving record: Logistics companies only want to hire drivers that are careful and attentive while on the road. If there’s an accident, it ruins that company’s reputation.
• Safety compliance: Thorough understanding of and strict adherence to DOT regulations, hours of service (HOS) rules, and company safety policies.
• Vehicle maintenance: Knowledge of basic vehicle maintenance, including pre-trip and post-trip inspections, tire checks, and fluid level monitoring.
• Defensive driving: Proficiency in defensive driving techniques to minimize risks and ensure safe vehicle operation in various conditions.
• Freight handling: Truck drivers need to be able to safely load, unload, and secure freight using proper techniques and equipment.
  Hazardous materials handling (if applicable): Ability to safely handle and transport hazardous materials according to regulations.
• Time management: Excellent time management skills are necessary to meet tight delivery deadlines while complying with regulations and maintaining a safe driving record.

4. Highlight your certifications

Logistics companies will want to know that they’re hiring truck drivers with the proper certifications and licenses.

As a truck driver your most important certification will be your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). You’ll want to list your CDL, along with which class it is (A, B, or C) under a dedicated certifications section, like this:

Additional resources

Are you still a student or considering a career change and curious about the different paths you can take to become a truck driver? Take a look at this video by truck driver Inji Rodriguez:

@injirodriguezI try to answer as many questions as I can but it’s hard. hopefully this video finds anyone who needs it!♬ original sound – Inji Rodriguez

Resume examples for different industries

Not sure what your resume should look like? The best way to learn is by taking inspiration from resume examples written by other candidates in your industry.

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