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Building The Perfect Resume
from Driving Job Network's Electronic News, March 2000
When I was asked to write this article, my first thought was, "Oh, I know how to write resumes! No problem!" See, I'm a professional wordsmith; writing resumes is a sideline of my business, and I've written scores of them over the years.

Then I realized that I hadn't ever written a resume for a professional driver. How different could it be? Luckily, I found several seasoned pros to talk with about this rather specialized crowd. Here's what I came up with:

  1. A well-written objective is critical for a driver's resume! Many recruiters say that resumes aren't a standard recruiting tool; they rely on phone calls from drivers who see advertisements and flyers in magazines and truck stops. But recruiters also said that a resume with a specific objective would IMMEDIATELY catch their attention! For example...

    OBJECTIVE: Driver with twelve years' experience seeks position with established company for routes in Pacific Northwest; am willing to work three weeks per month.

  2. Try to avoid that hackneyed old phrase "responsibilities included"! Replace it with on-the-job accomplishments. There are lists of action verbs that can be used to make a resume sparkle. Check out the one here.

  3. Though functional resumes are widely used in other industries, they really aren't appropriate for the transportation industry. You need to provide complete career history in chronological order for at least the last ten years.

  4. How to deal with gaps in employment? Talk about what you were doing, as gracefully as possible. You MUST NOT leave gaps on a resume for a driving job. Account for every time period, whether you were unemployed, pregnant, disabled, or whatever… it MUST be documented. Note that you may be asked for income tax statements to back your story if you are asked to apply or interview for a job. If you were doing anything valuable (even if unpaid) during those so-called "gaps", add THAT into the work-history section of your resume to fill the hole. Some examples...

    1993-95 Primary caregiver for elderly parent
    1992-94 Maternity leave and family management
    1995-99 Full-time student and travel/study
    1990-96 Family management plus volunteer work at PTA and Youth Group

  5. If including ALL of your jobs for the last 10 years would mean creating a 5-page resume, cover just the most recent ones on the first page or two (NEVER let your resume run past two pages!) You might also wish to add a note at the TOP of your Career History section: "Complete job history attached". Your one-page attachment need not include more than company name, dates of employment, contact name and phone, but it MUST COVER each time period for at least the last 10 years.

  6. What's the biggest turnoff for a prospective employer? A resume that makes you look like you never contributed anything of value to your company! Take a moment to look at this great survey on why resumes fail.

  7. Whenever possible, fill your resume with "PAR" statements. PAR stands for Problem- Action-Results. First, state the problem that existed in your workplace, then describe what you did about it, and finally point out the beneficial results. For example...

    Transformed a disorganized, inefficient garage into a smooth-running operation by redesigning the working area; this freed up valuable space and enabled the owner to service 10 additional vehicles per week.

  8. If your job title doesn't reflect your true level of responsibility, don't replace it with a more appropriate title ("Office Manager" instead of "Administrative Assistant"). Instead, use your understated title AND your more accurate one together, like this: "Administrative Assistant (Office Manager)".

  9. If you have had only one employer for 20 or 30 years, list each different position you held there separately, so your advancement within the company is more obvious.

  10. NEVER list date of birth, religion, race, height, weight, health status, or marital status on your resume. Don't include hobbies on a resume unless the activity is somehow relevant to your job objective, or clearly reveals a characteristic that supports your job objective. For example, a hobby of boating, with emphasis on safety and carefully followed procedures, might be relevant to a driving position.

  11. Don't exaggerate. Streamline where appropriate, but never make claims you can't back up--and that includes degrees and salary (companies can check both).

  12. If you're an owner-operator, include information on your truck and equipment, including its make, age, mileage, and wheelbase.

  13. Remember to mention your endorsements. Additionally, mention the states you have operated in, and the types of equipment you have pulled or used. Don't mention your driving record unless it is SPOTLESS. This is not the forum to discuss your history, or explain accidents that were not your fault.

  14. Though it seems obvious, have your resume written or edited by somebody who knows what they're doing. Even the best spell-checker and grammar editor programs miss things all the time! It's best if you have a professional resume designer help you create your resume, cover letter, and list of references, plus a thank-you letter (to send AFTER the interview). A clean, consistent package can be VERY impressive to a prospective employer! Use white or cream linen or laid paper, and make sure you have the same paper stock for all pieces of your resume package.

  15. Professionally typeset or printed at home? Today's personal-use printers are eons more sophisticated than their predecessors. Typesetters can be expensive, and there's no way for a printing service to handle your cover letters and thank-you letters. Your best bet? Invest in a good laser or ink-jet printer for use at home, convince a friend with a good computer system to help you, or use the computers & printers at Kinko's or a similar service, many of which can be rented by the hour. If you've had your resume written by a professional, have them put it on a disk so you can print it yourself.

  16. The cover letter is CRITICAL! Make sure it's absolutely free of typos, misspellings and other errors. Get the name of a real person to send it to, and make sure you sign it yourself. Here's where your own understanding of a company can serve you well. Try to personalize the letter to reflect the fact that you've done your homework. Go here for more info on cover letters.

  17. Your thank-you letter (to be sent AFTER the interview) is equally important. It shows that you are courteous and thorough, and gives you an aura of professionalism. Send the letter to your interviewer within a day or two of your interview, and refer to something that you discussed at your meeting. Tips on thank-you letters can be found here.

  18. If you're putting your resume online, make sure your HTML skills are up to the task! And don't forget to look at the resume on different browsers and different monitors with a variety of resolutions… Macs, too! This is a very creative medium, and will enable you to send an email containing a quick cover note and a URL (make sure ALL links are working!). You can provide links to the Web sites of previous employers, or e-mail links to references. Resist the temptation to add links to photos of your pets or children.

  19. Okay, so you've taken hours to build your resume online… how do you get the word out to those trucking firms? Tips for marketing an online resume – including the use of meta tags & search engines - can be found here . You might also wish to send a very short e-mail to recruiters at the trucking companies you'd like to work for. Simply tell them your objective, and invite them to review your resume online at www.YOURRESUMEHERE.com. This can help you get around the little challenge presented by e-mailing the resume itself (see #1).

  20. Sending a resume as an e-mail attachment can be tricky. A good rule of thumb? Don't send a resume as an attachment unless you're invited or instructed to do so. Many people don't open e-mail with attachments from strangers. You need to know what file formats an employer is prepared to accept. Many employers now spell out their preferred formats. Try to find that out before sending your resume, and follow instructions to the letter!

  21. Time for a little shameless self-promotion… If you haven't already done so, add your resume and application to Driving Jobs Network . Our new resume form is in the works and should be ready for your use next month. Our application form is one of the strongest in the industry, and is actually accepted by a number of our member companies in lieu of their own paper applications. That means less duplicate paperwork!

  22. Last but not least, some even MORE shameless self-promotion. However, it's a free offer, and there's no obligation. Send me your resume at djn@wrightforyou.com and I'll be happy to make a quick evaluation for you, FREE. I'll give you my short but candid opinion on how you might improve it, or I'll send it back with the Red Pencil Award (which means, of course, that you really ought to find yourself a good editor to fix all those misspellings and punctuation errors!) Sorry, I can't re-write or edit it for you, but I'll be glad to let you know what I think.

    Many thanks to Judith and Dennis Calhoun of Driving Jobs Network, Phil Anest of Green Field Trucking, Tom Carney of Carney-McNicholas, and Julie Meinzer of Werner Enterprises for their great suggestions.


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