CDL drivers haul freight across town, across the region, or across the country. Jobs include over-the-road (OTR), regional, local delivery, tanker, flatbed, refrigerated, and dedicated routes. Trucking offers strong pay and steady demand, and your safety record follows you from job to job, so it's the heart of your resume.
What carriers look for
Recruiters check three things first: your license class and endorsements, your years of verifiable driving experience, and your safety record, meaning your accidents, violations, and inspections. After that, they look at the type of freight and equipment you've handled and whether you've kept your hours and logs in order. Most carriers will pull your motor vehicle record and past employment history, so your resume should match what they'll find.
Resume summary
Safety-first CDL driver with a clean record and experience in over-the-road, regional, or local routes. Strong on logs, paperwork, and on-time delivery. Looking to bring careful driving and steady miles to a new role.
Skills to list
- CDL Class A or B (current)
- DOT regulations and HOS compliance
- Electronic logging device (ELD) use
- Pre-trip and post-trip inspections
- Backing, docking, and tight maneuvering
- Load securement and weight distribution
- Bills of lading and delivery paperwork
- Clean MVR and DOT medical card
- Hazmat (where endorsed)
- All-weather driving experience
Experience bullet points
- Operated tractor-trailers safely on local, regional, or over-the-road routes
- Completed pre-trip and post-trip inspections and reported defects in writing
- Followed DOT hours-of-service rules and kept ELD logs current and accurate
- Loaded, secured, and unloaded freight using straps, chains, and tarps
- Backed into tight docks, alleyways, and customer locations safely
- Verified bills of lading, signed paperwork, and confirmed delivery counts
- Maintained a clean driving record and stayed current on DOT medical certification
- Communicated with dispatch by phone, text, and in-cab messaging
- Drove safely in heavy rain, snow, ice, and high-wind conditions
- Hauled hazmat loads following placarding and routing rules (where endorsed)
Put your license details at the top
Right under your summary, list your CDL class (A or B), endorsements (like hazmat, tanker, doubles and triples, or passenger), whether your DOT medical card is current, and your years of driving. Then back it up with your record:
CDL-A Driver, Regional Refrigerated Carrier, Birmingham, AL. 2020 to Present. Drove 110,000+ miles a year on regional reefer routes across 6 Southeastern states; 500,000+ accident-free miles; clean inspections; 98% on-time delivery; tanker and hazmat endorsements; kept all hours of service logs accurate on ELD.
New to driving?
Since February 2022, most new Class A and Class B drivers must complete federal Entry-Level Driver Training from a registered provider before taking the CDL skills test. If you just finished CDL school, list the school, your completion date, and your training miles. Many carriers hire recent graduates, especially for regional and local routes. Other driving experience, like delivery, gig driving, or equipment operation, is worth including too.
Tips for this job
- Give your miles and record in numbers. Safe miles, years without accidents, and clean inspections are your strongest selling points.
- Name your equipment and freight. Dry van, reefer, flatbed, tanker, and the kinds of loads you've hauled help recruiters match you.
- Mention electronic logs. Accurate logs on an ELD show you follow hours of service rules.
- Say what you want. Home daily, home weekly, or OTR? Stating it saves time and gets you matched faster.
Build your resume free
Open the 360 Quick Resume builder, choose Blue Collar, then pick Truck Driver (CDL). This summary, skills list, and these bullet points load in for you to edit. Download as PDF, Word, or plain text, free.
Want more help? Read how to list skills on your resume or how applicant tracking systems read your resume.