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Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver resume example

A resume for a Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver needs to show the work itself: drive a tractor-trailer combination or a truck with a capacity of at least 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Driver
  • Line Haul Driver
  • Over the Road Driver
  • OTR Driver
  • Truck Driver
  • CDL Driver
  • Commercial Driver's License Driver
  • Log Truck Driver
  • Production Truck Driver
  • Road Driver
  • Semi Truck Driver
  • Tractor Trailer Driver
  • Auto Carrier Driver
  • Auto Crane Driver
  • Auto Haulaway Driver
  • Auto Hauler
  • Auto Transport Driver
  • CDL Truck Driver
  • CDL-A Flatbed Truck Driver
  • CDL-A Truck Driver
  • CDL-B Truck Driver
  • Class A CDL Truck Driver
  • Company CDL-A Truck Driver
  • Dedicated CDL-A Truck Driver

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy.
  • Inspect loads to ensure that cargo is secure.
  • Check vehicles to ensure that mechanical, safety, and emergency equipment is in good working order.
  • Crank trailer landing gear up or down to safely secure vehicles.
  • Obtain receipts or signatures for delivered goods and collect payment for services when required.
  • Maintain logs of working hours or of vehicle service or repair status, following applicable state and federal regulations.
  • Read bills of lading to determine assignment details.
  • Report vehicle defects, accidents, traffic violations, or damage to the vehicles.
  • Perform basic vehicle maintenance tasks, such as adding oil, fuel, or radiator fluid, performing minor repairs, or washing trucks.
  • Couple or uncouple trailers by changing trailer jack positions, connecting or disconnecting air or electrical lines, or manipulating fifth-wheel locks.
  • Maneuver trucks into loading or unloading positions, following signals from loading crew and checking that vehicle and loading equipment are properly positioned.
  • Collect delivery instructions from appropriate sources, verifying instructions and routes.
  • Drive trucks with capacities greater than 13 tons, including tractor-trailer combinations, to transport and deliver products, livestock, or other materials.
  • Read and interpret maps to determine vehicle routes.

29 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Check all load-related documentation for completeness and accuracy, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Inspect loads to ensure that cargo is secure, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Check vehicles to ensure that mechanical, safety, and emergency equipment is in good working order, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Crank trailer landing gear up or down to safely secure vehicles, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • CDL
  • DOT regulations
  • route planning
  • vehicle inspection
  • logbook
  • safety compliance
  • secure cargo

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.