What does a Light Truck Driver do?

Drive a light vehicle, such as a truck or van, with a capacity of less than 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), primarily to pick up merchandise or packages from a distribution center and deliver. Day to day that includes work like obey traffic laws and follow established traffic and transportation procedures and Report any mechanical problems encountered with vehicles.

What skills should a Light Truck Driver put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Monitoring, Operation and Control, Reading Comprehension, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Light Truck Driver list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Automatic routing software, Computerized inventory tracking software, Eko, FreightDATA, and IBM Domino. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Light Truck Driver work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Delivery Driver, Driver, Package Car Driver, and Truck Driver. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Light Truck Driver need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 74% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Light Truck Driver role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Light Truck Driver resume example

A resume for a Light Truck Driver needs to show the work itself: drive a light vehicle, such as a truck or van, with a capacity of less than 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), primarily to pick up merchandise or packages from a distribution center and deliver. Day to day that means work like this: obey traffic laws and follow established traffic and transportation procedures; report any mechanical problems encountered with vehicles. 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 software and tools it uses, 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.

Delivery Driver
Driver
Package Car Driver
Truck Driver
Bulk Delivery Driver
Package Delivery Driver
Route Driver
Service Provider
Warehouse Driver
DSP Driver
Car Escort
Commercial Driver
Deliverer
Delivery Person
Delivery Truck Driver
Directories Distributor
Directory Carrier
Distributor Operator

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.

Obey traffic laws and follow established traffic and transportation procedures.
Report any mechanical problems encountered with vehicles.
Verify the contents of inventory loads against shipping papers.
Inspect and maintain vehicle supplies and equipment, such as gas, oil, water, tires, lights, or brakes, to ensure that vehicles are in proper working condition.
Read maps and follow written or verbal geographic directions.
Load and unload trucks, vans, or automobiles.
Present bills and receipts and collect payments for goods delivered or loaded.
Maintain records, such as vehicle logs, records of cargo, or billing statements, in accordance with regulations.
Drive vehicles with capacities under three tons to transport materials to and from specified destinations, such as railroad stations, plants, residences, offices, or within industrial yards.
Turn in receipts and money received from deliveries.
Use and maintain the tools or equipment found on commercial vehicles, such as weighing or measuring devices.
Report delays, accidents, or other traffic and transportation situations to bases or other vehicles, using telephones or mobile two-way radios.

13 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.

Obey traffic laws and follow established traffic and transportation procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Report any mechanical problems encountered with vehicles, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Verify the contents of inventory loads against shipping papers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Inspect and maintain vehicle supplies and equipment, such as gas, oil, water, tires, lights, or brakes, to ensure that vehicles are in proper working condition, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Automatic routing software
Computerized inventory tracking software
Eko
FreightDATA
IBM Domino
Internet browser software
Inventory management systems
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Windows
Package location and tracking software
Recordkeeping software
Vehicle location and tracking software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Electronic clipboards
Forklifts
Global positioning system GPS receivers
Jacks
Large goods vehicles LGV
Light trucks less than 3 tons
Personal computers
Pickup trucks
Satellite linkup systems
Scanners
Truck lift gates
Two way radios

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.

Automatic routing
Computerized inventory tracking

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Monitoring
03Operation and Control
04Reading Comprehension
05Speaking
06Critical Thinking
07Time Management

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

English Language
Transportation
Customer and Personal Service

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

74%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
25%Less than a High School Diploma
1%Associate's Degree

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.

Common questions

What does a Light Truck Driver do?: Drive a light vehicle, such as a truck or van, with a capacity of less than 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), primarily to pick up merchandise or packages from a distribution center and deliver. Day to day that includes work like obey traffic laws and follow established traffic and transportation procedures and Report any mechanical problems encountered with vehicles.
What skills should a Light Truck Driver put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Monitoring, Operation and Control, Reading Comprehension, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Light Truck Driver list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Automatic routing software, Computerized inventory tracking software, Eko, FreightDATA, and IBM Domino. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Light Truck Driver work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Delivery Driver, Driver, Package Car Driver, and Truck Driver. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Light Truck Driver need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 74% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Light Truck Driver role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

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.