Transport managers read driver CVs differently from other recruiters. They are not looking for a story arc or a personal brand. They are checking whether you can legally get behind the wheel next Monday, and whether the trailer comes back in one piece. That check takes about twenty seconds, and most driver CVs fail it because the only information that matters is sitting on page two under "Additional Training".
What a transport recruiter checks in the first twenty seconds
Before anyone reads a single bullet about your last employer, they scan for five things:
- Licence categories. In the UK, category C (rigid) or C+E (artic), plus C1 for 3.5-7.5t work. In the US, CDL Class A or Class B with endorsements: H for hazmat, N for tank, X for the combination, T for doubles and triples.
- CPC and medical validity. Driver CPC card with expiry date, digital tachograph card, and in the US the DOT medical certificate. If the recruiter cannot see a date, they assume it has lapsed.
- Endorsements and points. A clean licence is a hiring advantage and an insurance one. Fleet insurers set thresholds, often six points or fewer. If you are clean, say so in plain words.
- Years of continuous driving. Insurers on artic work often want two years minimum on C+E. If you have five, that number should be visible without scrolling.
- Vehicle and route types. Curtainsider, box, reefer, tanker, tipper, car transporter. Trunking, multi-drop, store deliveries, container work, international.
Everything else on your CV is supporting evidence for those five points.
Put licences at the top, not the bottom
The biggest structural fix for a driver CV is moving qualifications above your work history. Four or five lines, directly under your name and contact details.
Something like this:
Licences and certifications
- Category C+E (held since March 2016), category C since 2013
- Driver CPC valid to 09/2027, digital tacho card valid to 05/2029
- ADR: packages and tanks, all classes except 1 and 7, valid to 11/2026
- Clean licence, no endorsements, no accidents or claims in 8 years
- Counterbalance forklift (RTITB), Moffett truck-mounted
A transport manager can now decide in ten seconds whether to keep reading. List classes the job does not need too: fleet mixes change and depots like drivers who can cover.
The summary line
Two or three lines, no adjectives. Say what you drive, for how long, on what work, and what you are looking for.
"C+E driver with nine years on general haulage and temperature-controlled work, mostly nights out and European runs through Calais. Clean licence, ADR packages and tanks. Looking for tramping or four-on-four-off trunking within a 60-mile radius of Northampton."
That answers the questions the depot manager was going to ask on the phone anyway.
Experience bullets that say more than "drove a truck"
The weak version lists the employer, the dates, and one line saying "delivery of goods to customers nationwide". The strong version uses numbers a transport office recognises.
- Annual or weekly mileage. "Averaged 85,000 miles per year on UK and EU work."
- Vehicle spec. "44t Scania R450 with tri-axle curtainsider" tells them more than "HGV".
- Load types. Palletised FMCG, steel coil, live animals, glass, hanging garments, bulk powder, ambient versus chilled versus frozen.
- Delivery performance. "Maintained 98% on-time delivery across 22 drops per shift."
- Compliance record. "No drivers' hours infringements over four years, zero WTD breaches on tacho analysis."
- Safety record. "Nine years accident-free, no insurance claims, three RoSPA awards."
- Checks and paperwork. Walk-around checks, defect reporting, POD handling, load securing to EN 12195, axle loading.
- Route pattern. Multi-drop, trunking, night trunking, store delivery or RDC collection, and whether the work was domestic or international.
Two well-chosen numbers beat six vague sentences.
Gaps and agency work
Both are normal in transport and neither needs an apology. What causes rejections is unexplained silence, since someone has to rebuild your employment history for the check anyway.
Group agency periods under one heading with the agency name and one line of clients: "HGV agency driver, Driver Hire (Leeds), Jan 2021 to Aug 2022. Regular bookings for DHL Doncaster, Culina Haydock and XPO Wakefield. Class 1 trunking and RDC work."
For gaps, one short line is enough. Medical recovery, family care, a licence upgrade, redundancy, time out of the industry. Write the reason and the dates and move on.
Newly qualified versus experienced
If you passed your test recently you have no mileage figures, so lead with the pass date, the training provider, any assessment drives completed, and previous work with vans, forklifts or anything on a delivery schedule. Warehouse and van experience counts, because it shows shift discipline and customer contact. Say clearly that you are open to a double-manned start.
If you have fifteen years, cut the early jobs to a single line each. Nobody needs three bullets about a 7.5t job you left in 2011.
Format and verification
One page under five years of experience, two pages beyond that. Logistics portals parse the file automatically, so avoid tables, columns, text boxes and logos. A plain reverse-chronological layout with standard headings goes through cleanly. Send PDF unless told otherwise.
Expect the operator to phone previous employers covering the past three to five years, with specific questions: dates, reason for leaving, accident and damage record, and any disciplinary matters on hours or vehicle condition. That check will happen, so your dates need to match your licence history exactly.
Print your CV, hold it at arm's length for twenty seconds, and see whether you can spot your licence categories, your CPC expiry and your clean-licence line. If you cannot, the transport manager will not either. Fix that before you send it anywhere.