What Count As Driving Experience ??

Hello Everyone Happy 4th of July. I am a new driver just got my CDL Class A In February 2019. I am trying to come up with a good Resume with how long have been driving. Yeah! The Company that hired me then allow me to drive with CLP with a senior driver on the passenger sit. Does driving with cdl permit count as driving experience and can it be verify ??

Hi, Nasiru, welcome to the forum (even ten months after you joined TT!)

So after you got your CDL , and did some training with one company, what happened? If you got your CDL license in February, your driving resume looks to be really short on experience.

By now, five months after your license, you're not a "recent grad" any more. There are companies that don't do their own training but will take in fresh CDL people.

Any company interested in you can look up your driving record in your DAC report. (Like your credit report, this has information about your driving experience, but it's handled by another company.)

OTR experience is usually shown on your paycheck stubs. That's your personal documentation. The experience companies look for is solo or team miles, not including your training period.

I am trying to come up with a good Resume with how long have been driving.

Welcome Nasiru!

Truck drivers don't really use or even need a resume such as you would use in a typical job application in most other careers. I have no written formal resume, yet I can make a phone call and have a new job tomorrow. That's how it works in this industry.

Your resume is your experience/record while driving as a solo driver. Yours is very limited at this point and not really very valuable. The way you build credibility in trucking is to be safe, productive, and committed. That means sticking with a job and proving yourself capable. If you quit or get fired after just a few months it's telling. Trucking companies want to see your commitment to the career. They want to witness your ability to cope, adapt, and overcome the issues that wipe out so many newcomers to this industry.

To "come up with a good resume" is to be stable at your first professional driving job. Don't get sidetracked with "the grass is greener" syndrome. Spend your first year learning how the career works, how the company which employs you operates, and how to be productive at your craft. Don't get the idea that having a CDL makes you valuable. There's a lot of people with CDL's who can't muster the habits or discipline that gives a professional driver value in the market.

When you can make a phone call to a recruiter that sounds like this...

"Hello, this is Nasiru, I've been a solo OTR driver for three years now at "Brand X" trucking. I have a top safety rating with no accidents and have never been late on any appointments. I'm regularly in the top 10% of drivers for producing revenues. I was thinking I might like to work for you guys. Do you have any openings available?"

Boom! You're hired! Nobody is going to bother looking at a piece of paper that you call your resume. They're going to call your current employer, verify your statements, and that's all they need. So... don't worry with composing some slick sounding/looking document - it's useless in trucking. Build your record and your skills. They will speak loud and clear for you.

Truck drivers don't really use or even need a resume such as you would use in a typical job application in most other careers

This is so true. People lie on resumes. You can't lie about anything in trucking, they find out. Have a DUI , a failed drug test, or something else you thought was hidden, forget about it. They find it.

I agree with the others, stay with your company if you have been working. If not, some companies may put you through schooling again or a refresher course, depending on the company.

Old School said:

“They're going to call your current employer, verify your statements, and that's all they need. ”

How do you avoid that part, or can you?

I have no plans of looking, I’m extremely happy with my choice and my earnings, but if I did, I wouldn’t want to jeopardize my current job.

Just curious

“They're going to call your current employer, verify your statements, and that's all they need. ”

How do you avoid that part, or can you?

Grumpy, you can avoid it by just kicking tires and asking questions from a recruiter. If you really want to move on though, the laws require you to provide your employment history. This is a national security issue. Think about trucks being used like airplanes were used in a terrorist attack.

I have no plans of looking, I’m extremely happy with my choice and my earnings, but if I did, I wouldn’t want to jeopardize my current job.

I know it's counter to what takes place in many industries, but trucking companies are so accustomed to transient employees that it's not really an issue. I was offered more money from Western Express after Knight verified my employment with them. So, you may possibly benefit from a few verifications. It will certainly depend on your current track record. Yours seems to be spotless, so no worries!