How do you reply to a question,
"What is your experience as a truck driver? "
This person has only graduated from truck driving school.
Submitted by frederickashby on Sun, 2007-05-27 16:33.

When you have no experience and every job wants experience how do you get someone to give you a chance?

The answer is NOt to lie or exagerate your experience or skills, although this may be tempting, (you may have heard success stories or have a friend who landed a job this way) in reality the liars and exageraters are almost always found out and fired. Besides who wants to carry the guilt their whole career that they had to lie their way in, and noone can handle getting fired 2 or 3 years in because it was found out they lied and this can happen even if you do your job well.

So what can you do, the answer is in transferable skills and education.

If an interviewer talks about your on-time delivery record, make a connection to the paper route you had or when you had tough homework deadlines, if you can highlight that you're always ahead of schedule, you will be even more desirable.

Increasing US freight imports and a higher than average turnover rate for drivers ensures a steady flow of trucking jobs, each offering a wide range of pay and benefits. If your goal is to get your first job or a higher-paying trucking/warehousing job or to break into management, you'll need to set yourself apart to secure a spot at the top of the range.

Emphasize these strengths on your resume/ applications:

Hazmat qualifications and other commercial-license extras.

Good safety and driving record.

Specialization in a particular type of equipment.

Experience in logistics and inventory functions, such as warehousing.

Knowledge of federal and state regulations.

Background in customer service -- delivering to homes, vendors or businesses.

Physical strength.

Computer skills.

Here is some good News...The American Trucking Association reports a serious shortage in some segments of the industry. It's not a shortage of freight or equipment; surprisingly, it's not enough men and women qualified to drive trucks.

Good Luck! -Lisa