3 Steps to Acing Your Truck Driving Job Interview

Is one of your New Year's resolutions to get a trucking job? Whether you’re a rookie driver or a seasoned veteran, the rules are the rules—you’re going to need to interview in order to get hired. Follow these three steps, and you’ll be well on your way.

Have a quality resume on-hand

No matter how much—or how little—trucking experience you have, you still need a professional resume. Not just some scribbles on a sheet of notepaper, or a hastily-crafted bullet list. You need a properly formatted, proofread, thorough resume on high quality paper. You can get special resume paper at any office supply store. Make sure to have at least 20 copies on hand. If you’re not good with computers, consider asking a friend to help. If you throw them a few bucks, you’ll probably get a great resume out of it.

Create an info packet

A resume isn’t all you need. Make yourself a folder with the following, and make sure to take it with you on every interview. This kit will include all you’ll need for the interview, as well as the on-boarding process with HR. That way you won’t have to delay starting—or getting paid.

• A copy of your CDL
• An official copy of your birth certificate
• A copy of your social security card
• An official copy of your truck driving school certificate, if you have one
• Pre-hire letters from other companies considering hiring you
• Your CSA and DAC reports (if you have worked previously as a truck driver)
• A copy of your motor vehicle record (MVR)
• A copy of an updated DOT physical (which is required to get your CDL)
• Having all of this put together shows hiring manager, the HR rep, and your new boss that you are organized, professional, and respectful of your colleague’s time.

Do your pre-interview homework

We all know that an interviewer asks most of the questions. But there is always a point in every interview when the hiring manager will ask what questions you might have. It’s best to be prepared. If you’ve gone to so many interviews that you can’t keep them all straight, make yourself a list to study before each interview. Make sure to note the name and location of the company, whether they have multiple offices throughout the country, who you’d be working for, the name of the HR manager, the name of your interviewer, and any other information you might be able to gather about the company from a Google search or two, as well as your sense of the types of jobs and hauls the company offers. Following these steps will ensure that you remain in control during the interview process. You’ll be ready for anything, so you’ll be at your best and most confident to go in there and land the job.