Lorry & HGV Driver CV Examples & UK Templates

Working as a lorry or HGV driver can be a great career to stick with for the long haul. Without requiring a specialised educational background or years of training, it’s a job you can steer yourself into quickly. 

Of course, there are some skills required — those giant vehicles don’t drive themselves, after all — and your lorry driver CV should showcase them in a compelling way. 

That means you’ll need a lorry driver CV that displays your experience, skills, and achievements in a way that catches the hiring manager’s attention. 

CV guide for a lorry driver CV

Accelerate your success with Resume.io. Our guides and CV examples cover over 65 professions, and our CV builder makes it easier than ever to create a compelling CV.

This CV guide and corresponding truck driver CV example will cover the following:

• How to write a truck driver CV
• Choosing the right CV format for lorry/HGV work
• How to add your contact information
• Using summaries
• Adding your lorry driving experience
• Listing education and relevant experience
• Picking the right CV design/layout
• What the lorry driver market looks like and what salary you can expect

How to write a lorry driver CV

The very first step in writing your truck driver CV is understanding the important sections to include. Your CV should contain the following elements:

• The CV header
• The CV summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The CV skills section
• The education section

Applying for jobs can feel like a long road, but with the right tools and knowledge, it’ll be more of a fun road trip than a slog. This starts with your CV; you want to create a persuasive narrative about why you’re the best driver for the job. Identify the company’s needs and use your CV to show all the reasons you’re the best fit to fill those needs. 

To do this well, try this formula: 

• Focus on your accomplishments rather than your responsibilities. Anybody can provide a list of tasks they were assigned, but not everyone has accomplished what you have. Think about your specific achievements and the value you’ve brought to past employers.
• Tailor your CV to each employer, adjusting your style and tone to theirs.
• Use a CV template that is polished and easy to read, but not too formal or stuffy.
• Optimise your CV for relevant keywords, which gives you the best chance of impressing both recruiters and any CV scanning software they may use.

Choosing the right CV format for a lorry driver

Your CV should be like a road map — straightforward, well laid-out, and clear.

The best format for most lorry driver CVs is reverse chronological. This format focuses primarily on the employment history section, listed in reverse chronological order to put the spotlight on your most recent experience. 

If you’re just starting your truck driving career, or making a career pivot into the field, you may consider a functional or skills-based CV format, which puts the focus on your skills instead of specific employment history. 

Take a look at the many CV templates in our CV builder and select the format that best suits your situation. There are plenty of CV examples that use each format as well. 

When it comes to design, make sure your lorry driver CV is clean, clear, and easy to read — a crisp, simple layout is a great place to start.

Include your contact information

Just like you need an address to set off toward, the hiring manager needs to know your contact information to start the hiring process. That’s where your header comes in.

It’s most important to ensure your contact information is presented in an easily accessible, professional way. 

• Full name & title. List your first and last name and the title of the role you are pursuing.
• Professional email address. Use a clean format like [email protected] — not a quirky or unprofessional email address.
• Phone number. List a number where you can easily be reached. Make sure your voicemail box isn’t full and that you have a professional message set up.
• Location. List only your city and country, not your street address or postcode. It’s both outdated and unsafe.
• LinkedIn. Although LinkedIn isn’t overly common among truck drivers, if you have an active profile, you can include it here.

Don’t include:

• Date of birth: Not necessary and could potentially lead to age discrimination.
• Personal details: Marital status, passport number, etc.

Make use of a summary

The summary on your CV is a great place to show your talents. In no more than 2-4 sentences, you can introduce yourself and make it clear why you’re exactly the person they need to hire. For maximum impact, you will want to showcase your achievements, not just the type of duties you checked off. 

Try to use action verbs in the simple past or present tense — think: demonstrated, initiated, spearheaded, achieved — and include quantifiable achievements wherever possible.

Don’t just repeat highlights found elsewhere on the page. Instead, present the abilities and traits that make you good at what you do. The CV summary should demonstrate your unique value proposition. For example, “Consistently exceeded delivery goals with exceptional driving record.”

This is a chance to show who you are and what they’ll experience if they hire you, so make it count. 

You can find adaptable lorry driver/HGV example summaries below:

Outline your lorry driver work experience

Using the reverse chronological format, list your current or most recent job at the top of this section, then work your way back to your earlier jobs. Don’t include work older than 10-15 years, as this is less likely to be relevant and can invite ageism. Be sure to focus on work that’s directly related to the job you’re applying to; if you have other experience you’d like to include, consider creating an “Other Experience” section. 

Underneath each employer and role heading, detail your contributions and impacts in concise bullet point statements. Omit personal pronouns like “I” and “my.” Try to be as specific as possible, start each bullet point with an action verb, and include quantifiable metrics where you can. 

Demonstrate tangible outcomes instead of just job duties. For instance, a basic lorry driver CV may include statements like these:

• "Drove long routes to deliver goods."
• "Optimise routes to minimise fuel consumption."
• "Comply with regulations."

While these are in line with what a lorry driver might do, they’re also very vague — they could apply to any lorry driver anywhere. They don’t show your specific performance.

When you replace these statements with results-based points that display the impact you had on the company, it completely transforms them. Take a look at these reworked statements:

• "Drove long routes throughout the UK, delivering perishable goods to Tesco retail locations with 100% on-time delivery while adhering to traffic and safety laws."
• "Leveraged route planning software to optimise delivery routes, reducing fuel consumption by 15% and decreasing delivery time by 30%"
• "Maintained detailed knowledge of traffic laws, regulations, and HGV operating standards, achieving 100% compliance during audits."

Take a look at the lorry driver employment history CV sample below:

How to write a lorry driver CV with no experience 

When creating an HGV CV without direct industry experience, increase your success by emphasising your transferable skills and your passion for the transportation sector. 

Include any educational background in logistics, transportation, or vehicle maintenance. If you’ve taken courses, workshops, or training programs, add that as well. Of course, you should include any relevant commercial driving licences you’ve earned.

Think through your past experience and call out any relevant skills. For example, if you have experience as a delivery driver or mechanic, or you’ve worked as a dispatcher focusing on route optimisation, these could be great skills to include. 

While it doesn’t always make sense to include personal interests or hobbies on your CV, when applying for a job without experience, it can be beneficial to include them if they’re relevant.

Adding these details to your CV can illustrate your potential and your drive, even if you lack direct experience. 

Include the relevant key skills that make you a great lorry driver

Your CV skills list should include both hard and soft skills to illustrate the full range of your abilities. 

Hard skills are those that are measurable or demonstrable, like expertise using route optimisation software or holding a commercial driving licence. Things like logistics experience or an understanding of mechanics also count as hard skills.

On the other hand, but no less important, soft skills showcase your interpersonal skills or personality traits. For instance, organisational skills, a knack for navigation, or a passion for mentorship are all great soft skills to include.

Our CV builder provides a multitude of pre-written skills to consider, or you can write your own. 

Here’s what the skills box looks like in our CV template for truck drivers. 

While the skills section of your CV is the most obvious place to show your skills, it’s not the only place. Sprinkle skills throughout your CV to show your skills in action, and show credibility by providing specific examples and achievements.

For example, in the work experience and professional summary, highlight things like:

• Navigation skills by describing the type of routes you’ve driven and the locations
• Maintenance skills by providing examples of fixes and solutions you’ve created
• Fuel management by demonstrating achievements in reducing fuel usage or costs

The job advert is a great place to start if you’re looking for guidance on what skills to include.

Detail your education & relevant driving certifications

The education section is pretty straightforward on a lorry driver CV. You will list your academic achievements in reverse chronological order; if you have a university degree, there’s no need to include earlier education. 

Because lorry and HGV driver roles don’t typically require formal education, you’ll also want to include things that are specific to the role, like commercial driving licences and any relevant training programs. For example,

• Training and certifications. Courses, workshops, or even webinars that enhance your skills as a driver.
• Apprenticeships. If you’ve held an apprenticeship in the transport industry, include it here. For example, a Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) Driver C and E Level 2 Intermediate apprenticeship is a common option.
• Professional development. Memberships in relevant trade groups or professional associations like Road Haulage Association (RHA) or Logistics UK, can show your passion for the industry.

Pick the right CV layout and design for a lorry driver CV

Your CV’s design is an important part of the process, as it’s how the hiring team will navigate through your past experience and your skills. The design and layout should grab attention while being easy to read and pleasing to look at. 

We recommend a streamlined design, modern font, and limited colour, like our Paris template. If you’re looking for inspiration or hoping to play around with truck driver CV samples, our CV templates may be of interest. With all the formatting and structure taken care of for you, they’ll set you on the road to success. 

Lorry driver text-only CV example

Lorry driver job market and outlook

There is plenty of opportunity for those looking to break into or move up in the lorry driving industry. Per the Global Employment Bureau, there’s a shortage of lorry drivers in the UK. That means there’s less competition for jobs, and companies are eagerly looking to hire drivers. 

This shortage began with the COVID-19 pandemic, when licensing authorities were unable to conduct necessary driving tests. Additionally, a number of drivers took this time as an opportunity to retire early, which further exacerbated the shortage. Finally, the UK’s decision to exit the EU resulted in a decline in EU-based drivers willing to come to the UK for work.

What type of salary you can expect as a lorry/HGV driver

According to the UK’s National Career Service, lorry/HGV/LGV drivers earn an average of £22,000 to £40,000 per year with an average workweek of 38 to 52 hours. Some estimates go as high as £50,000 per year. 

Key takeaways for building a lorry driver CV

A career as a lorry driver can be fulfilling for those who like to wander, don’t want to be stuck behind a desk, and enjoy navigating complex routes. 

Leveraging our online CV builder will help you navigate the process of creating an excellent CV and catching the hiring manager's eye so you can land the job and get out on the open road.