So, you’ve got your HGV license in the bag. Congratulations. But what comes next? You probably want to go out there and get yourself a job as a driver! That means polishing off your CV, adding some new bits in and approaching companies to see if they’re hiring. But if you’ve never done this before, or haven’t done it for a long time, you might not know what kind of information to include in your HGV driver CV. So today, we’re going to go through the basic format, and what you need to include.
First things first, your personal information. This should be right at the top of the page, and it can literally just be a list of information, no expansion needed. You need to include:
And that’s it. You don’t want to overshare here, as this could count against you with employers. Many people are tempted to include their age, gender or even a photo – but we advise against this. Including this information could actually put the employer at risk of breaking the law, and most won’t accept your application if you include this info.
This next section is your personal summary, and is your chance to tell prospective employers a bit about you. Not where you like to go on holiday or what you do in your spare time – but why you’re suited to this job, and what skills you could bring to it. You could leave this section generic, but if you want your application to be a bit more successful, you can customise it to each job you apply for. This makes it more relevant, and helps employers see exactly what skills you could bring.
You can’t leave this one out. Here, you need to list your previous work experience. This is best done in reverse chronological order, which means you list your most recent position first, and then work backwards. You will need to include the company name, your job role, the dates you worked there and a brief description of what you did there. This last bit is important, because if you don’t have any experience of HGV driving, you can pull it back here. You can talk about what skills each job has taught you that will help you be a good HGV driver – for example being able to meet deadlines, or lifting heavy items safely.
Another important part of your CV – your qualifications! Again, list these in reverse chronological order, in just a simple, easy to read bullet point list. Make sure you include any A-Levels, BTEC/degrees you may have, along with that all important HGV qualification – whatever level you have achieved, or multiples if you have them. No extra fluff needed here, just a simple list will do.
Your CV is your first chance to make a first impression – so make sure it’s a good one. The best advice we can give it to double, triple and quadruple check it for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. It’s also worth remembering that this isn’t a substitute for an interview, so you don’t need to include your life history. Make sure your CV is no more than 2 pages long, and doesn’t contain any information that isn’t needed. You will have plenty of chances to chat through the details when you get to the interview, so don’t include too much.
At The LGV Training Centre, we love helping aspiring HGV drivers make the next step in their career. From building unique training programmes to teach you how to operate an HGV safely, right through to how to find your first HGV driving job. We will even help you create your CV and find roles to apply for! For more information, just get in touch with us today for your free consultation.