INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, School Bus Driver positions are at a 25% growth rate, which is much faster than average. With that said, there are currently 872,600 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 215,300 to 1,087,900 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the School Bus Driver jobs was $32,320 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $19,830, and the highest 10% more than $50,970.
Our conclusion? The School Bus Driver job market is wide open for candidates.
Top school bus driver sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to Craft the Perfect School Bus Driver Resume Experience Section
Perfecting the experience section: School bus driver resume checklist.
- Be careful with bullet points: use no more than 4-6 per position;
- Mention only positions that are relevant to the job you’re applying for;
- List your experience in chronological or reverse-chronological order;
- Highlight your results by using numbers – e.g. percentage increase/decrease in an important metric that’s followed by - your hard work;
- Use action words whenever possible… but more on that below.
Need examples? We looked through thousands of School Bus Driver resumes and gathered some examples of what the ideal experience section looks like. Check them out below!
- Responsible for safety checks and compliance on bus using Zonar equipment.
- Transportation of students to and from school as well as extracurricular activities.
- Maintain bus cleanliness.
- Co-sponsored the implementation of redesigned payroll procedures for approximately 300 employees
- Contributed to the development of dispatch functions within the Smart Tag system
- Ensured safe and efficient transportation services by actively involving top management with safety issues
- Scheduled and monitored over 100+ routes and drivers daily
- Monitored radio and communicated with drivers as well as other district employees
- remained calm and helpful while under extreme pressure
- Advised and directed supervisors and district police as needed
- Maintained record of driver’s time and assignments
PRO TIP
Make sure to relate your experience to your job description, but never lie. That’s not tolerated and will show up in the face-to-face interview later on.
Action verbs for your school bus driver resume
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Impressing recruiters with a top school bus driver resume skills section
Checklist for an impressive school bus driver resume skills section:
- List both hard and technical skills that are important for the role;
- Check what the job description says and add some keywords based on that;
- Focus only on relevant skills;
- Try not to list things such as “communication”; rather, highlight your soft skills in other sections of your School Bus Driver resume.
Top skills for your school bus driver resume
Microsoft Office
Management
Strategy
Relationship-builder
Administration
Time Management
Team Work
CPR
Curiosity
Observation
Networking
Planning
Perspective Taking
Adaptability
Flexibility
Communication
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
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School bus driver resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your school bus driver resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your School Bus Driver resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
Crafting a strong summary for your school bus driver resume
Checklist: The perfect school bus driver resume summary section
- Add a couple of keywords from the job description;
- Mention some of your most valuable skills and characteristics;
- Highlight your top achievements (and add numbers!);
- Use no more than 3-5 sentences to guarantee readability and keep - the hiring manager interested.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Highlight specific past projects that you’re most proud of in your summary. It sets an excellent tone for the rest of your resume. You can talk about all of your former jobs in your work experience section later on.
Recommended reads:
An impressive education section: School bus driver resume
School bus driver resume: Education section checklist
- Highlight your highest education degree;
- Include the degree subject, year of graduation, and institution name;
- Mention some of the awards you’ve received during your studies;
- List your certifications (incl. the body that’s issued them);
- Entry-level positions: Give preference to courses that are relevant to the position.
Top certifications for your school bus driver resume
Udemy Masters: Learn Online Course Creation - Unofficial
Gain freedom with your own online courses & Udemy courses: idea, validation, production, & promotion. (Unofficial)
Global Citizenship - Your path to the globalized world
Let's be part of the world's emerging community
The Blueprint For Change.
Put yourself in the drivers seat of your destiny.
Goddess School
Uncover your most authentic self, heal your past, and manifest the life of your dreams!
English Conversation #4: Travelling with Taxi, Bus and Car
Essential English Grammar and Communication Skills for IELTS and Mastering English as a Second Language
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PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a School Bus Driver. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
The right format for your school bus driver resume
When it comes to formatting your School Bus Driver resume, there are certain things you need to keep in mind. These include your level of expertise, your total years of experience, and the position and company you’re applying for, to name a few.
You can choose between three basic resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological format is just that – all your experience listed in a reverse-chronological way. It’s great for experienced professionals who have been in the industry for many years and have no career gaps.
The functional skills-based resume, on the other hand, focuses on skills, education, and personality traits, rather than experience. This makes it great for graduates, people with less experience, or bigger career gaps. The idea is to show you’re the perfect match without putting too much emphasis on your lack of relevant experience.
If none of these sound suitable, go for a hybrid (or combination) resume. It’s a mix of experience, skills, and personality traits. It’s also considered modern and innovative because of its non-traditional structure and sections. Here, you can add details about what your typical day looks like or what your life philosophy is. In short, the hybrid resume format shows who you are, both as a professional and as an individual.
More tips on perfecting your resume style and layout:
- Choose a traditional 12p font;
- Make sure your resume margins are no bigger than an inch;
- Go for a one-page template. If you have broad experience and can’t fit your resume on one page, choose a two-page resume template
- Save your resume as PDF to avoid formatting issues and unauthorized editing.
Read this: Ways to make your School Bus Driver resume stand out
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
More sections worth adding to your school bus driver resume
If the industry, company, and position you’re applying for allow for that, you could include other sections in your School Bus Driver resume. By doing this, you’ll show the recruiter that you’re a real human and not a robot.
Here are some ideas:
The right kind of creativity for your school bus driver resume
Several years ago, everyone preferred keeping a safe distance from creative resumes. Today, adding creativity to your CV is considered cool, innovative, and one of the best ways to stand out.
You can add a creative section that describes your typical day or even go for a colorful creative template. No matter what you choose, make sure to keep the position, company, and industry in mind. Otherwise, you risk looking silly.
What makes a great school bus driver resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
