Building the perfect resume isn’t easy. In logistics, it’s your passport to the interview room. Unless you’ve got a personal referral, your resume is your first (and maybe only) chance to prove you’re worth meeting.
And here’s the hard truth: for top roles, you’re competing against hundreds, sometimes thousands, of other candidates. If your resume doesn’t stand out quickly, it won’t stand out at all.
Recruiters are busy people. That’s why your most valuable skills, industry experience, and biggest wins need to jump off the page right away.
Before a recruiter ever reviews your resume, it’s often screened for specific skills and industry terms. If those words aren’t there, your application may never make it to the short list. In logistics and freight forwarding, speaking the industry’s language is critical.
Hiring teams look for keywords that prove you understand their world, such as:
- TEU, FCL, LCL
- RORO, breakbulk, project cargo
- HazMat / IATA / IMDG certifications
- Familiarity with systems like CargoWise, Magaya, BluJay
Using the right terminology shows you’re not just a candidate, you’re a professional who’s fluent in the language of global trade.
Common Resume Pitfalls in Logistics
- Using an unprofessional email address (freightmaster99 might have sounded cool once, but not to a hiring manager)
- Adding a headshot when it wasn’t requested, it can create bias and shift focus away from your skills
- Embellishing qualifications, one quick background check, and your credibility is gone
- Submitting in the wrong format: PDFs can sometimes be harder for ATSs to read; a Word doc is often safer unless otherwise stated
What Actually Works
In this industry, results matter. Swap generic duties for measurable achievements:
- Instead of: Managed international shipments
- Say: Coordinated 150+ TEUs/month on Asia–U.S. lanes, achieving 98% on-time delivery and reducing demurrage by $120K annually
Keep it clean, concise, and scannable:
- Bullet points over paragraphs
- Clear section headings (Summary, Skills, Experience, Education, Certifications)
- Numbers, percentages, and cost savings wherever possible
- White space for readability without making it look empty