Skills
Freight Dispatcher Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in freight dispatchers, and how to build and show them.
What skills do freight dispatchers need?
Freight Dispatchers need technical skills such as load planning, route planning, and hours-of-service knowledge, plus people skills like multitasking and communication. They also use tools such as Transportation management systems (TMS) and GPS and ELD tracking.
Technical (hard) skills
- Load planning
- Route planning
- Hours-of-service knowledge
- TMS software
- Load boards
- Customer communication
People (soft) skills
- Multitasking
- Communication
- Calm under pressure
- Problem solving
Tools, equipment and technology
- Transportation management systems (TMS)
- GPS and ELD tracking
- Load boards such as DAT
- Phones and messaging apps
- Mapping tools
- Spreadsheets
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how freight dispatchers put their skills to work:
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Load planning” and “Route planning.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “multitasking,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as Dispatcher training certificate near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our freight dispatcher glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Freight Dispatcher training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.