The Complete Guide To A Career In Trucking
How should I deal with company recruiters?
After you submit your application, or while you are doing your research, you will be talking to company recruiters. They will be your first point of contact with the companies, and help lay the groundwork for your potential employment.
Company recruiters are first sales people, trying to sell you on working for their company, as well as handling preliminary paperwork, etc., to help verify that you are qualified.
Once you are in contact with a company recruiter, always ask questions. Tons and tons of questions. We have lists of the most common and most helpful questions to ask company recruiters listed below.
What do company recruiters actually do?
Recruiters are salespeople, who's job it is to sell you on their company and all of the reasons to work there. Most recruiters are working on commission, so you want to ask as many questions and get as many specific details as possible before committing.
Article - The Biggest Mistake New Drivers Make When Speaking With Recruiters
A recruiter will help you understand the best reasons for attending their school or working for their company. Every school and company is a little different. Each has its own perks and advantages over the others. The recruiter should know these well and present them to you right away. In fact, one of the very first questions you should ask is "What advantage does your organization have over your competition?"
Forum - Had a chat with a recruiter yesterday!
The typical driver coming into this industry has the wrong mindset. All they think about is money and they don't think the decision through. They come into the job without actually being prepared for it. I think the high turnover rate is due to the fact that its just such a sudden change of lifestyle. The driver isn't prepared for it and he just cannot thrive in that environment.
Contacting Trucking Company Recruiters:
Generally, your method of contact for recruiters, at least at first, will be over the phone. Most communication will probably then be handled by email. Recruiters are usually extremely busy, and can be extremely hard to get a hold of. Don't get discouraged if the recruiter(s) at the company you're talking to aren't immediately responsive to your calls or emails.
With such large companies, you're bound to get at least a few individuals that don't do the best job of portraying a professional, congenial image. Had I based my opinion of the companies I was interested in from my encounters w/ the recruiter, Prime would've been number one, and Crete a low number five, with Werner, Schneider, and another company somewhere in the middle.
Forum - How long to get a call from recruiter
Did you do your application online? Every company I contacted through the web sent me a confirmation E-mail within an hour. Its really easy to hit the wrong button and off it goes into cyberspace, never to be seen or heard from again. Most recruiters respond to calls, its their paycheck! I would double back and confirm my apps receipt.
What questions should I ask company recruiters?
The amount of information that you need to gather and take in can be overwhelming, but there are a core set of questions that should cover most, if not all, of the important points.
Wiki - Questions To Ask Trucking Company Recruiters
Most trucking companies tend to operate very similarly to one another, as in any industry. The best trucking company for a driver to work for is the company that best suits a driver's needs, and will depend more on the driver's attitude and what he or she considers important factors for employment.
Forum - List of Questions to ask a Recruiter
Also a lot of information is constantly changing. Trucking companies change their pay, their home time, and all that stuff quite often. So recruiters may just think it useless to answer these questions when the information might change in a week or two. You sort of have to get a feel for the company through the recruiter. But as many on TT have said, try to talk to REAL drivers at truck stops.
Do I need to get a recruiters promises in writing?
You should ALWAYS try to get things in writing, especially promises. That said, circumstances and events on the road are so fluid that it's really not realistic to expect some things, like home time, to be solidly set in stone 100% of the time.
Article - Choosing A Truck Driving Job Part VIII: Talking With The Right People
When it comes to speaking with recruiters, there are some things to be aware of. First of all, be leery of guarantees from a company. The trucking industry is by nature cyclical and unpredictable. If they make promises like “you will be home every Friday by dinnertime”, or “everybody gets home for the holidays”, or “you will get a minimum of 2000 miles per week”, then more than likely you're being lied to.
Forum - Question about communicating with recruiters
An e-mail is just as good as having it on paper, but trust me if something doesn't go like you thought it should that recruiter will have no authority to make something happen for you. Once you get hired on you will probably never be able to talk to that recruiter again. They are a sales team, and completely separate from the daily operations of the trucking company.
Will my recruiter be any help to me after he signs me up with the company?
Generally, no. After you decide to go with a company, you probably won't have any further contact with your recruiter. Their job is to get you committed, signed-up, and in the door, and that's about it.
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