Looking For A Truck Driving Job After CDL Training

Just to add, it does seem curious that companies supposedly need drivers yet an applicant has to keep nudging them to consider your application???

It's a case of management trying to cut costs as much as possible. The first place most companies cut costs are in places that don't produce revenues - like customer service and recruiting. So they try to get by with the absolute minimum number of recruiters possible so they're always overwhelmed with work.

Also, recruiters are often paid a commission for each driver they bring in. So what they'll do is work on the applications they think have the best chance at bringing in a driver. If you keep calling them and inquiring about employment they'll feel you're serious about working for the company and they'll work on your application. If you're a recruiter and you have 200 applications sitting in a pile in front of you, you know 20 or 30 of those people are going to call you and show they're serious about working there. Those are the ones you're going to focus on.

Just to add, it does seem curious that companies supposedly need drivers yet an applicant has to keep nudging them to consider your application???

It's a case of management trying to cut costs as much as possible. The first place most companies cut costs are in places that don't produce revenues - like customer service and recruiting. So they try to get by with the absolute minimum number of recruiters possible so they're always overwhelmed with work.

Also, recruiters are often paid a commission for each driver they bring in. So what they'll do is work on the applications they think have the best chance at bringing in a driver. If you keep calling them and inquiring about employment they'll feel you're serious about working for the company and they'll work on your application. If you're a recruiter and you have 200 applications sitting in a pile in front of you, you know 20 or 30 of those people are going to call you and show they're serious about working there. Those are the ones you're going to focus on.

Glad I brought that up Brett, that makes perfect sense. No matter how badly a company may need drivers, they still have to separate the wheat from the chaff.

This is interesting because it reminds me of what happened to me at my school. During the range backing part of the training I struggled alley docking and offset parking because I had never even sat in a tractor let alone drive one, but the 3 other students in my class all had prior experience and were able to complete the range backing first try, but I struggled as I’m sure the other students did the first time they ever tried it. Anyway, it worked out that I would have to spend another day on the range with some instruction so I was sidelined until further notice. I waited a week and didn’t hear back from the owner so I started texting him and he said that he hadn’t forgotten me and he would get back to me after the other 3 students in my class were done with their training. So weeks went by and I texted again and same thing: he would get back to me and he hadn’t forgotten me.

It had reached the point where 2 months had gone by and I was pretty fed up that my training was put on hold like this, so I texted an ultimatum basically telling Sarge (the owner) that I needed a firm commitment from him on a date that I could return to the range or to refund one-third of my tuition. Six or seven hours later I received a text telling me to show up at the range Saturday at 6am.

The point is that, whether intentional or not, it seems that this was a great lesson to be learned when dealing with trucking companies: you have to be persistent. The actual problem was that Sarge was running the school all by himself and he was waiting for his lead instructor to return after surgeries and health problems. Everything worked out great in the end because Von Scaff was a fantastic instructor and I worked one on one with him for probably 40 or 50 hours and passed the school with flying colors.

Yeah, the trucking industry is not the place for shy people. You have to stand up and be heard. You have to make your own way. Now that doesn't mean you have to be a loud-mouth jerk to get heard. But it does mean you have to be persistent and sometimes you have to "politely insist" on getting your way with things or being heard.

The trucking industry is also very competitive. Everyone knows the companies compete with each other for profit, but most people don't realize at first that as a driver you're competing for freight with the other drivers in your company. Trucking companies keep track of driver performance. They know how many miles you average a week, how often you're late for appointments, how long you've been with the company, what your safety record looks like, and even how many alerts you've triggered on the computer in your truck (hard braking, overspeed, etc).

When companies dish out freight, they try to give the right freight to the right driver. They want their most precious customers and hottest freight handled by their best drivers. On top of that, office politics plays into it. Certain companies give more authority to dispatchers when it comes to distributing freight. Other companies require load planners to distribute it. Since drivers are interacting with their dispatchers on a daily basis, the dispatchers with more pull can take better care of the drivers they like. They get better miles and better runs.

Finally, some dispatchers get paid a bonus based on their driver's performance. Each dispatcher usually has about 50 drivers or so on their board. So the more miles and on-time appointments a dispatcher's drivers get the bigger the bonus. So dispatch will look at how loads are distributed and try to make sure each driver has an appropriate load for their skill level and record.

So as a driver you really want to go out there and make a name for yourself in a good way. You want to do favors for dispatch, make all of your appointments on time, and run as hard as you can safely. Do that for six months or so and handle yourself like a true professional and you should get great miles and plenty of freight.

Thanks Brett for the most informative and generous reply. Lots of info there I never considered or even knew about.

I have faith in the trucking industry and especially all the great people I’ve met so far at the school and even some drivers. There’s a lot of talent in trucking. As an example, my instructor Von Scaff is a published author, “Fire Team Bravo,” and he has another novel completed as well as one in the works. Look at yourself all the great writing you do. This one guy in my class had a photographic memory and finished all four CDL tests at the registry in like 10 minutes. Lots of interesting and very bright people in trucking. I met a couple North Carolina car haulers from the Auto Expeditors forum a couple weeks ago. They had to deliver 8 or 9 in cars in Vegas so they rang me up and we had a great meal and talked. Very sharp guys, and they so generously shared so much information with me. We’ll be meeting up again next weekend.

My point is that I’m really psyched at the prospect of entering the trucking industry and getting my career off the ground, and it seems that the people with the best attitudes get the most out of their careers and are the most successful. I love the idea that you get out of trucking what you put into it and you have to earn respect the old fashioned way. There seems to be a beautiful fairness to that. I like it.

Jeff I tried to email you but it said that was the wrong address

Jeff I tried to email you but it said that was the wrong address

Yes, sorry, I have a new email address from when I left MA. It’s:

jeffreyp950@gmail.com

The email address that I use to log in here is my old address and it’s no longer valid. I’m trying to figure out how to change it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Hey Brett, can I change my email address here to my new one? Thanks.

Fellas, do any of you know if the trucking companies call the private trucking schools when a CDL holder applies for a job? I mean do they ask the trucking school what they thought about the student and if he/ she might be someone good to hire, attendance record, being on time for class, or other important questions that might help them make a decision?

Thanks.

My CDL school told me they just request confirmation that I completed the program. They fax some paperwork and that's it. I am sure it varies for companies, but I doubt they call and speak with your CDL school about you. It's not worth the trucking company's time.

I know it's been mentioned before but when you put your applications in online... DO NOT LIE. Leave no gaps in work history, don't leave out any speeding tickets you got, and so on. If you lie, they will find out and most likely not hire you. Go online to your state DMV website and order a copy of your Driver History Report, it may be free or cost a few dollars. Get all your paperwork in order, your med card, social security card, passport, CDL, all that stuff. That way when you apply you have everything in front of you and do not need to search for things.

My CDL school told me they just request confirmation that I completed the program. They fax some paperwork and that's it. I am sure it varies for companies, but I doubt they call and speak with your CDL school about you. It's not worth the trucking company's time.

I know it's been mentioned before but when you put your applications in online... DO NOT LIE. Leave no gaps in work history, don't leave out any speeding tickets you got, and so on. If you lie, they will find out and most likely not hire you. Go online to your state DMV website and order a copy of your Driver History Report, it may be free or cost a few dollars. Get all your paperwork in order, your med card, social security card, passport, CDL, all that stuff. That way when you apply you have everything in front of you and do not need to search for things.

Thanks for the tips, appreciate it.

Fellas, just wondering, do you think it’s easier to get hired at a company if you’re applying with a CDL from a private school or if you’re applying to try to get into a company’s CDL school?

Logically you would think that having obtained your CDL on your own you would be displaying initiative, dedication, seriousness, and strong desire to become a trucker as well as making a substantial cash investment to back it all up. It seems these are all qualities that a company would be interested in. What do you think, any truth to this in the real world of trucking? Thanks.