Name Three Things You Love About Your Company

I am sorry this is my last reply but is there any advice on how soon should I start applying if I am near the end of my training period or should I start a new thread??

I am sorry this is my last reply but is there any advice on how soon should I start applying if I am near the end of my training period or should I start a new thread??

Start looking now. I thought of it as shopping for a job. Get ahold of a few companies your interested in and see what they have to say. The more effort you put out to try and find the best fit for you the better off you'll be. Job hopping is frowned upon in this industry so try and make sure you'll be happy.

I live in VA also.

I am sorry this is my last reply but is there any advice on how soon should I start applying if I am near the end of my training period or should I start a new thread??

Thread jacker!!! Haha I'm kidding.

Use the link to apply to a bunch of companies at once. Then evaluate the replies. There could be ones out there u never considered.

Apply For Truck Driving Jobs

In my area swift CRE and Roehl are the only ones who advertise. A friend told me of prime...I was set to go to Roehl. I probably would have been very happy with any of them....especially since I worked in the bowels of Satan for almost two decades (the post office). But prime that I didn't even consider will remain my home for a very long time. ;)

And he's right Rainy... good idea for a post... I would add to it but I don't work for a mega

Well thanks for that advice that is much appreciated!

I work for Swift.

1. So many opportunities. Right now I'm on a local account with Target, working as a yard hostler and doing local runs. This is what I wanted to do, but if I didn't like it for some reason there are several other driving positions available to me at any given time.

2. Swift has given me second chances. In some ways I don't deserve to be driving for them anymore, but I have been given second chances and allowed to prove that I'm serious about and capable of correcting poor behaviors/habits.

3. I absolutely love my bosses. On the Target account, there are two people I report to--the Target dedicated manager and my driver leader. They both work right there in the Target DC. Any time I have an issue that needs to be taken care of, I either call them or go see them in person. They always make time for their drivers and treat us like family. I don't know how they do it, but they taylor our loads and schedules to our individual needs. And my driver leader has experience as an otr driver, local Target driver, and yard hostler, so he intimately knows every aspect of the job I'm expected to perform. It is a huge privilege to work with these people and I don't take it for granted.

4. (Sorry I know there are only supposed to be three!) Focus on safety. It's not just a simple, "shut down if you don't feel safe." We receive safety videos on our Qualcomms every few weeks or so, sometimes just encouraging us to remember to be safe, but often including real life examples of drivers making good or bad examples and the consequences for their actions. They often include short video clips of other drivers in the videos. Like one time, they showed a video (with the driver's consent) of one of our drivers falling asleep at the wheel. He fortunately did not crash but wanted to share the video with the rest of us as a warning not to drive fatigued. We also have required annual simulator classes. Yes, I do actually learn from those classes--they may be somewhat unrealistic but they are still very helpful. We have chaining classes, Swift Decision Driving classes, Local Close Quarters (LCQ) maneuvering classes one on one with a trainer. I've also had multiple driver managers who encouraged their drivers to let them know if we needed any extra training with backing or other things.

I didn't originally plan on staying here for very long, but I'm being taken care of so well, there isn't much reason for me to look elsewhere.

Swift sounds like an awesome company to work for.

Victor chimes in"

Swift sounds like an awesome company to work for.

Yes Victor, contrary to what many would have you believe, they're an awesome company to work for! Like anything else worth having, you must work hard at learning the ropes and finding your way, getting out of it exactly what you put into it.

Here are my top three reasons for choosing to drive for Swift:

Safety. "Be safe in everything you do". They definitely walk the talk, no hype. At the DC where I am assigned we have direct access to the full-time safety director. Whenever I see a truck with any kind of a problem, I let him know and he takes care of it. Also includes any new or worsening safety concern with weather, store access or drive route; it's addressed immediately. Never have they questioned me if I shut-down due to weather or fatigue or equipment issue. They will always say; "that is your decision, we'll support you".

Team Approach. I am assigned to a Walmart DC as a dedicated driver. During that assignment I have never once felt like a number, always like an integral part of a team. DMs, Planners, and drivers work together. I have helped them out of jams and they have in-turn helped me to the point of once picking me up at a store and taking me back to the DC so I didn't miss a planned holiday family dinner last spring. Although Swift has about 20,000 drivers; my relationship and career depends on the relationships I have built and continue to develop with the planners and DMs assigned to the Dedicated Team at DC 7030. Cannot stress how important it is to build solid, professional relationships with driver management and support.

Opportunities. Almost infinite. Definitely eye-opening once a top performing driver eclipses the first year of experience. To the point if I wanted a temporary assignment in a DC outside of my territory they will do it. For instance; my first Grand Daughter was born early October of last year. Without me asking; my DM offered me a run to Indy area (where my Daughter and her family live) and be assigned temporarily to the Muncie IN terminal for a week, making it easier for me to visit my Grand Daughter. I also have the ability of running for one of the Florida DC's if I need to get out of the Northeast winter during Jan-Feb. Opportunities abound. Refer to Paul W's reply as well, he nailed it.

Swift sounds like an awesome company to work for.

Victor, Sift is a great place to work, but I just want to point something out to you about this conversation.

I honestly don't think you've missed the point I am going to make because earlier in the conversation you said this...

This is definitely, a cool way to learn about drivers and their companies by their opinions!

But, I am going to make the point for anyone who may be missing it.

So far each of the drivers we've heard from are extremely happy with their company, and several companies are represented. I can assure you that with almost no effort we could find a bunch of folks who think each of the companies we've heard about this far are terrible places to work!

My point in sharing this way of looking at this whole subject is that what we are learning here is not so much of how great the companies are, but how a really good driver with a positive approach to this career gets treated. We talk about this being a performance based industry all the time. The people that we are hearing from here are the true performers - the problem solvers - the go getters - the folks who make sacrifices, work late and early - the folks who do what ever it takes to "git 'er done."

I'm sitting in a Knight terminal today waiting on my truck to be serviced. It is barely even ten in the morning yet, and I have heard an astonishing array of crazy stories about how bad this company is treating it's drivers. It is amazing to me how wonderful this job is, and how wonderfully I am treated here that I sometimes just have to scratch my head and walk away from these "terminal rats." I'm in the laundry room now just to take a break from the negativity that is so thick it is stifling to your psychological well being.

Here's a sample of two of my favorite discussions:

1) These guys are only hiring young Kids or Old Ladies, and then they don't understand why they can't do a Grown Man's job!

2) These guys don't even give you a chance to take a break... They always try to put a pre-plan on me before I am even finished with my current load!

Victor, I am extremely happy at Knight, but if you were a fly on the wall here at this terminal you'd think that I am the only one! This is just the way it is no matter where you look. That is why I always try to teach people that the name on the doors of your truck is just not that critical, what is important is how you conduct yourself in the pursuit of this career. I can't even conceive of what kind of idiot would not see the advantages of having a pre-plan before you are finished with your current load! Professional drivers strive for this type of treatment. I make herculean efforts at times so that my driver manager knows he can trust me with that type of treatment.

I want you to be aware of this because it is possible for each of us that our first choice of companies just may not hire us. I got rejected three different times when I was trying to get started in this business, but today I can just about write my ticket to anywhere I want to go. All of the drivers we've heard from in here have made their own success stories at these companies, and anyone can do that same thing by taking a positive, committed approach to being efficient, safe, and on time while not complaining and/or being a general pain in the back side with their driver manager.

What you are really learning from these testimonies is how well good drivers are treated by these trucking companies. I learned these things by my own experiences as a rookie driver at a company who was slandered on every hand by it's own drivers. I was honestly scared to start my orientation with them due to everything I had read about them. Fortunately it was all false unsubstantiated information from folks who didn't have a clue about how to succeed as a professional driver.

I'm gonna add that many of the companies are alike too. Various drivers wrote "family feel" "safety" "maintained equipment".

I'll admit though..I did gripe about my preplan today...to myself. I have five hours on my clock and wanted to eat and shower. The Nor'easter here is knocking out power and downing lines...and the snow didn't start yet. But....I have five hours of drive time left so I got preplanned. Lol

I just did a 1700 mile run and most was thru yucky fog you can barely see. And I did shutdown during the worst parts...but its tiring. However..Tues is our pay cutoff and I know my FM wanted to squeeze me in another 400 miles on this check... So I can't blame him for me being tired hahah