New Hire At ABF Freight, Maybe?

Hi guys. I was hoping someone could shed some light on ABF Freight's hiring process. I interviewed back in the middle of February and apparently that went well because the terminal manager submitted my hire packet to HR. That was on the 8th of March. I got a call from someone in HR asking me to verify my birth date about a week later. She said from there she was sending my information to background. Yesterday, the terminal manager asked me to come in for a drug screen which I took today along with the physical. I know I will pass them both. I guess my question is, am I hired or is there possibly still anything that could jeopardize my chances? At this point, is the background check still ongoing, or am I in the clear? By the way, this is a dock-only casual position. I am considering a career change and thought that working the dock was a good way to get my feet wet. You know, to find out if a career in freight would be good for me. I also thought that it might be a good way to get my foot in the door. I hear it's hard to get a job at ABF. Anyway, do you guys think I pretty much got the job if I've already taken the drug screen? Thanks to all who reply.

Hi guys. I was hoping someone could shed some light on ABF Freight's hiring process. I interviewed back in the middle of February and apparently that went well because the terminal manager submitted my hire packet to HR. That was on the 8th of March. I got a call from someone in HR asking me to verify my birth date about a week later. She said from there she was sending my information to background. Yesterday, the terminal manager asked me to come in for a drug screen which I took today along with the physical. I know I will pass them both. I guess my question is, am I hired or is there possibly still anything that could jeopardize my chances? At this point, is the background check still ongoing, or am I in the clear? By the way, this is a dock-only casual position. I am considering a career change and thought that working the dock was a good way to get my feet wet. You know, to find out if a career in freight would be good for me. I also thought that it might be a good way to get my foot in the door. I hear it's hard to get a job at ABF. Anyway, do you guys think I pretty much got the job if I've already taken the drug screen? Thanks to all who reply.

Andrew depending how extensive ABF's criminal background check is, could take up to a week or so for results to be returned to them. If you were completely honest on your job application, you should be in the clear. It's typically non-disclosure that gets people in trouble on the background check.

Hi guys. I was hoping someone could shed some light on ABF Freight's hiring process. I interviewed back in the middle of February and apparently that went well because the terminal manager submitted my hire packet to HR. That was on the 8th of March. I got a call from someone in HR asking me to verify my birth date about a week later. She said from there she was sending my information to background. Yesterday, the terminal manager asked me to come in for a drug screen which I took today along with the physical. I know I will pass them both. I guess my question is, am I hired or is there possibly still anything that could jeopardize my chances? At this point, is the background check still ongoing, or am I in the clear? By the way, this is a dock-only casual position. I am considering a career change and thought that working the dock was a good way to get my feet wet. You know, to find out if a career in freight would be good for me. I also thought that it might be a good way to get my foot in the door. I hear it's hard to get a job at ABF. Anyway, do you guys think I pretty much got the job if I've already taken the drug screen? Thanks to all who reply.

Andrew, I have found that that, the better the job, the more drawn out the hiring process. By just about every account I've heard, ABF is a great company to work for. LTL companies like ABF, Old Dominion, SAIA, etc. are notorious for their long, drawn out hiring processes. It sounds like you got it...but stay humble and be patient.

Dan wrote:

I have found that that, the better the job, the more drawn out the hiring process. By just about every account I've heard, ABF is a great company to work for. LTL companies like ABF, Old Dominion, SAIA, etc. are notorious for their long, drawn out hiring processes. It sounds like you got it...but stay humble and be patient.

That's a really great point. Completely agree with that, so true.

Dan wrote:

I have found that that, the better the job, the more drawn out the hiring process. By just about every account I've heard, ABF is a great company to work for. LTL companies like ABF, Old Dominion, SAIA, etc. are notorious for their long, drawn out hiring processes. It sounds like you got it...but stay humble and be patient.

That's a really great point. Completely agree with that, so true.

Thanks for the response guys. I assume that they wouldn't bother with the expense of doing a drug screen unless the background process was already complete. We all know what happens when you assume though. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Dan wrote:

I have found that that, the better the job, the more drawn out the hiring process. By just about every account I've heard, ABF is a great company to work for. LTL companies like ABF, Old Dominion, SAIA, etc. are notorious for their long, drawn out hiring processes. It sounds like you got it...but stay humble and be patient.

That's a really great point. Completely agree with that, so true.

Thanks for the response guys. I assume that they wouldn't bother with the expense of doing a drug screen unless the background process was already complete. We all know what happens when you assume though. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I wouldn't assume that. Most likely, the terminal manager liked what he saw in you and gave the go ahead to continue your hiring process. He is assuming that your background is as clean as you told him and is confident enough that he can start spending some money on you. The background check is still being conducted, most likely. Where I work, they send out a questionnaire to former employers and wait for them to be returned. This is the most time consuming step, as I understand it. They will give former employers a few weeks to respond, most likely. Some places, it's not unusual for it to take 2 months or more from date of application to date of official hire.

I wouldn't assume that. Most likely, the terminal manager liked what he saw in you and gave the go ahead to continue your hiring process. He is assuming that your background is as clean as you told him and is confident enough that he can start spending some money on you. The background check is still being conducted, most likely. Where I work, they send out a questionnaire to former employers and wait for them to be returned. This is the most time consuming step, as I understand it. They will give former employers a few weeks to respond, most likely. Some places, it's not unusual for it to take 2 months or more from date of application to date of official hire.

Well, I hope it all works out. The only thing I'm worried about is dates of employment. I'm about 95% sure I have the months right, but it asked for specific dates, which I was unsure of when I filled out the application. I don't have a criminal record or anything like that. I'm just worried about my faulty memory. Can I assume that once I start my first day, that everything is good? The terminal manager did say that he had heard back from HR and that everything was a go. Would "everything" be referring to the background check or just preliminary things like Social Security verification and things of that nature?

Can I assume that once I start my first day, that everything is good?

lol. Yes!

Did they give you a start date?

Can I assume that once I start my first day, that everything is good?

lol. Yes!

Did they give you a start date?

I know it sounds like a silly question, but I have heard of people starting work and being let go soon after due to background checks. This is mostly government jobs, where they allow you to start while background checks are still ongoing. I'm not sure if a scenario like this is common in the freight industry or not. I haven't been given a start date, but the terminal manager said that after the drug screen comes back, he'd put me on the schedule for training. I hope that HR giving the green light to hire me is an indication that the process is at completion. I'd love to stop worrying about this.

I know it sounds like a silly question, but I have heard of people starting work and being let go soon after due to background checks. This is mostly government jobs, where they allow you to start while background checks are still ongoing. I'm not sure if a scenario like this is common in the freight industry or not. I haven't been given a start date, but the terminal manager said that after the drug screen comes back, he'd put me on the schedule for training. I hope that HR giving the green light to hire me is an indication that the process is at completion. I'd love to stop worrying about this.

Sorry! Actually it's not a silly question, because it's well known here that many of the big truckload carriers "hire" hundreds of people a week only to let many go soon after they have arrived for orientation because of background issues. I'm pretty sure that ABF does not operate that way. They, like most of the reputable LTL companies do all of the background checking before hiring. Sounds to me like you've got the job, pending clean drug screen. Congrats!