Haggle Starting Pay?

Is there a such thing as negotiating what your starting pay will be for a company? I was just wondering with all of the companies out there if they would budge at all if you were talking with two different companies and you tell them one pays more maybe they might come a little closer to match the offer?

Justin, all new drivers are considered a high risk. You don't have any leverage other than the fact that they need drivers.

Get started, develop your self as a good solid dependable driver, then you may have something to leverage yourself with. I seriously doubt you'll even get a second look if you come in wanting to negotiate so little to offer as a green horn.

When you are new to this it's really hard to fathom just how much you don't know yet. Take it one step at a time. First step is getting that first job.

Don't let those CPM rates bother you so much at this point. If you get the hang of this and perform well you will get raises. I made right at fifty grand my rookie year, yet my starting pay was 27 cents per mile.

Focus on how to be productive and it will change your whole perspective on how to make money at this job.

Justin please realize the "offer" is an invitation to attend orientation, that's it. It's not a job offer, the likes of which you are accustom to. Haggling on CPM? I would strongly suggest NOT doing that. You are asking for a bump in pay before ever proving yourself. Law of averages, they know from statistics 75% of rookie drivers will be out of trucking before completing their 6th month of service. In any negotiation, you need to have some sort of leverage...as an unproven novice you have none.

I read through many of your posts and you seem to be focusing a great deal of your energy on CPM. Starting CPM is just that...starting. As you progress within a specific company there are pay increases along the way. Possible bonus and incentives for performance, safety, and fuel economy are also a consideration. Each varies within a company, but the emphasis is always on performance. No matter which way you slice it, realistically expect about 40k average for your 12 months. This includes road training time, while you are being paid to learn.

Learn how to make money at this...it will take the majority of your first year to fully understand all that entails.

Good luck.

Justin, I am in complete agreement with G-Town. Instead of focusing on cpm , focus on other tangibles. Focus on details such as: type of freight, home time options, rider/pet policies, and other benefits. Choose your first company based on the other tangibles. Pay will come with time. Besides, most companies offer incentives such as mileage bonuses, safety bonuses, fuel bonuses/incentives. The better you perform the more you will get paid. It is just that simple.

If you truly want to compare pay, you have to focus on so much more than basic cpm. Those other bonuses play a huge roll in your pay. Look at how easily attainable the bonuses are. Take the company I work for as an example. Starting pay for a rookie is 32 cpm. At 6 mos and 9 months you get a 1 cpm raise. At 1 year you get another 3 cpm raise. 32 cpm is definitely not on the higher end of starting pay. However, every quarter there is a mileage bonus. The highest tier bonus is just under 30k miles for the quarter. Let's say 30k for easy numbers. That is 10k a month. 2,500 a week. That is so easily attainable. The highest mileage bracket pays 4.5 cpm on every mile for the quarter. Your talking a very nice bonus every quarter. All you have to do is perform. I achieved it last quarter and I was broke down at least once a week for 6 of the first 8 weeks. Every time I was down it was for 1-3 days. Stuff happens, but I still made the mileage.

I am willing to bet those companies that pay a higher base mileage also set there bonuses, so they are a lot harder to achieve. As long as nothing completely crazy happens, I can nearly bet on making the highest tier bonus every quarter. So what is my pay? One could easily argue I make 37.5 cpm. (33 cpm base and 4.5 cpm bonus)

Drive Safe and God Speed

I have seen VERY EXPERIENCED (over 10 yrs+) drivers be able to negotiate starting pay, but as an inexperienced driver (that needs training) you would not have anything to offer to plead your case for a higher pay rate.

That said, get prehires , accept the best offer for you, do your best and don't look back. Be grateful for the opportunity they give you.