How Soon Is Too Soon To Talk To A Recruiter?
Topic 6738 | Page 1
Its really never to early once you commit to driving. You really need to ask yourself when you are going to move and would it be wise to move before or after you find employment. I myself found that renting my house out while starting my new career as a benefit to me. Since most OTR companies have very flexible areas where one resides .I can decide after my training and once I settle in to my new career on where I should locate myself in the future. It also never hurts to have my mortgage paid for while I am away. Since I will be home only a short time (3 or 4 days at a time). I have friends and family to stay with on such occasions. Plus when you decide to move you can always put your home up for sale then. Also the longer yu wait to find employment the harder it is to be employed. So start getting those prehire letters now, it's never too early.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Prehire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I would think that now would be a good time to get that ball rolling so to speak. I don't think it would hurt to talk a recuiter now since it is pretty much their job to get you in a seat, and they can give you more advice since you do plan on relocating yourself. It may even help plan the coming months for your move as well. Besides it can't hurt anything just by talking with them.
Never to early to talk to em.
Now if your planning on swift as a company, generally, they take you to dmv to get a permit, or thats how the Phoenix academy does it. So if your planning on going to TN, Swift does have a school in Memphis, it may be easier to get yourself set up as a resident there?? Im not 100% on this, I went to the Phoenix academy in 2012 and being from CA I was taken to the AZ dmv took my written exams there for permit and once I passed the final exams, I was issued a CDL lic from AZ and had to transfer back to CA when I went home.
If the Memphis or any other school is the same, they will use the address of the hotel you stay at, so If you happen to get to TN prior to starting school you can get your new lic pretty easy i think? Hell, if you know someone there in TN that will let you use there address for DMV temporarily, you might have a good chance too.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
Thanks for the replies guys!
I took the stomach turning decision to give a Swift recruiter a call today. I was afraid that they might find it awkward that somebody who has never been in the business would call to just 'talk' about things, but I'm pleasantly surprised that he was quite helpful (even though he didn't really tell me anything that I haven't already read on this website, haha). But it makes me enthusiastic. Him telling me that there's no shortage of work out in the midwest. He mentioned the background check process and getting set with a residence in TN, but as long as everything checks out and I've got a clean driving record (which I do, surprisingly, for someone who lives in this winter wonderland), that they should have no problem getting me into the academy in Memphis.
And not to mention, with all of this, my real estate agent called me today telling me she's pretty sure I've got an offer for my house coming in tomorrow. So frankly, I'm finishing the day on a confident high. Happy New Year's everyone! I'll keep you posted!
Thanks for the replies guys!
I took the stomach turning decision to give a Swift recruiter a call today. I was afraid that they might find it awkward that somebody who has never been in the business would call to just 'talk' about things, but I'm pleasantly surprised that he was quite helpful (even though he didn't really tell me anything that I haven't already read on this website, haha). But it makes me enthusiastic. Him telling me that there's no shortage of work out in the midwest. He mentioned the background check process and getting set with a residence in TN, but as long as everything checks out and I've got a clean driving record (which I do, surprisingly, for someone who lives in this winter wonderland), that they should have no problem getting me into the academy in Memphis.
And not to mention, with all of this, my real estate agent called me today telling me she's pretty sure I've got an offer for my house coming in tomorrow. So frankly, I'm finishing the day on a confident high. Happy New Year's everyone! I'll keep you posted!
That's great news on both fronts.. good luck with everything!
If you are moving in with someone in TN you can have them write a note stating you live with them and they show proof of address you won't have to wait the month or 2 for verifiable address
...Assuming I can be moving out in about a month and leave my house for a real estate agent to worry about, and knowing that it'll take a month or 2 to get proof of domicile in TN for a CDL permit, how soon do you guys think it would be appropriate for me to start calling and talking to a recruiter from Swift or Schenider or some other big names out there about the possibility of getting a CDL through the company and training to become an OTR driver?
...
Here's my tiny bit of experience... after much discussion/planning with my wife and family over the past year I will start CDL school this summer (G*d willing). I am really chomping at the bit to get things started, so a couple of weeks ago I filled out an online application to TMC (one of the companies on my short list) hoping to get a "pre-hire" letter. They emailed me back with a number to call the next day, which I did ... and I got to talk with one of their recruiters... really nice guy, answered all of my questions, but it was a little awkward when I asked about getting a pre-hire... He assured me that everything was in order on my application (which is all I really needed to know) but that it was a little early for the pre-hire thing. He told me to wait and give him a call when I start school... So, my answer to you is that its never too early to call recruiters and ask questions and get general information... and they will probably be happy to talk with you (unless they're busy with people who are presently ready to go to work). But, if you're talking about starting the hiring process, I'd wait until you are actually ready to get started training... because I think things will go very quickly once that happens...
Just 2 cents from a wanna-be trucker...
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
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Hey everyone,
So I've been looking through this website (and a few others) for the past couple weeks and I've been looking into getting myself into the trucking industry. I was let go by my job nearly two months ago now and despite having applications out everywhere (even grocery stores), there's no phone calls coming back to me. I live in a city in Northern NY (no, not like Buffalo) that doesn't really have much of a demand for OTR drivers. And even though I'm only 22, I don't think going back to college is in my cards for the time being.
I was planning to move to the midwest sometime during late 2015 because I live alone in a house that I inherited that costs way too much for me to stay in for the rest of my life. However, knowing that I'll be moving to a town right outside of Nashville, TN; and seeing from load of people how there's a huge demand for drivers out there, I think I'll be expediting my move a bit.
Assuming I can be moving out in about a month and leave my house for a real estate agent to worry about, and knowing that it'll take a month or 2 to get proof of domicile in TN for a CDL permit, how soon do you guys think it would be appropriate for me to start calling and talking to a recruiter from Swift or Schenider or some other big names out there about the possibility of getting a CDL through the company and training to become an OTR driver?
By the way, for anyone who needs that last little push over the fence if they're thinking about becoming a driver, do read Brett's Book I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I needed.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated