I noticed you've asked a couple of times about this..don't know if you got your answer, so... to contact them (well this is what I did) go to their website at cretecarrier, fill out their online application, and you should get a return phone call within 24-48 hours, and there are also recruiter phone numbers on their website. Check it out...a pretty good site. Hope that help and good luck.

Tip ..Just really want to say thanks to you and everyone else here for that (choosing Crete, I tried Roehl and they have a hiring freeze for students in this area) and this forum. I spent many hours sifting thru the info here and clearly the better companies become apparent real quick. What I found surprising/disappointing is how much the CDL schools really push Swift, Werner, Covenant, etc. This is a great site. I'm glad I found it before I went to a CDL school. It gives you a little edge when making decisions.

Glad I could help, CowGirl. I wish I would have had a website like this back when I started out in 1995. I wouldn't have made the huge mistakes I made.

I remember my mill pushed a few companies hard. Swift was one, and I went with that outfit. HUGE mistake. One outfit they didn't push was MS Carriers, which was a great company, I found out later (too late, in fact). My mill wouldn't allow certain trucking companies to come on their property to recruit, and I now know why--the company holding the leash was calling the shots and competing companies were forced to stay away.

The mills push certain companies, and those companies in turn push those mills, because the companies the mills push have stakes in those mills. My mill was a "corporation", meaning SwiftQuit controlled some of it. I'd take a wild guess and say that share was 1/3. If it was 50%, I'd not be surprised. There's a way to find out who-owns-what in a mill if it's publically traded.

Yeah, I would have been much, much better off going with Mike Stearns right out of school instead of that POS JerryCo. But you won't be making this mistake. Congrats on going with a great company right out of the gate.

One thing about Swift--those guys allow drivers with 6 months' experience to be trainers, and these are guys who could have been trained by yet other trainers who had only 6 months' experience. Think about that one. Yeah, you're doing great, CowGal. Just give the SwiftQuit/SwiftWreck trucks a wide berth.


Best of luck. You'll do fine at CCC.

__________________
--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.

Very helpful thread! I go tomarrow to do the 'paper work' then after that I go out for 8 weeks with a trainer.
Anyone know why orientiation is after training? Isnt orientation usually first?

That is rather odd. You're doing the paperwork in one day? Maybe that's orientation. They wouldn't let you go out before the gatekeepers have officially hired you. This 'paperwork' phase is the orientation, as strange as that seems. I KNOW the keepers of the gates must check you out before they say "yes" to you. One big gatekeeper is the safety department, and those guys have to say "yes" before you put your hands on a steering wheel. But before they say 'yes', they have to know all about you. They'd be fools not to, considering the wrecks they have seen at CCC and at other companies. And insiders at CCC aren't fools.

__________________
--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.

Yes, I go tomarrow for a drug screen, DOT physical, and some seat time if a driver is avaliable. Couple day wait for D/S results then out for 4 wks w/trainer. Come home for 1 wk, then out another 4 wks w/trainer. Then, head for Lincoln and attend 2 day orientation. Get assigned truck and get a home bound load.

Oh, by 'paperwork', I meant d/s and physical. I appologize for the confusion.

Hmmm. This is still too odd for Crete. They need to get the results of these tests before you're even allowed to get on a truck. You could be a pill-popper or somebody with epilepsy, so they won't be allowing you any driving time immediately if you do manage to get on a truck. If they DO let you drive before knowing who you are, that would be a huge strike against that company in my opinion. If someone has told you you'll be getting that seat time, don't worry about it. People tell lies in trucking, and you'll have to accept that. Crete is a good company overall, though, just in case you have been lied to about driving immediately. You won't be allowed to drive until the test results come back and the safety guys say "yes".

__________________
--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.

Yup, Crete requires students to go through 8 weeks of training. Crete will hire drivers with as little as 4-6 months experience depending on circumstances(driving record, work history, etc). These limited experience drivers are also required to go through an 8 week training period. Drivers with 6-12 experience are required to drive with a trainer for 2 to 8 weeks depending on their performance as judged by their trainer. Crete will also require experienced drivers to run with a trainer if they have been out of a truck for an extended period of time. I've had "trainees" with over 10 years experience, but for whatever reason have not driven a truck in previous years. These drivers obviously know how to drive, but are considered a trainee based more on the idea that they need to demonstrate the ability to log legal under the new laws that have been instituted since the last time they drove. These drivers are typically released after one week.

Crete does not have a stead fast, cookie cutter application process. Each applicant is considered on an individual basis. Please be aware that you are being "interviewed" from your first phone call. Significant weight is giving to how you present yourself in your initial contact with a recruiter. First impressions are paramount in this business and how you present yourself over the phone is a strong indicator as to how you will represent the company in the future. Many drivers(regardless of their experience level) disqualify themselves within the first few minutes and never realize it. Be professional at all times.

The last I heard, Crete hires 1 out of every 20 applicants, or something in that range.

As far as Tip running "team" after his first three weeks, it is unfortunate. I am also curious if this was a recent experience. Crete has been very strict in the previous year with regards to training. Even after a truck has been cleared to run "super single" the truck is not allowed to run more than 16-18 hours a day. This does not refer to driving hours, this means from the time the truck starts rolling after a break, it must me stopped after the 18th hour regardless of what happened during the day, just like the 14 hr clock is applied in the DOT rules.

I guess like any company, there are good ones and bad ones, same with trainers. I consider myself to be a very good trainer. I am there to teach the next generation of drivers to be safe, courteous and professional and take this responsibility seriously.

If anyone has a trainer that they feel is not qualified or committed, they need to take responsibility and pass this information on.

Good luck to all and drive safe.

Crete puts you through training to learn how to drive and to learn company policy. Orientation concentrates on reiterating what you learned and fill in any gaps that were overlooked by your trainer. You are much more likely to retain information presented to you in this way. In other words, a test of what you have learned. You will have a point of reference and will be able to relate to the information. You will be able to say to yourself, "yeah, that's the way I've been doing it" or "wait a minute, i need clarification on that point", etc.

Orientation is also where you'll get to see all the fun safety videos and sexual harassment material that all companies will throw at you.

You will also use this time to fill out paperwork pertaining to heath insurance, life insurance, 401k, truck assignment and so on.

A quick note here, Crete also handles orientation a little differently when they hire an experienced driver. You will be set up with a rental car, once you get to your assigned terminal and go through the DOT physical , drug test, paperwork and mini orientation, you will be assigned a truck and dispatched. If things go as planed you will be routed through a terminal that has orientation(usually Atlanta or Lincoln) within the first week or two. I was actually on the road for 3 weeks before I made it to orientation. It was nice to be making money from day one. Once the paid orientation is done, your back on the road.

You guys that work at Crete, I have a question. On the Crete website, it says you have to be 22 years old, and have one year OTR experience. However, on this board, I was told or read on a couple different occassions that you do NOT have to have experience. I figured maybe their website needs to be updated.

So can anyone verify the 1 year OTR requirement?
Can anyone verify the hiring age?