Can willingness to work nights boost my chances of getting hired?

Makes no difference if the job isn't available.

 

If you're willing to haul fuel during evening/night shifts -- that should definitely improve your chances of getting an interview.

The toughest shifts to fill start at/just after midnight.

But....just how much that will help you...vs other candidates who already have fuel experience....is really tough to say....without knowing more about the competition.

-- L

 

Just applying for jobs might find you one.

Take some initiative, get out there, talk to the companies hauling fuel, talk to the boss man ask if you can do a ride along to learn, be eager to help, be polite and professional, go in seeking knowledge not specifically looking for the job, if they like you a job is likely to appear.

Most companies don't want to take a chance on people with no experience because a lot of people want to treat a pay check like an attendance award, if you show them you are willing to show up and learn, that completely changes the dynamic.

 

The first thing you will likely hear at a fuel transport interview is, "This is a night shift position, will that be a problem?"

Honestly, you just gotta keep applying until your app crosses the right desk at the right time.

 

There are only a few daytime trucking jobs, and the vast majority of most other trucking, almost always involves night driving. Fuel hauling requires experience, but haz-mat gets hauled all the time by regular drivers. Tanker is extremely tough to get into, and not always night only, many tankers run around the clock. Van , like line haul, or reefer is almost always at night, and I liked night driving too, but it screws you up well into retirement

 

If you’re applying at companies that slip seat daycabs there’s a 90% chance you’ll be starting out on nights and weekends anyway.

 

No wife/kids, I'd say move personally.

I lived in the southeast and worked as a truck driver. It sucks ###. Cities every 100 miles like all of the East Coast, boring scenery, torrential rains constantly, traffic, low wages, no union jobs, Florida is no man's land in trucking if you are there, lots of job competition, it isn't cheap anymore like before covid and wages are still barely better than before covid.

I moved to the PNW. Within about a year or two I tripled what I made driving in the SE. Unfortunately, the job market has died; money dried up here as well so I'm planning on going to Alaska and running up there next year.

I can almost bet you'll be running nights only for years if you can get hired on. No fuel exp. And a new hazmat is gonna be a hard sell.

I've seen 4 fuel jobs come open here in 6 months.
1. Maverick. Load pay system but they do make bank. 500-600/night 12 hour shift. ~40 applicants day 1 with fuel exp. Was the rumor I heard.
2. Small mom-n-pop outfit with 5 trucks. Filled the spot in a couple days. 35/hr w/ OT after 40.
3. Alpha transport. lmao
4. Forget the name but it's half fuel, half propane out in the middle of absolute nowhere for 24/hr. No OT.

And this is in the PNW. We get 4 months of slipping and sliding with truck-n-pup death traps as well.

 

Superior has job listings in Portland and Tacoma, and Sentinel has one in Renton.

And @Zonno, working nights/weekends/holidays is an expectation. In my area, there doesn't exist a true day shift or night shift, everything is split shift, with shift breaks happening somewhere between 1-3am depending on the company. So you don't get to choose between day and night, you choose between waking up super early or working super late into the night.

 

Truly the worst, trying to divide up the night hours. 6-6 would be best for night shift. If you have to do 12's. I'd hate 1-1 or 3-3 like most companies run.