Pre-Hire Process

You can try to get pre hires from as many companies as you want. The more the better probably. Honestly only you can decide if a company is going to be right for you. If you do enough reading on here probably no company will sound like a good place to work at.

Just find some that meet your needs and don't worry to much about what other people say or at least take it with a grain of salt. Good luck!

 

i wouldnt think there is a downside to getting too many job offers. sounds like you are getting your ducks in a row nicely. id advise you not even to necessarily tell the others when youve made a decision on a certain company...continue to keep your options open until youve actually gone through the entire hiring process and are in a truck. thats not to say id lie to the others exactly, just that id continue to put them off politely until i was sure i was hired and happy with the choice.

now if youre talking about how to MAKE your choice...here are questions id get answers to before deciding...

do they offer school reimbursement? how much per week/ how much total?
how much cpm will i make immediately? raises of what after how long?
bonuses for productivity/fuel/safety?
layover pay/detention time?
hometime...how many days out=1 day off? how many days can i store and take at once without having to vacate truck and get assigned a new one? (big pita...wouldnt lose my truck over hometime if i could at all help it. but i prefer to stay out long and take longer breaks)
401k/company match?

***how many miles does the average driver make per week?
***what is the percentage of drop and hook?
***what is the average length of haul? (many companies will tell you average miles per week is 2500. this is more of an industry standard. length of haul gives you more of an idea of what you can actually expect. as an otr driver, shorter runs generally equal less miles per week, because of the wait time at shippers/receivers for each load. exception to this would be if most loads were drop and hook, reducing time at shippers/receivers from 1-4 hours or more to 30min-1 hour)

are there apus in most/all trucks? if not, bunk heaters? also if no apus, what is the policy on inverters? cig lighter inverter only, installed inverter, or no inverter policy? ( if no apu and no inverter policy, run away!)

im sure there are a ton more questions to ask, these are the important ones i would need answers to before deciding to go with a company. if you have no need for medical benfits because your spouse has good benefits, youd also want to ask about a substitute of cash for staying off their insurance plan. this is sometimes possible to negotiate.

 

What I would like to know is, when I was in trucking school, why the recruiter was so interested in how come I had not put in many pre-hires. I'm guessing they get a small bit of commission for every pre-hire app filled out and then after we get hired by the company, they get a referral bonus when we sign on. I'll never forget the recruiter hunted me down at the yard just to inform me of this. Very bizzare.

 

You will pretty much get prehires from anyone you fill out an app for provided you are breathing and aren't incarcerated!

Personally I would advise you to not fill out these apps. In actuality you want to avoid these companies! Doesn't it seem odd how easy they make it to get a job with them?! Doesn't a bell go off in your head when you see these companies spend millions of dollars in advertising to get YOU to work for THEM?!

So why do these companies do this? ......

Just like the manufacturers that move all their factories to other countries for cheap labor! In the trucking industry the closest thing to cheap foreign laborers is for them to hire cheap, inexperienced drivers who don't know any better! They aren't interested in how well you drive or how long you plan to stay with them, in fact they don't want you to stay with them. These mega-carriers want a constant flow of fresh, inexperienced meat to keep their seats warm! Otherwise once you have experience then they will have to pay you for it! Hell even their trainers don't have more than three months experience!

Its not that their evil, they are just major corporations that are trying to maximize profits. So in order to obtain such a high volume of fresh meat/drivers they seek to the CDL mills and actually give them a kickback to convince/brainwash you newbies to send you to them! You will find that when you ask your school recruiter or school instructor who they recommend you drive for you will notice that it will all be the same answer. Usually the top 3-5 mega carriers, ie: Swift, Werner, England, USX, Schneider, etc... In fact they will even have their recruiters come to your school and hold long seminars about their companies in order to convince you how great it is to drive for them. Just wait, you will see that they can paint a pretty, convincing portrait of over the road driving! Every one of them will also show you a poster or picture of a brand new, shiny truck fully customized and decked with chrome, pipes, lights etc... on a desolate single lane highway curve around a mountain!

Since you have absolutely no idea what you are getting into or what to expect most newbies just let these folks steer them into their career. They also make it sound as if this is their only choice and no other company will hire them as new drivers. This is so very false! One big problem is that they make it so easy to get hired on and in reality if you want to find a good company to drive for it really takes some effort. Especially since the good companies to drive for don't advertise for drivers. Reason being, their drivers are happy driving for them so their turnover rate is nill and they just don't have to hire all the time.

I will try not to get into it too much but the number one reason or benefit for driving for a smaller company is your dispatcher. Your dispatcher is going to be your absolute key to your success and they are the sole individual responsible for what you are going to make that year! In a nutshell, dispatchers at mega-carriers are responsible for hundreds of drivers compared to a small company dispatcher that is in charge of a handful or so of drivers. At the big companies you are just a number, get in line! You are assigned your load according to your location and hours available. If you have a problem, question,concern..... good luck with that! Home time? Ya, good luck with that too!

At the smaller companies you will have the opportunity to work hand in hand with your dispatcher and build a solid, more personal working relationship which will solidify your success. You scratch each others backs! They make a commission off what you do and are eager to see you perform well. You also have a say in what you want to do. If you have a problem, question or concern it is very likely to be solved and or addressed right away. Home time is a hell of a lot more easier to do when you have good communication with your dispatcher! They realize you have been working hard, making good money, are worn out and need some time for yourself. They know that a well rested driver will come back to work and make you both lots more $$$$ !

With all that being said, you live in GA!!! Couldn't be better place to find a good smaller, mom and pop type company. You also don't have to go for a micro small company either. Just for example, Central Refrigerated is by industry standards a larger company. By no means are a mega-carrier but they are large enough to keep you busy yet small enough to still treat you like a human being!

Make a list of your wants and needs and start doing your research. Once you have narrowed your choices down to a couple dozen or so then start calling. Pay close attention to how you are treated when you do call. More than likely this is how you will be treated when you are working for them. Are they listening to you? Are they helping you? Have you been on hold forever? What was your overall feeling of how you think they might operate? It also doesn't hurt to make a list of questions to ask before hand.

Another thing to consider is that there are many different avenues of trucking to get into. Tanker, reefer, dryvan , flatbed, dump, heavy haul, animals etc... So keep an open mind and think about what may interest you the most. Some of the more unique gigs often pay pretty well too! Don't let your inexperience deter you from applying yourself. This is what the recruiters are hoping for!

Sorry again for another post... if you have any questions you can "pm" me I will be glad to help.

Good luck man....

 

sent you a PM to use GA_ROOKIE

 

I would be researching their idle policies. Schneider is putting sensors on there trucks. You can only idle at certain temps. If you plan to have any electrical furnishings such as cooler, computer, printer, games. Look for a company that uses APU's. Not bunk heaters. APU's. Otherwise your going to be one bored, cold soul.

 

This is great advise! thanks man

 

You're on the right track. Personally, I also like companies with different divisions within the company,reefer, tanker, flatbed,etc., so you can change divisions without job hopping. Maverick, System Transport, Watkins & Shepard, Schneider, Tribe Transport, Western Express, are just a few. Keep up the good work.

 

A few companies with APU's:

System Transport
Stevens Transport
Tribe Transport
Melton Truck Lines
Morehouse Truck Line
TransAm