Newbie Question about Recruiters

Another thing that I hope you're doing is spending a lot of time reading the Good and Bad Trucking companies forums here. Granted, most of what you'll find on TTR is for the larger companies but if you look around, you may find info on a smaller company that you're interested in. Keep in mind that *some* of the negative stories about companies are written by drivers who started working/contracting with the carrier and was let go for not following company policy or some other stupid thing they (the driver) did.

My personal favorite is the guy who #####ed about a company because they didn't withhold taxes and "forced" him to pay for fuel out of his pocket. He (the driver) didn't understand what it meant to be a 1099 contractor and, according to a subsequent post (supposedly) by the company indicating that the driver went 400 miles out of route and the company wasn't going to pay for that extra fuel.

 

It is hard to paint an entire group of people with such a broad brush. So to say all recruiters lie is probably inaccurate. I would guess 99.8% is about right.

 

Even if it is in writing it's still suspect. Just because it's in writing doesn't mean they will make good on it. That's true anywhere you go but in this industry..... all I can say is choose your first company wisely.

 

There's a joke concerning 99% of the lawyers out there but I won't repeat it for fear of getting sued.....

 

What do you call a 100 dead recruiters at the bottom of the ocean....................???

 

A pretty good start?

 

We have a winner

 

That is not always the case. You can get a really good feel just from talking to a person on the phone just by listening to their voice. Do they sound sincere? Do they sound distracted? Are they talking to you but typing stuff in the background cause they are processing the last guy that just got off the phone? There are little things like that you can pick up on.

Everybody here makes a valid point about recruiters being scum. I've dealt with them myself. But there are some that are straight up with you. When you talk to them, pay attention to their voice tone, their mannerisms, and the vocabulary they use. A lot of times just from those things you can tell if somebody is trying to BS you. I've gotten really good at picking out the schmucks from the good people...and that doesn't just apply to recruiters

I hope this is of some help to you bud!

Good luck out here!!

 

You have a good point Steve and that is always in my mind, however its hard sometimes to explain to someone how to read another by their mannerisms and such. Steve, like myself you have probably been doing this most of your life and this probably comes naturally. There are some people that make a living off this. I do recommend anyone use Steve's suggestions because you can really get a good indication of what the other person's intentions are by reading what they are presenting to you. For those that aren't good at this though, play the safe card and take what they say with a grain of salt. Especially when you guys are dealing with these mega-carriers. They are going to be the absolute worst when it comes to their recruiters, but hey, no one says you have to call them! Plenty other companies out there you just have to put forth the effort to find them!

Like the other poster said, some of the best companies don't even have recruiters! (true, true, true....) Why? They don't need them. Their drivers are so happy there that they most likely have a waiting line for employment because no one wants to quit and the drivers that are there currently were screened so thoroughly and experienced enough that they most likely aren't going to get fired!