Applying and interviewing with Schneider

Yesssssss

 

Yeah.. the whole hiring process has changed a lot.. when I was young, you went through the classifieds of the Sunday paper and then went to the places you circled, filled out an application on site and often got an interview right then.. was not uncommon to get hired right on the spot. It was always a good feeling to come home and be able to say you got the job and start tomorrow or that Wednesday..

Now, it is a cyber maze and a long process.

I just went on a little vacation with a couple friends, we road our motorcycles from MN to AZ.. anyway we were having breakfast one morning and I was bust with my laptop.. my friend asked what I was doing and So I told her.. I was writing a couple blogs.. she was baffled and asked why I was blogging.. So I looked at her and said.. I am a recruiter/staffing agent.. it is how we do it now..

Yup.. the days of just placing a job posting are done.. now to find good talent you write blogs... so I write a blog about Truck Tires, or whatever I think a good truck driver wants to read, while on the side of my blog are ads for a couple of the companies I hire drivers for.

That morning I was writing a blog on Phlebotomy vs Dialysis PCT on my Health Careers blogs, both of which I am looking for..

That's the sad truth of it.. don't get me wrong, I do love what I do.. obviously not all of it.. it is great when you work with someone and they get the job, not just because then I get paid, but because it is nice when they get hired for them and me.. I don't like having to tell people they didn't get the job.. and with my firm, we do call them and tell them over the phone and don't just send out the canned email letter saying they didn't get it. We are also a staffing agency so we try to see if we have something else for them, another company..

But as far as those that actually make the decisions in who to hire and who not to, they don't have tell that person. They tell us how many qualified candidates they want to interview each day, or week and we send over the best ones we found. sometimes it is more than one person who makes the decision too.. so, a fleet manager may have been willing to hire you but the safety manager wasn't. So why they choose to hire or not hire someone is. Mystery to us.

 

Congratulations I am glad you found somewhere...

I don't blame the hiring managers using recruiters more and more.. especially in the trucking industry...

If I place a job posting for a company who is looking for a driver with 3 years or more experience... I get hundreds of applications and calls from drivers with zero to only months of experience... what hiring manager wants to spend his day talking to unqualified under experienced drivers.. when he needs someone with 3 years or more experience...
A few months ago we picked up a small trucking company... I went out to the terminal to meet with the owner and go over everything.... what he needs and what we can do all... Anyway he and got to talking and he was saying how he hates that he is finally selling out and going to use a recruiting/staffing firm but if he doesn't he can't do his job cause he is on the phone all day wasting his time with unqualified applicants.

What was really cool.. was as I was there a driver who had been with him for 23 years rolled in.. I got a chance to meet him.. he started at this company when he was 16 years old.. when he was 12 he used to come and watch the trucks roll in and out, when he was 14 he started cleaning and detailing the trucks and when he turned 16 they hired him and he was learning to work on the trucks and trailers, he went on to shagging then onto OTR, now he his gonna start driving less and working around the terminal more...

So... he wants me to find someone to start doing this guys route.. shouldn't be a problem since it is a nice company who pays and treats their drivers like family right... well, actually it is gonna be my toughest one yet.. because I need to find that driver who is of that old school integrity and work ethic to become a member of this trucking family..

I was honest with him and said I would, but it will take time... because there are very few of those drivers and they re usually already with a company or in the process of coming off the road themselves.. which he already knew... and said he doesn't want someone who has there CDL already.. he want me to find that young kid who will come work at the terminal, after a time they will pay for him/her to get their CDL and have them go out with their driver, train, learn and eventually take over the route..
I just sat there and wondered if I should promise this guy I would find him a young kid like that.. today's kids are more about instant gratification and starting at the top.. not at the bottom and working their way up.. so I told him I would do my best...

Well, I was not having much luck, as soon I told them they may start with cleaning the trucks and then move up.. they wanted to know if they borrowed money from their parents and got their CDL could they just get trained and take over the route, I got a lot of calls from drivers out with a trainer with a mega, and was just not finding anyone..

Then one night I went to a charity fundraising dinner.. I met this lady from Boys Town and she had a young man who had a bad home life, father in prison, mom going through various boyfriends.. he ran away, got himself in some trouble and had been staying at boys town, but his birthday was coming out and he would be released.. she thought his life could go either way, if he found the right opportunity to put him on the right path she felt he would do well.. if not, she said he could go the wrong way too..

Don't know why, but kind of a heart feeling or gut feeling I decided to talk to the truck company owner and get his thoughts.. he told me to bring the kid out and let him meet him. So, I picked the kid up, and took him out there.. wonder how his piercings and tattoos would go over not to mention the skinny jeans.. well we get there and I introduce them to each other and the owner goes " okay, gives us a couple hours".. I asked what he meant and he said for me to leave and come back in a couple hours..
So I do.. but I wasn't 100% comfortable with it.. was he gonna take this kid to the back of the shed and knock him around for wearing skinny jeans and all.. anyway, I returned a couple hours later to find the owner, the kid and the driver all smiles and chumming it up outside an old RV in the yard.. as I walked over my phone rang and it was the lady from boys town.. she had just gotten off the phone with the owner who not only was hiring the kid but setting the kid up with the RV to live in and that the kid was gonna stay for diner ne the owner would take him back to boys town.. I chatted with the three of them for a bit then the driver walked me back to my car.. He told me that the reason he use to watch the trucks all the time when he was young was his parents were always fighting and he just wanted out and away from it...

The weird thing.. or not really weird.. but, I got the invitation to the fundraising diner by accident.. my business card was on the desk of an HR person at Boys Town because I help staff them, but it got in with some papers and finally ended up on the desk of the woman I met at the fundraiser who sends the tickets out.. when she saw my business card she thought it was because she was supposed to send me tickets to the fundraiser.. so she sent me two tickets... it wasn't till after everything when I thanked her for the tickets and wanted to know why she sent them to me.. that we botched realized or put together how it all happened with a traveling business card..

So.. coincidence or a wink from God..

I know what I believe... and it keeps me amazed and humble..

 

Try being on my end of the stick. I moved here from Australia. I have 20 years experience. A decent chunk of that driving some of the biggest trucks on the roads being road trains. My Australian licence classification from Australia is the highest you can get anywhere. When i came here i went thru and got my cdl here. No issues. Applied for jobs. Every company said the same thing. Your not qualified for driving in America. Even had a few tell me i needed to learn how to drive. I am currently at Schneider and they seem like a good company. It was just frustrating knowing i wasn't dealing with the companies when i was applying for jobs but recruiters who actually just simply don't understand the situation.

 

Couldn't read it the first time...not gonna try again. #RambleOn