How bad is Job Hopping Really? Vent

Delivering to McDonalds... Narrow ramps (like food service) and mostly daytime deliveries.

 

Cool Fact: OP probably knows this because they are pre-covid, but "job hopping" didn't apply to truck drivers till covid saturated the industry with desperate people..

Up till around 2022 I would jump to other companies just to fight boredom, and till this day it's never cost me a hire at a 2+ year company.. I can quit the job I have now and go back to fuel delivery, and it will only effect chances at a LTL which I avoid anyways..

Unless you're chasing jobs for nine to fivers like LTL and home every night grocery(waiting list jobs) you can probably still not worry about leaving a company.. In fact I don't think I know a driver who hasn't left a company after months at least once and they all work at top w2 companies..

Eventually a DM is going to black ball you down to 400-900 dollar checks, and you'll be a "job hopper". They usually do it 1-3 years in at megas unless you're team, or when they get a burst of new hire to retain at cheaper cpm.. Treat companies as disposable as they treat drivers..

 

Why bother to keep changing jobs if it's not going to make you any more money?

 

If you liked it you would stay put.

 

Cool fact -

That’s bad advice.

 

LTL pays really well. Like - 80 cents per mile well.

If you think that companies are just waiting around and spending money on recruiting, for your esteemed presence to rock up and tell them how the cow ate the cabbage, then you may have missed the memo.

There’s company positions out there, that pay real well - but right now, they don’t need drivers.

If they do - the guy with 30 jobs in 10 years that applies, will have his application thrown in the round file, over the guy that has less jobs in that time, and an attitude that reflects a level of respect and professional conduct.

Honestly - read your own post as a potential employer, look in the mirror, leave your ego at the door - and tell me otherwise.

 

The company I'm at now has identical pay-structure and home time as the Walmart DC. The company before was delivering fuel for Eagle.. I've been 1-2 years at companies since 2018 and walked in to every job without a question.. Within four months I'll be back at Eagle or another fuel company after over a year doing van at this company..

I know I was at Yellow for over 10 years at the Charlotte, NC terminal.. I have driver and management referrals at ABF and UPS if I want them.. I don't avoid LTL companies because the pay.. LTL terminals were a toxic culture when I was there, and I'm told it's gotten even worse at all the LTL companies..

If it's bad advice for someone not wanting to go to a LTL or grocery company then I must be an anomaly working at top tier companies and switching every 1-2 years.. I'd have to go to Walmart to do better than where I'm at right now as a job hopper, and it would only be for the 5/5 shift..

If you're not SAP or got a dirty record and you're letting a DM walk on you somewhere for loaded-only low-cpm miles that's on you, but it's not the industry.. You're setting a dangerous precedence for other drivers by showing them it's okay..

 

Job hopping looked bad pre-covid. Anyone hiring a driver given a choice among applicants will choose somebody with a stable work history. You walked into those jobs because they needed drivers and they couldn't be choosy. At the end of the day somebody who job hops is viewed as someone who can't deal with the normal ups and downs of any job and can't solve problems. Quitting is how they solve problems.

 

I'd hire a guy with a good attitude, safe driving record and a job hopper history over Tommy Sundown or Johnny Payday. Being at 1 job a long time has very little to do with character or integrity especially in trucking. I personally know of drivers who stay put because they have DUI or failed drug test history. They know they're stuck.