If you are attending a J.B Hunt Orientation

Let me start by saying this is not a J.B Hunt bashing thread. I worked for them a few times so I attended their orientation. J.B Hunt was a great place to work, its not perfect, of course there are pros and cons and for me, the pros out weighed the cons in my experience. It all depend on the account you select. JUST A BIT OF ADVICE...your greatest chance of success is if you choose the INTERMODAL account and most drivers will tell you this. You are rolling the dice with any other account..(J.C Penny, Proctor and Gamble etc..).Keep that in mind. What I don't like about J.B Hunt is their bogus prescreening process prior to you attending orientation. There are some things that drivers need to be aware of and I would like to share my experience and some things I eyewitnessed while attending orientation.

I noticed several drivers assuming that because they passed the prescreening process by the recruiter over the phone, plane/bus tickets and hotel rooms pre-paid by the company that they are officially hired by J.B Hunt and they quit their current jobs. YOU ARE NOT HIRED BY J.B HUNT YET....DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB. Orientation is monday- Friday(you will be paid for attending and free Lunch provided), but you might not be cleared to drive for them until the next week (will get in that later) so take a leave of absence, call out sick but what ever you do don't quit your job unless you are so fed up with your current job you just don't care.

If you are staying at a hotel paid for by J.B Hunt and you check in on Sunday to start orientation on Monday, your orientation has officially started for you when you checked in that hotel on Sunday. They have watch dogs at the hotel that J.B Hunt compensate to keep an eye on the drivers behavior while at the hotel. If the hotel have a bar, DO NOT GO IN THERE FOR A DRINK... in fact don't drink at all because you will have a drug and alcohol screening on day one, and they will do randoms during orientation. Their drug screen consist of both urine and hair samples so make sure you clean so you don't waste your time. Also...when you check in for the drug screening, DO NOT LEAVE THE ROOM.. Drivers have left the room thinking since they are only in the hall-way calling their investigator or the administrator needed them for something its okay...NOOO they will cut you loose and it will go on your record.. we all should know this already but....some don't..so I thought I'd mention it anyway



DAY ONE..... is when you find out the prescreening process over the phone with the recruiter is a waste of time. They are going to assign you a driver investigator and he/she will actually contact your current and previous employers, check you DAC, criminal record etc..(Yes...the same exact process you did with the recruiter before being cleared for orientation).You must keep in contact with this person until you get cleared to drive. This process can last a two days until two, may be even 3 weeks and you cannot drive for them until they hand you a letter certifying you to drive their trucks. It all depends on your background and how fast previous employers respond to them and solving discrepancies etc... You are going to also have your drug/alcohol test, physical abilities test, road and backing test day one.


DAY ONE..... is when the administrator will tell the class....NOT ALL OF YOU WILL MAKE IT THROUGH OREINTATION... several reasons for this.. People wont pass the drug/alcohol screening, the DOT physical, the physical abilities test (consisting of bending,climbing, twisting, carrying weight for a duration of time) wont pass the background. They are also paying attention to your conduct, and your conversations on break. My advice is do not bad mouth previous employers, discuss previous arguments with driver managers/dispatchers/supervisors with other drivers, DO NOT question or disgust dislike or concerns about the truck being governed at 62 MPH out loud or in places they can hear you. They will find a reason to get rid of you if you do. Just because you are on break and it appear they are not paying attention trust me they are. I noticed some drivers that passed the previous employment/drug screening process etc and cleared to drive were released from orientation for some reason and I couldn't figure out why. Then I noticed each one of those drivers had questionable conversations out loud about various topics (some of the aboved mention) especially the dislike for the 62 MPH governor. So Remember in addition to evaluating your driving competence, they are evaluating your professionalism and attitude about safety. YOU ARE ALWAYS BEING EVALUATED... Be professional, (or act like you are lol) an as long as your background cleared and they certify you to drive you will be fine. If for what ever reason you don't pass orientation J.B Hunt will pay your way back home they same way you came. So if your arrived by plane or bus you will return home that way, they wont leave you stranded.

In summary...day two to day five will consist of working on the computer filling out benefit packages, watching videos, taking test, assign driver number ,tour the facility and a smith system drive around the city in a four wheeler pointing out road hazards. You will meet your driver manager, get assigned your truck (depending on your account)....If you still there Thursday and Friday and you are cleared to drive, congrats... you made it...(But keep your mouth shut and don't get lackadaisical... this is usually when drivers get cut unexpectedly because they got too comfortable with the instructors/administrators and other drivers, start popping off at the mouth, said something stupid and got themselves canned...) The instructors are cool and laid back, but they have a job to do. They handed you a job, don't hand it back (yet lol joke...) On Friday, some drivers will be assigned an available truck in the yard with a load going home to get themselves ready for the road, others will hitch a ride with another driver to go get their truck. If you are still not cleared by the end of orientation on Friday you just have to keep in contact with your investigator and wait. The best way to prevent this is to keep calling them during the week, find out what problems they having and try to help them on your end. They are really busy helping other drivers with the same issues so they are really busy. This is the part of the orientation that is frustrating. Sometimes they will tell you that you are cleared, and then a few hours or day(s) later sorry your not cleared yet, we need more info about...... and a lot of times its in error on they're part and they are duplicating there effort. Hopefully this help you, J.BHunt is not a bad place to work, but you have to choose the right account. If you assigned to the Southgate California yard STAY AWAAAY FROM THE PROCTOR AND GAMBLE ACCOUNT..You better off working at Sub-Way making sandwiches. Instead...INTERMODAL.....INTERMODAL......INTERMODAL.. 1st choice..

 

That's true... we are always evaluated during orientation at any job... but a lot of people don't get it or don't care..

 

Yeah it was very easy.. mostly drop n hook.. no pressure from dispatch.. Monday- Friday, weekend off home every day.. nice equipment ... beautiful..

 

It is true... im sharing the experience I had and what I observed at the yard during orientation on several occasions. I have friends that worked for J.B Hunt with the same experience..[/QUOTE]

 

I was there not too long ago and I did noticed a change..They changed my driver manager... But I left because I prefer hourly pay...got another job