My Swift Experience

Hello Guys and Gals,

In December I got tired of working retail and decided to quit my job. In Florida there aren't many choices of companies. You have CRST, Werner, Knight, Windy Hill, Stevens, Western Express and other companies. I had been calling Swift and got a different answer about potential employment opportunities within Florida.

I talked going back out on the road with father before I fully committed myself to Swift. I am flat broke and he is supporting me. I told him I wanted to try solo driving rather than team. I love the concept of teaming but have decided it is not for me. We agreed that I will go out with a trainer and three other things before he would give me his blessing;

1) I will stay in touch daily
2) I will advise him my location and where I am when I can
3) If I need help, I will call a friend and ask for it or him if it comes down to it

So with that being said; I decided to contact recruiting one more time and see if I could get approved. I got in touch with a nice lady out of Memphis by the name of Kimberly. She answered that they do hire out of FL but it is hard to get people home. No problem I'll stay out 4-5 weeks. I e-mail her my information about my accident during November. Today she said safety had approved me and pending on what my DAC had to say I could be there as early as a couple weeks in Ocala. Note: ANY Members who went their for orientation please tell me how it went.

For me I excited and nervous. I have always liked Swift and have heard nothing but positive experiences. I also have read a ton of information put out by: Rug trucker, Fewe, Trucker Dragon, Injun, Texas Nana, and Oldnewbiegonnabie. Even JJRanch recommended Swift. The plus side to me is I get to take the truck home and I already have parking for it. Plus I have many friends supporting me from here. I thank you guys being there; especially my mom and dad for never giving up on me.

KH

 

Congrats, KH..

Will you have to take a refresher course or just go out with a mentor for awhle?

 

I was told a mentor by two members on this board and will hear from my recruiter tomorrow. Injun encouraged me to ask for one in case they do not assign me one and she and RT are right. Going out with a mentor will make me a better person and I feel honored to have her there to answer my questions. Thanks Ken. I already bought myself a new Atlas. Not the best but it'll do until I get my paychecks.

KH

 

Congrats and Good Luck Kinghunter.

 

Good luck to ya... keep us posted as to your progress. I'm headed to Jax now and did a run to Miami with my mentor so there are loads to FL, the problem is Florida isn't on the way to anywhere. The same reason why everything costs more in FL.

 

I'll be watching this thread. I have your dad's phone number now. If I don't hear from you about once a week besides on these web pages, I will rat you out to him.

Looking forward to seeing what sort of mentor you get.

 

How long do you think I'll be with a mentor???

KH

 

Since you already have a license and some road experience, maybe not as long as the general 240 hours...roughly 5 1/2 to 6 weeks average. They might cut the time back to a couple of weeks. I think it's a good idea for you to go out with someone so you can see how Swift does its paperwork and Qualcomm. Kind of get a feel for the company before being thrown to the wolves.

BTW: I need your contact numbers again. I already posted a thread requesting this. My phone was stolen earlier. PM me with it, k?

 

If it's anything like our terminals orientation which I finished yesterday, as long as they had 6 months verifiable they we're putting them in as first seat. You could request mentor time if you wanted it though.

Good luck

 

Good luck KH. I truly hope it goes well for you out there! Don't forget when you bring that truck back to Florida, you'll have to give me a tour of it!!