newbie question

Remember - the recruiter has a very different agenda from you. *HE* wants a body in a seat. Turnover is his friend. He doesn't give a fart in a windstorm about your plans, your hopes, or even if you stay with the company more than 90 days. His needs are met when you sign on the line.

YOU, on the other hand, have to look past that 90 days (arbitrary number there, folks). So, the first thing you do is - as mentioned above - take notes. Lots of notes.

Compare what he said to what's on the corporate web site. Compare what he said to *all* the stories on these trucking boards. Both the good and bad.

Just to stick my neck out here - a lot of drivers are down on Swift's safety record. But if you look, their safety rate (number of reportable accidents per driver over time) isn't a whole lot different from a lot of other companies - even some good ones. I think - in this instance - Swift gets nailed because they're ( I think) the largest carrier out there. 21,000 drivers. Of COURSE they're going to get into more accidents on a pure numeric basis than most any other carrier.

It doesn't help that they are a 'bottom feeder' - basically will take any driver - and that so many of their drivers leave the company as soon as possible. But that's not necessarily because of the driver's abilities to drive.

(No- I do not now, I never have, and I really don't want to ever drive for Swift)

So, take a look at all the posts - good and bad - AND the responses. Measure credibility - how long as the poster been in the industry? Do others on the board treat him with respect? Does the poster have direct experience with that company and that issue, or is he spouting hearsay?

If jlkklj777 says something about his company, and I say something different, you should believe him more than me, until you have time to do additional research. Make sense?

So, remember, the recruiter is a used car salesman. Do your research before you go to the dealership and don't let him sell you that Yugo.

 

I had 2 Pre-Hire offers, while still in trucking school. I did the community college thing-(U.S. Truck driver school) -get out there & apply to all you can- sort them out later. I know schnieder is NOT taking newbies right now. I'm # Swift-just started working for them, so we'll see how it goes......GOOD LUCK DRIVER!

 

It depends on where you are. SNI IS taking newbies in my area. In other areas (say, Arizona) they are not.

 

You went with swift? What happened to sorting them out?