Recruiter (new to trucking industry) looking for driver opinions on the recruiting process. Help!

Let's be fair folks. For all we know the op is a decent human being and doing his best to find a good job for his recruits. It isn't his or her fault most carriers are garbage.

 

A lot of drivers are just kicking tires when they talk to you.

When it comes to completing an application, they know at that point you or the hiring company can contact their current employer.

That's when they go silent because they really aren't that serious.

 

I've been around the block a time or 12, and some of the things that I have seen or experienced in the past:
1) A interested driver replies to an ad that is appealing to them requesting details and the reply you get back is something to the effect of " Please send me your contact number and I will contact you with the details" Sorry but most want details to decide if it even warrants a call. Once they have your number they call constantly with BS subpar jobs nobody wants.
2) You fill out an application online for a certain job/company, and receive constant calls from every Tom Dick and Harry from companies that you never knew existed and many that actually dont.
3) Lies , lies, and more lies about details of position such as pay, benefits, hometime, etc.
I cant speak for everyone but for most of us honesty goes a long way. Most of us can see through the smokescreens and know when something seems fishy its fishy, but there is a sucker in every crowd.
Thankfully after years of crap jobs and just getting by, I recently landed a gig with a private carrier that I never plan on leaving until I retire.
Good luck, and I wish you the best

 

If you are a TPR, and if you want to learn what it really is about, talk to owners who have to deal with applications like myself. This is where there is a convergence of knowledge, the drivers only see part of the issue.

For myself I use a TPR for 40% of my needs, the rest is filled by word of mouth. I still have to sift through the applications and contact potential drivers.

One thing that is mentioned in this thread is the fact that good drivers are hard to find and even harder to retain. I make sure that what I say is followed up by my manager and if there is something that is different from our normal package for the drivers' I make sure it is done for them.

I would consider actually two positive things when looking at the process as a needed change

1 - treat the drivers as professionals with a skill set RIGHT FROM THE START

The biggest issue with 80% of the companies out there is the fact that drivers are treated as a labor commodity and not skilled labor. This is something that can be exposed when the first call is made to a company by a driver, and sets the tone for the entire employment of the driver.

2 - put things in writing that can be counted on.

Also as stated, many recruited lie, I had one such TPR agree to talking points and then lie to the drivers applying. YOU are the doorway to the company so make sure you have everything agreed to up front with the company and you are willing to put that stuff in writing for the driver to actually see, not hear. AND this is the important part that I know you can't do, have the company recruiter honor those things.

One thing when I was driving, I hated the online app thing, many of them were unsecured and no means of verifying their protection of personal data. I understand still this is an issue, especially with the hacking that goes on so if you have online apps system on your web site, please do a couple things -

get the best security advice you can get, at the same time don't deal with idiot web designers who will create a flashy mess that is easy to hack.

use the same tags as other companies so if you are using some browsers that do auto fill, they can auto fill the spaces for the user.

The last thing I have to add is that we have a diverse workforce in this industry, driving a truck is easy, having a good dependable driver is hard to find. Many companies want to fill the seat at any costs, this can be illustrated by their driving/criminal records. This reflects on you as a TPR for those drivers who want to be with a good company. If your standards are low, then they will not talk to you so learn the business, the standards needed to improve it and the nomenclature, talk to everyone you can so you can talk the language.

 

Every time I kick the tires at potential jobs, I'm vague about where I'm currently working, and they get a fake name. It's just an exploratory call, no reason to expose myself.

 

Longer you are with a company , the harder it is to leave ! Was with the last company 10 years. May have been working for a devil , but it is the devil you know ! Pulling the trigger was a hard choice . Had been there 25% of my life. Avg 10 years at a job , myself.

 

I've made a few of these calls. Zero of them have resulted in an application.

If I don't laugh outright at the pay rate and we continue our talk...

First, recruiters - internal or third party- can't answer questions to my satisfaction. I WILL ask about the ins and outs of pay, who your customers are and what you haul. I will ask questions about policy in the employee handbook, details about benefits, etc.

If you can't answer them, get me to someone who can. I think that's fair. Usually, the numbers they give me don't add up or no one calls back.

And frankly, I'm not pressed. As a team we are in high demand. Why would I put up with that, when I can post on this board to people I've known for years and get straight answers in just a few minutes?

Just my two cents. I'm not blaming you. What you're trying to do is tough. Seldom do you have enough info on each company, and you don't strike me as a former driver, so its hard for you to understand what is important to us and why.

Good luck to you.

 

For me it was the chore of filling out all that information. due to the drops in the specific industry i had to change a lot of jobs. and putting all that information one time after another doesnt make sense to me. and i hate paperwork, that was the reason i chose trucking. but we have enough paperwork while working.

 

One of the first questions i ask a recruiter is how long THEY have been in their position. If I get a 6 months or less response I thank them for their time and disconnect the conversation. The company I am with now has had 1 recruiter for almost 20 years. Any company who uses 3 rd party recruiters is just getting someone to put warm bodies in the seats, nothing more.

 

Bingo!!!!!' Applications are entirely too long.Whatever happened to basic.Some only give you so much time then you have to start over.I've lost my patience on the application process.