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

That is exactly it Pattyj... my advice to a new driver... get experience and keep your record clean.. if you can get a couple years of driving and have no major incidents or tickets.. there are good companies you can move to...

The good companies that drivers like to drive for put the money into their drivers and not into training new drivers.. which is very costly.. and why mega carriers don't pay their drivers well.. they spend it training and covering the cost of inexperienced drivers.. dings, dents, late loads, on and on... but every driver has to start some where..

Also, don't drive for a crazy mega for three years and then try to jump to a good company.. mega carriers spoon feed their drivers.. good companies want and require drivers to be a little more grown up and responsible.. so do a year at a mega, then go to a better company that requires a bit more of their drivers and learn some more and get more experience.. stay with them for a couple to few years and then you will have a much better choice of companies to drive for..

 

The only way I'm driving a Volvo is if you supply me with a hood, so that no one sees me.

 

It's worth noting, as you are probably aware (having been a driver yourself), that companies frequently provide misleading information to recruiters, whether intentionally, or because the person providing the information has not taken the step of verifying it's accuracy. Sometimes information provided to recruiters is out-of date.

Often, information is being provided to recruiters by people who don't really know - managers, or Human Resources people, or sometimes secretaries who have been roped into the role. As drivers, virtually every piece of information that we provide to a carrier is triple-checked with sources that are often far less accurate than we are, but those sources are assumed to be as credible as the bible. Conversely, we have no reliable way to validate the information that we get from the recruiter, and when we attempt to do so, we are given a myriad of excuses why we should not believe anything we hear that disagrees with the recruiter. And then we have the consistent experience of being disappointed, because what recruiters tell us, so often turn out not to be true. Now, maybe they didn't lie to us. Maybe they were not being deceptive. Maybe they even really tried to give us the straight scoop, but they were wrong, or misinformed, or misspoke, or just didn't know. But the consistent failure to deliver accurate and complete information, makes us understandably dubious about what recruiters tell us. You simply cannot expect us to give every recruiter a chance to screw us, before we become disenfranchised and wary.

Few experienced drivers trust recruiters. It's not for no reason.

I work for a company in which I was recruited and hired by my fleet manager. They have a Human Resources department that processes applications and does background checks, but does not place job ads, or answer applicant inquiries. Everything I was told about this gig has been true, and I was told everything that I needed to know, in the ad on Craigslist (which my fleet manager wrote and placed, himself), before I filled out one page of forms. It doesn't have to be complicated, and it does not require a recruiter.

I understand that you need to make a living, and certainly there will be companies that find your services valuable. Try to understand that, to most drivers, you are a hurdle to be overcome, and not an added value.

Since you aren't even employed by the carrier, you aren't responsible for anything you tell us about them, that turns out to be untrue - and they are not responsible for living up to any promises that you make. Our distaste for your chosen role is not personal. Most of us probably don't know you, personally. But the role that you have chosen to fill, is one that most experienced drivers find unhelpful, and sometimes even deceptive. If you were a used car salesman, you might expect your clients to view your words with suspicion. To many experienced truck drivers, your role is similar to that of a used car salesman.

 

BUT ....

It is true, a good reputation and high standards makes for a good company and that attracts people. AND a good company doesn't need to find good drivers.

Now don't take this wrong and I have to tell you I didn't talk to recruiters in my career but I agree with a statement that one of my drivers made, "... the worst type of recruiter is the one who is a former trucker because he can lie and make it sound as if it is a good thing ... " - he was a recruiter too, he left that company after 15 years because he didn't like to lie.

NOT SAYING you're that type but it seems he is closer to the truth than most because it makes perfect sense, telling someone how it is at one company knowing what they are looking for or how things happen builds trust, even if it is a lie.

 

welp, just started with new carrier 1 month ago. told him where former company had me running & was looking for new territory. he said, you wont go up there in this regional your chosing. WRONG, boy lied to me. it is in my reg., gonna have to stop in and have a talk with him when i get near his office. honesty is not recruitings best quality. jmo

 

I do certainly get that there is a lot of mistrust out there... however, the misinformation isn't just from the recruiters... companies and drivers also contribute.. especially when there are so many carriers who have all sorts of accounts.. I may placebo a driver at a company because their XYZ account was just what he wanted, but then in orientation either the driver, the company or both decide the QRS account would be what he ran... then the driver is later upset that the recruiter told him he would be home every weekend, why XYZ account would of provided, but on the QRS account he only gets home every other week.. and he is mad at the recruiter for lying... which in that scenario the recruiter may have honestly told him about the XYZ.. but the driver isn't running that account either through their own choice or the companies, or both... that happens a the mega carriers and larger carriers all the time...

Also, most of you are referring to when a driver calls a recruiter to get on to specific company... Often a mega.. like big blue, big red, big tie-dyed.. whichever and that a different class of recruiting.. first they are largely dealing with potential driver who have not understanding or knowledge of the industry... I deal with experienced drivers who have knowledge and understanding of the industry... and that makes a world of difference..

I am not putting down new drivers, every experienced driver was a new driver first.... but, new drivers do not know the industry... When I was a new driver I didn't know... and I remember trying to corner an experienced driver in the coffee area of truck stops to ask him or her questions... and have them look at me like I just asked them to explain quantum physics to me.... or maybe wishing I had asked them to explain quantum physics because it would be easier to explain than the workings and ways of the trucking industry..

But here is the. Rub... just like at the truck stops, you have drivers with weeks of experience guiding and advising new drivers, and even training new drivers...

It is the same in the large recruiting departments.. they have as large a turn over rate as the driver turn over.. so that recruiter that you are asking questions to... so that you can make an important career decision.. is more than likely a new recruiter who really does not know the answers to your questions.. they know responses to your questions... they are not deliberately lying... they are reading or reciting the canned responses they were trained to do... and when you try to get ahold of them weeks later and can't, they are probably not there anymore and have quit...

I am not here to recruit.. I use this site for company research... I put a companies name in the search and see what drivers are saying... because I don't want to lose a driver I spent so much time and resources to find by placing them in a bad company.. I am upfront with my drivers.. I am working with experienced drivers, so if I tell the upfront what I know of about a company they make their own informed decisions.. I usually have a few companies that fit their needs, I give them the information and let them decide which one.. they also know, that If the company tells me something and then does something different it is not my doing. However, I don,t have to deal with that often, as the drivers usually work it out and deal with it through the company.. that is the difference between working with experienced drivers and job seekers who drivers..

Experienced drivers also do their own research.. I give them the names of a couple companies and what I know about them and they don't just eene meene moe off to there I go... they take a day or two to decide because they do their own research... and by research I don't mean call an 800 they they let me know if they like one of them or if I need to come up with some more choices...

there are companies that don't use a recruiter and have the time and desire to field and screen all the calls.. however, when I was driving, I would rather my fleet manager being busy with other things, like getting me loads and all then taking phone calls from unqualified drivers and answering potential drivers questions.. I can be on the phone with a driver for 20 to 30 minutes before I get something that disqualifies them.. and with all the drivers looking to get on with a good company.. that means 50 to 100 calls a day.. is that really what a fleet manager should be doing.. do you really want to call your fleet manage and be on hold While he is on the phone with a new driver who wants to know if he can count the 5 months he rode along with Uncle Skippy as experience...

The sad truth is.. that the mega carriers have changed the industry in all sorts of ways... yes, years ago recruiters were not a necessity for smaller companies.. but, because of the mega carriers with their massive marketing to inspire job seekers who never considered getting into trucking and paved the way for CDL schools to churn them out in the hundreds.. there thousands of CDL holders looking for a good trucking job.. and they are advised all the time to just apply, call, apply even if You don't meet the requirements give it a shot and call.. call that fleet manager because that's what he wants.. he wants to hear from hundreds of unqualified drivers to break up the monotony of his fleet manager tasks..

That being said yes, there are fleet managers who after I have screened and qualified a driver, will call them ne work out the details and do the hiring... but they are not fielding all the calls.. they only want to talk with experienced qualified drivers... I am their gate keeper and that is what I a paid to do..

As far as finding drivers... lol... again, the mega carriers and CDL schools have saturated the market with CDL holders.. recruiters aren't trying to find drivers.. drivers find us and we are sifting through the minions of CDL holders to find actual experienced qualified drivers...

The recruiting side of this industry is no different that the driving side.. if you recruit for mega carriers you make your check by placing drivers for nickels and dimes.. so you need to place a lot of drivers to make your check.. if you recruit for better companies you make more for each driver placed.. but they have to meet higher standards and you have to do good. A company won't use you if your drivers can't make it through orientation or the hiring process.. or if too many of your drivers leave within a year.. so you place far fewer drivers.. on average I place 1 to 2 drivers a week.. I had one week where I place 4 drivers.. but two were really carry over from the previous weeks where I had only place a single driver each week...

With all the other lovely changes that the industry is going through... using a recruiter to screen and qualify drivers in becoming more necessary for smaller good companies... the fee they pay the recruiter to deliver a good driver is less expensive then hiring and firing or losing several drivers to eventually get a good driver... also, for the drivers, a good recruiter should be able to place you with the best company that your driving experience and record qualifies for...

If the recruiter you are working with only has one company they are trying to place with you with... then you are not working with a good recruiter...

 

In fairness, I drive for a postal contractor. Average retention is close to ten years, so hiring only gets hot and heavy around Christmas. My fleet manager hired two, during the Christmas season, and I was one of the two. We're all on dedicated runs, so the only time we really need to call him is when the equipment breaks down (this is their #1 problem, as a carrier; the average truck has over 700k miles on it, and trailers are even worse), when someone calls off, or when the post office calls for an extra run - when they have more mail to move than will fit in our regular runs.

I get that other kinds of carriers (OTR freight, for example) have to operate differently, and that those carriers see value in your services. I'm not saying that what you do is of no value to anyone. Certainly, it is valuable to many carriers. Drivers, on the other hand... well, the value that you offer to carriers too often comes at the expense of the drivers. That layer of insulation from responsibility is very valuable to some carriers - and that definitely comes at the expense of the drivers. Maybe you don't work with carriers like that, and that's fine. But you know, if you've been a driver, what our experience with recruiters is like, and the only way to separate the good from the bad is to keep sticking your neck out, until you find a good one. More often (much more often) you'll get your head chopped off, doing this, and the quality drivers that you want, probably aren't gambling their careers on figuring out which recruiters are the good ones, and which aren't. We're just suspicious of then all. How many cars should you buy, looking for an honest used car salesman? How many lawsuits should you fight, trying to find an honest lawyer?

It does not require intent, for misinformation to lead to career disaster. You don't have to lie, to be misinformed. So if we can't rely upon you to provide accurate information, perhaps because the carrier failed to provide accurate information to you, than what value are you, to the driver? Short of having access to jobs that he otherwise could not get... and if you are deriving value from artificially restricting access to jobs that drivers want, then you're like a bridge troll or highwayman, taking value for getting out of the way, and not because you provided any value in exchange. If the driver still has to do their own research (and we recognize that we do), then what is value that you bring to the driver?

You may be of value to the carriers. Not so much, to the drivers. This is what the OP was getting at - he didn't seem to have any trouble getting carriers to "pull the trigger" - it was drivers that were the challenge. And the reason for that is because recruiters have traditionally been at best unnecessary, and at worst, an impediment to the job search, from the standpoint of most experienced truckers. You can't just drop in and say "I'm here to change all that!", and realistically expect to be taken seriously, just because you said it. And if you're not here to change it, then why would drivers change their opinion about recruiters?

 

I've been in this game 11 years now. well I started 11 years ago, probably 6 years experience, 2/3 of that in the last 5 years.

I noticed at the very first company. If a driver is a WTF tard, he gets the gravy the run strait across 10 or 40, because it's very hard to F up.
If your an intelligent driver; God love you, cause your going to NJ & NY to run around the toll roads cause the mistakes around there are expensive. When you do get to get out, your on some WTF adventure through a 2 lane wilderness.
Meanwhile the tard is trying not to crash into the car in front of him at the off ramp from his grueling 400 mile strait line day, on his 2000 mile trip.

How does a good recruiter deal with this?

 

Fatmando... excellent post.. and yes absolutely you should not just assume the recruiter has your best interest at heart... because recruiters are not career counselors.. we are head hunters.. a company uses us to find the type of driver they are looking for to fill a position.. some companies have more requirements than others.. but ultimately yes.. we are looking to fill a position.. so, if you say you are open to trying flatbed and they have a company that wants drivers and don't need to have flatbed experience they may very well try to place you there.. ultimately it is up to you to tell the recruiter what you will or won't do.. if you only want to do drop and hook, then make them find you a good drop and hook gig.

You are absolutely right that we work for the company.. either as a in-house recruiter paid a salary and bonuses.. or as an external recruiter paid by the company to find a driver.. but yes, we work for the employer who pays us... Some may go out of their way to help you, if they can, but do not expect them to guide you in your job search.

Here the thing, recruiters are not the decision makers in whether or not you get the job.. someone else in the company or a group of people make that decision.. we do have to be the ones to tell you if you got it or not.. and some recruiters may be able to have some influence.. but it is up to the company.. we only submit a qualified candidate for them to consider.. also we are not in control of the hiring process.. if I have to wait for some guy in the safety department to review something and give his approval.. then I do.. I can't push something around him..

I work as part of a recruiting firm and I recruit for more than just drivers.. I also recruit for other industries where specific licensing, certifications and qualifications are required.. and must be verified.. especially educational backgrounds and degrees.. since it is far to easy to buy a degree or credentials online..

Here is my advise... most carriers.. other than small carriers.. utilizes both internal or In-house recruiters as well as external or third party recruiters.. you can get ahold of internal recruiters through their website or one of their ads... you can get a hold of an external recruiter by going through the ads like Truckers America or such, where they say to fill out one application to apply to multiple carriers... so, my advise.. call both an internal recruiter and external recruiter to inquire about a particular company... ideally you should get the same information from the company website and both recruiters.. if the website says .43 cpm, opportunity to get home every weekend, and whatever bonuses .. and one recruiter tells you .43 to .45cmp, guaranteed weekends home, hundreds in bonuses a brand new truck and a free puppy.. yeah.. he is lying and embellishing.. no free puppy, but dogs allowed but not in new trucks, bonuses yes.. but paid out over a year, and .43cpm and maybe a penny or two per mile raise in a year... compare what the other recruiter says, do some of your own research, and make an informed decision and if you decide to take the job.. go with the recruiter who was honest with you.. who what they said is what the website and other drivers said...

 

####.. that is the truth of the truck driver industry.. they are not going to give the easy runs to their best drivers.. they are not gonna send their bad drivers to NJ or NY..

As a recruiter all I could do is try a pair you with a company that wouldn't do that to you..

I think that sucks that your company is risking burning you out like that.. what you could do, is get some leverage.. talk to an external recruiter who can get you a couple options of company's that are good for you... so then you can either go with one of them.. or, talk to your company.. your fleet manager , dispatcher or who ever it is in your company.. tell them you want them to not take advantage of your good driving and experience.. that you have a couple offers from a couple othe carriers but, you want to stay there.. but you want to be treated better and what can you work out..


Lol.. of course any recruiters reading that are annoyed.. because they don't want drivers calling to get a couple options to use for leverage... don't get paid if it works and you stay at your company and things improve... we get paid when a company hires you... so they don't want drivers taking their time up just for leverage at their company... however, I don't look at it that way... because while you may not go with one of the options I offered because things improved for you at your company so I get no pay for you being hired.. you may give my name and number to a driver or two or three... so.. it is not a waste of time in my book..

while you could just go in a tell your company to treat you better or else... I don't recommend that.. get a couple of options first because it can make a big difference.. if you go in and say if you don't treat me better I am going to go drive for such and such company and they say I send my drivers where I want when I want so deal with it or clean out your truck.. well, not your situation just got worse.. if on the other had you got your viable options, went through the process and go into either give your notice and or improve your situation.. then afterwards you just call the recruiter and say whether you accept one of the offers or whether you are not because your company
made you a better offer..

One additional piece of advice to everyone.. don't do this often.. there are good companies out there, but they don't want drivers who have gone from company to company to company... there are companies that won't hire drivers who have been with more than 3 companies in 10 years.. and there are drivers who have been with more than 3 companies in their first year...

Let me add, I don't even know what company you work for.. so I don't know if they are a company you want to try and negotiate better treatment with or not.. you know that better than me.. I am only saying how you could utilize a recruiter.. not that a recruiter will make your dreams come true..