Posted on Dec 30, 2007 - 8:10pm by Mark Spearman in Trucking
Hauling freight and general shipments is a starting point for a true trucking “career”. Most drivers stay in the largest segment of the industry for too many years. We have to accept that this area of trucking will never be a good job. It always has the same problems that ruin drivers’ lives. It is so profitable for the trucking companies and their customers, that they have the money and power to keep the law in their favor. There are ways out of it.
Are many years of good experience worth anything. Of course! It’s just not worth much to general freight hauling companies. They receive a break on their insurance for your good record, but only up to a point. Past that, they could care less. The freight does not pay any better to have a better driver hauling it.
So how do you get out of the corrupt segments of trucking? Thanks to technology, it is much easier to find a targeted job that will consider your good record. Go to a site like monster.com, careerbuilder.com, or any other job hunting site. Be very careful about your personal information on these sites as there is no real security guarantee.
Once you find some good employment sites, start searching for the simple term “CDL”. Now start looking in categories OTHER than transportation. General transportation companies will still be in other categories, but you know who they are, so you can ignore them. You will start seeing companies that you are not familiar with.
You will notice that the job postings not only require a CDL, but they usually require other skills. Hazmat, mechanical skills, sales skills, and computer skills are a few that I’ve noticed. If you want these specialized jobs, start looking for a way to gain the skills required. Again, technology is available for you to get these skills online or you can find out the time and money required to get these skills at a training institution.
These searches are probably not going to produce the best jobs, they will just give you an idea of what is out there. No company wants to advertise on these job sites. Employers must fish through many unqualified applicants to find what they are looking for. In some cases, they will be required to offer interviews to ALL who apply due to laws that apply to their type of business.
To find better positions, start looking online to find out who the competitors are of the companies listed. Contact those companies and inquire about positions and ask to submit a resume. If you’re a veteran, minority, disabled, etc. you get extra consideration for government jobs. The website for all government jobs is at USAjobs.
Specialized trucking jobs are going to require a real professional approach. Contrary to the trucking industries propaganda, just getting paid to drive and doing it well does not make you a “professional”. You may need the help of a career specialist to produce the image that these companies are looking for. Your attitude, appearance, and resume are going to be the tools help you obtain the type of employment you are looking for. You’re not going to call a recruiter, go to an orientation, pass the physical and drug test, then get a truck. That routine just doesn’t happen in specialized industries.
Find a professional in your group of friends and family or hire a career specialist. Ask them to interview you to check your attitude and responses. You have to get rid of the matter-of-fact responses that truck drivers are used to giving. For example, if asked the question, “Are you able to stay away from home frequently?” The reply is not, “Of course, I’ve been an over-the-road driver for 10 years!”. Try this, “Yes, in my past jobs, I was required to stay out for many days at a time, so my situation is one that accommodates travel.” This will take practice and it isn’t any fun being told you do not speak well.
Be prepared for rejection. Good jobs have intense competition. Many of the companies will not tell you why you were not hired, so remember your interview and ask others what may have been the problem. It took you years to get to the situation your are in, it will take some time an effort to get out of it.
I learned these techniques from friends that were successful at getting out of standard trucking jobs. When I re-entered trucking after a long break, it only took me 6 months to find a specialized job. It’s not a great one, but it beats working for the JB Hunt types of companies. Networking can boost your chances tremendously. You can do this online if you’re lacking home time. Be careful about personal information you give online, but there are networking sites that can connect you with others in the field you’re seeking. Specialized drivers generally do not hang out in the truckstop. When they do, they’re not going to be telling folks about how to get their job, it was tough enough to get it without producing more competition.
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Good points to make Mark,, I one time went on line searching for a job, locally with a company,, the company I found was headquartered in another state with a terminal here where I live, so, I applied “on-line”, later I never heard back from them, they were a well known LTL Carrier, so I went down to the Terminal in Person to talk to the Terminal Manager, to see what the problem weas, as I had a clean driving record with all the necessary endorsements and experience too !!!! The Terminal Manager said he never recieved my Application, and wanted to know when I came down to fill it out, I informed I didn’t, and he looked puzzled, I told him that I filled out the Application “ON-LINE”,,, and his Reply was, I didn’t know you could fill out an Application “on-line” with our company, and wanted to know where I did it at, I told him at home on your companys web site, well he was just all taken back by this, he didn’t even know it could be done !! No wonder I never heard back from that company, they NEVER looked at their web site to see how many drivers and dock workers were applying for a Job !!!!! I was Hired, and put to work Full-Time, then 3 days later in the winter,,, The Terminal Manager who hired me came and told me and 3 other guys he just hired “FULL-TIME”, that Corporate headquarters had informed him to cut Hours, and they reduced us from a Full-Time position to a “Part-Time” position, working about 4 to 5 hours a day, with no benefits, the other 2 guys that were hired at the time I was were flat Angry, and didn’t like it. I myself wasn’t happy about it either, and decided to look for another job-again too,, a company that tells your hired fulltime with benefits, than changes their mind like that,, Ridlicious !!! Especially what really irrated me was the fact I had to fill out all these forms for a driving position, which takes a better part of an hour or better, about 15 pages, and give them a copy of my MVR, followed by references and all my personel inforamtion and SS number, followed by a DOT Physical and another Drug Screen, and then wait for the results to get back, so I could supposedly start work fulltime - what a complete waste of my time and effort and energy !!!!!! only to be reduced from full time to part time and not getting enough hours in to even make it worth the while to show up ! Lesson to be learned, always follow up after you fill out an application on-line to make sure they recieved it, many of the personel in the human resources dept. don’t check their on line status to see whos applied, don’t take for granted somebody had reviewed you application. Just Some Advice- Thank-You-JetRanger
Yes, it takes much more effort to get the good jobs, then once you get them, it’s never the dream you had thought it would be.
To get the job I have now, it took the luck of being near their terminal and being able to interview on the fly. Driving the truck in with a company that they knew had difficult requirements, was probably a deciding factor in hiring someone without the required recent experience.
Loads that my current company uses for backhauls, like Wal-Mart loads, were considered good freight at general companies I’ve worked for. It is amazing to see what a smart small company can do. There are things about this company that will cause me to move on, but compared to the big companies, it’s great. Outstanding equipment, loads that get me home very frequently, and very little wasted time are a few perks. There are MANY drivers that would have taken the position if they had applied, but this company doesn’t advertise in the usual places.
You will never see a good company advertising unless they are desperate. Another method I forgot to mention is non-technical. Open the phone book and look for local trucking companies. Small specialized local companies are usually good folks and if you approach them right they can help. Drop them a resume and keep checking them. A nice letter or e-mail is unobtrusive and reminds them about you. If they are not hiring, they know other companies that are. For example, my company works hauls for a company that also has their own fleet. If that company’s fleet is hiring, my company would know about it.
I’ve worked for many large companies and I’d never go back to any of them. I have 1 small company that the dumbest thing I ever did was to quit them. I never tried for an LTL carrier, I’ve heard good and bad about them. I talked to disgruntled UPS drivers, but I’ve never heard of one quitting.
There are clues to look for too. Have you ever seen an obese FedEx driver? If you’re toting a trucker gut, you’d better get that fixed if you want to go with FedEx. Have you ever seen a Hazmat hauler with a thick beard? No, many have to wear a gas mask in emergencies and it will not seal to a beard. Have you seen a grubby Wal-Mart driver, no they are clean and uniformed for the most part. Look at the company’s drivers and make sure you look that part at the interview.
Just a ton of good information, Mark. I don’t think “appearance and attitude” can be stressed strongly enough; and the specific examples you give in your post and comment definitely bring the reality home.
We are here doing nothing and you there looking for us how can we work as a team.what i mean is in Ghana we have good truck drivers with out work and you have got truck with out drivers.