Comment by Matt Charney on April 9, 2014 at 9:17pm

Welcome to our weird little world - I have never recruited truckers, but know that it's incredibly hard, and also the only industry where radio ads & billboards are an effective source of hire.  That said, I'm interested in learning more about your challenges, and am happy to help...feel free to drop me a line matt@recruitingblogs.com and will look forward to learning with you.

Comment by Derdiver on April 10, 2014 at 4:52pm

I have a history of working with truckers back in the day. Give me a shout I can help you out. Derdiver@outlook.com

Comment by Kelly Blokdijk on April 10, 2014 at 8:23pm

Hi Joe -- it would help if you could provide examples of the challenges, questions, concerns or problems your are dealing with so we can offer specific suggestions.

My first HR/recruiting job was at a grocery company supporting the distribution centers. I handled the full cycle recruiting process (excluding administering the actual on-the-road driving test) for the class-A drivers we hired. Aside from already working in the grocery industry, I knew absolutely nothing about truck driving when I started.

By asking a lot of questions of the transportation managers and doing independent research I somehow managed to get up to speed quickly. I guess I was convincing enough since I even had a few drivers ask (while I was interviewing them) if I how I knew so much since they assumed (correctly) that I was not a driver myself. The dept managers were always satisfied with candidates I screened and passed on for the OTR driving test.  

Just like recruiting for any other job that you don't have personal hands-on knowledge of, the first thing to do is get as familiarized as possible with the industry lingo. In the case of trucking, learn different types of equipment, types and makes of vehicles, load capacity or trailer length, type of merchandise or materials being transported, type of driving (distance, local, shift) relevant DOT regulations, and any other aspects related to the needs of that specific company. 

At the company I worked for, my biggest issue for hiring drivers was the requirement for clean driving records (no incidents w/ in past 3 or 5 yrs - I think?), minimum level of experience as Class-A (no rookies) and preference for the type of driving (over-night, local, long-distance, refer, 52' trailer, etc.). I left that company 10 yrs ago, so not sure what the market is like now, but I have heard drivers are not as plentiful as they once were. 

Hope that helps. Best of luck and let us know how things go...

~KB @TalentTalks 

Comment by Joe Soja on April 16, 2014 at 8:57pm

Well I just started so there's not a whole lot of challenges yet,other than just going through the numbers and also finding the best places to grab recruits. One of the things suggested to me was schools,they are just out and looking for jobs.

I already kind of have a head start on trucking as I contemplated getting into driving myself years ago,but never did. So I did study on it and have a general knowledge. The thing with this business though is that alot of drivers know the 'route' and know what to look for in jobs,so I try not to sound too green when talking to them so I can gain their trust.

I'm not sure what other kinds of recruiting are out there...but I do recall getting calls from general job recruiters when I was looking. The thing I like about this one is I can do it from home or wherever and not have to get dressed up for an office etc.

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