List Of Questions To Ask A Recruiter

As a recruiter I may ask the individual to call me or ask for their contact info so that I may call them when I am able simply because talking is more personable than typing. The personal contact of verbal conversation will take you further than an email, though in some cases verbal followed up with an email may be best (I do that a lot). We don't all lie to get you in the door either, some of us are just good at what we do. I'm not going to lie to you, put you in a truck and have my lies come back to bite me or anyone else, that gives me and the company I work for a bad name, and drivers to talk so its counter productive in my opinion. Hope this helps! :)

Debbie D, seems to me that answering those questions and saving them on notes would help you guys with potential recruits. Kind of a FAQ list for recruits.

That is a very thoroughly thought out list of questions.

.02

Why bother asking a recruiter anything if they are just gonna be a skeezy salesman and outright lie to you? I dunno. If a company is paying to do background, credit and crim checks I kinda doubt that a recruiter is just trying to get you "through the door" since it just costs a company money and time.

So here's my question: I have recently applied to a trucking company as a student driver and have not heard back though I know they're checking my references as I've been in touch with (and been present) when they've called to do their checks. At the end of the application process I was instructed to call and talk to a recruiter. I don't get this. I've done my research on the company I want to join and applied to the job. Is this some weird way of kicking things into gear through a computer program? I mean, it seems silly to talk to a recruiter if I've already applied and signed an application for employment. I'm getting leery about this. I've never applies to a job before and had to call THEM unless we were' playing "phone-tag". Any thoughts from the gurus?

Matthew grumbles:

Why bother asking a recruiter anything if they are just gonna be a skeezy salesman and outright lie to you? I dunno. If a company is paying to do background, credit and crim checks I kinda doubt that a recruiter is just trying to get you "through the door" since it just costs a company money and time.

So here's my question: I have recently applied to a trucking company as a student driver and have not heard back though I know they're checking my references as I've been in touch with (and been present) when they've called to do their checks. At the end of the application process I was instructed to call and talk to a recruiter. I don't get this. I've done my research on the company I want to join and applied to the job. Is this some weird way of kicking things into gear through a computer program? I mean, it seems silly to talk to a recruiter if I've already applied and signed an application for employment. I'm getting leery about this. I've never applies to a job before and had to call THEM unless we were' playing "phone-tag". Any thoughts from the gurus?

The job may be "recruiter". They also coordinate your entry into your grand trucking company. Dates, bus tickets, paperwork, stuff like that. I don't think second guessing your company's procedures is a good idea. The recruiter people are the gate keepers who keep the unqualified riff raff out, answer questions from people interested in the company, and get the new hires through the, well, "on-boarding process" is the term these days.

Sounds like you have no experience with trucking. I didn't either till I took the course and started driving for Swift. I'll say this again: do not go around second guessing the people you are dealing with. This attitude will get you in the front door and out the back before you can unpack in the hotel room.

Wow dude. I mean.......

I'm getting leery... it seems silly...Is this some weird way of...I don't get this...Why bother asking

Paint you skeptical, huh? Geesh.

I don't know if I'm the most enthusiastic person ever or what but I remember my early days in school and on the road vividly. I mean to the point that I remember some conversations word for word, I remember what certain people were wearing, I remember the weather - all of it. And that was in '93!

I was soooooo excited about getting an opportunity to drive a rig. During those 7 weeks of school I thought I was going to explode if I couldn't climb into one of those big beauties going by on the Interstate and head for California!

Our school was next to an Interstate and I stayed at a hotel during that time. Every evening I'd grab my tunes and walk over to the bridge going over the highway, crank up Bob Seger, and sit there for an hour or two just wondering where the trucks were heading and what it must have felt like to be looking out that windshield. I don't think I slept for days at a time I was so excited.

Am I the only one that was like that? Because after all of these years of running this website it seems most people coming into this industry are just skeptical, cynical, and aggravated with everything all the time. I know for a fact I never had a single thought about companies screwing me over or the process being handled all wrong or any of that. I was just thrilled that I was about to be driving around this big, beautiful country in a big, beautiful American big rig.

Mathew, just roll with it. Don't sweat every detail about the process. I can assure you that most things aren't going to make much sense for a while. Once you've been in the industry for a bit and you learn how things are done this stuff will make sense. But right now just take it a day at a time and roll with it.

Wow dude. I mean.......

I'm getting leery... it seems silly...Is this some weird way of...I don't get this...Why bother asking

Paint you skeptical, huh? Geesh.

I don't know if I'm the most enthusiastic person ever or what but I remember my early days in school and on the road vividly. I mean to the point that I remember some conversations word for word, I remember what certain people were wearing, I remember the weather - all of it. And that was in '93!

I was soooooo excited about getting an opportunity to drive a rig. During those 7 weeks of school I thought I was going to explode if I couldn't climb into one of those big beauties going by on the Interstate and head for California!

Our school was next to an Interstate and I stayed at a hotel during that time. Every evening I'd grab my tunes and walk over to the bridge going over the highway, crank up Bob Seger, and sit there for an hour or two just wondering where the trucks were heading and what it must have felt like to be looking out that windshield. I don't think I slept for days at a time I was so excited.

Am I the only one that was like that? Because after all of these years of running this website it seems most people coming into this industry are just skeptical, cynical, and aggravated with everything all the time. I know for a fact I never had a single thought about companies screwing me over or the process being handled all wrong or any of that. I was just thrilled that I was about to be driving around this big, beautiful country in a big, beautiful American big rig.

Mathew, just roll with it. Don't sweat every detail about the process. I can assure you that most things aren't going to make much sense for a while. Once you've been in the industry for a bit and you learn how things are done this stuff will make sense. But right now just take it a day at a time and roll with it.

Brett I don't start orientation with Tyson until the 8th. Although I love being home and working around the house I am miserable. I miss the road and can't wait to get back out on the road. Being home 3 weeks is the longest I have been off the road in a long time and can't get to get back out there. Even after 17 years of driving I still want to be out there on the road driving.

So ,no Brett, its not just you. Trucking to excites me to this day.

I started last year and didn't know about this site till after I got my cdl from swift... I never expected anything more then what they gave me and at that time I had nothing to my name.. I left my family with all the money and went to SLC Utah with 70 bucks and was happy to get my cdl.....best time of my life..

I left my family with all the money and went to SLC Utah with 70 bucks and was happy to get my cdl.....best time of my life..

That's awesome! I felt the same way. During school I seriously thought I was going to explode I was so excited!

Even after 17 years of driving I still want to be out there on the road driving.

And you've been runnin hard for years now and still lovin it. You're gonna be 80 when they finally take the keys away from you and make you so sit on the porch.

Skeptical. Ya that's me, and btw, I'm a born cynic. As for excited about getting into a truck? Heck ya! Excited, exhilarated, nervous to the point of losing sleep and making myself sick. It's such a big lifestyle change too. And getting a new career off the ground is nerve-racking as well! Sorry guys, didn't mean to come off so negatively. Totally unintentional. Glad you checked me on that, too, as I didn't even notice it as I was writing. I was really just trying to ask a question about how the whole, whadja call it, "on-boarding process?" works and how the recruiters are tied into it. You've already answered a few of my questions in this discussion and I'm beginning to understand things better.

Awesome Matthew! Sounds great.

Yeah, you're going to find a whole lot of things over the next few months that are far from what you expected. The trucking industry is a rather strange beast. In the beginning pretty much everything seems puzzling. It's not until you've been in the industry for a little while that you'll understand the why's and how's of recruiting and training. And even when you understand it you'll see a lot of it is less than ideal for sure. But all you can really do is roll with it. Just keep a great attitude, listen and learn, and prove to everyone that you're serious about becoming an awesome driver.