I Need Tips On...!!!
Topic 4146 | Page 1
That was me with the list. Brett has a lot of information on the site as well, but I will post my list again for your pleasure. lol
Questions for Trucking Company Recruiters
Company Name:
Recruiter Name:
Phone Number:
Email:
1. Where is your orientation?
2. Is the orientation a controlled curriculum for subject matter and teaching points? Mileage? Time?
3. Do the trainers get graded by the students after completion or is there a feedback loop to make the training better? Team driving during training?
4. What is the pay during orientation and training?
5. What is the pay after training completion? List for each division please: tanker, dry van , reefer , etc. Please list if it is for ALL miles, or is a progressive (“tiered”) pay scale.
6. Any bonuses post completion? 6 months? 1 year?
7. Is there a 401k and how is it structured? Cap limits? How much does the company match?
8. During orientation are lodging and meals paid for by the company?
9. If the trainer takes home time does the newbie keep driving?
10. What electronics does your company furnish to make a more safe and efficient driver?
11. Where are the main hubs?
12. Does the company have any dedicated contracts? Divisions? Is the newbie eligible for them?
13. What medical and dental plans are offered? Details and pricing of each plan to include time with company?
14. Can you switch trainers if it doesn't work between the two of you for whatever reason?
15. Idling policy?
16. Inverter installation policy? APU in trucks?
17. Is per diem built into the pay?
18. Breakdown and layover pay? Detention pay?
19. Are they no touch or is unloading involved? Pay for unloading?
20. How many miles do they usually put on a truck before they pull it from the fleet?
21. How does the pay period work? Do they use TRANSFLO and does it cost you? Do bills have to be sent in by a certain day to get paid during a week?
22. General home-time policy and where they want the truck when you go home?
23. Slip seating or assigned trucks?
24. What speed are trucks governed at?
25. Vacation policy?
26. What miles are paid miles and what miles are not?
27. When am I working and not getting paid?
28. If weather, driver (sick) or road conditions are such that I feel it is unsafe to continue driving, will I be penalized for parking until it is safe?
29. What are the reasons I could be disciplined and or fired for?
30. What can I expect my first year earnings to be? 2nd year?
31. How many miles per week does a newbie average?
32. Is there a tuition reimbursement program? Explain how it works please.
33. How many of their recruits as a percentage remain past 90 days?
34. What is the number 1 reason new recruits quit or their biggest complaint when they're terminated?
Apply to all the companies and pick which one fits you the best. Here's some help with that decision; How To Choose A Company
Also, be sure to check this one out also; Company-Sponsored Training
And lastly, use this to apply to all the companies with just a single application; Apply For Truck Driving Jobs
To sum it up. Apply to all the companies and pick the ones that fit you the best. Do not wait for them to call you. Make constant contact with them. Give them no doubt that you want this opportunity more than the next guy! These companies have a million applications and it's easy for them to lose one in the stack, put yourself out there and someone will want you.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Dry Van:
A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
Per Diem:
Getting paid per diem means getting a portion of your salary paid to you without taxes taken out. It's technically classified as a meal and expense reimbursement.
Truck drivers and others who travel for a living get large tax deductions for meal expenses. The Government set up per diem pay as a way to reimburse some of the taxes you pay with each paycheck instead of making you wait until tax filing season.
Getting per diem pay means a driver will get a larger paycheck each week but a smaller tax return at tax time.
We have a ton of information on our wiki page on per diem pay
Reefer:
A refrigerated trailer.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
Haha appreciate it Daniel, hows the new truck? (that was your new cherry balck one i saw this week right?)
We have a chapter in our Truck Driver's Career Guide called Choosing A Truck Driving School which covers the various options for schooling and resources for research like our Company-Sponsored Training Program Information & Reviews.
Go through those resources and you'll learn a ton about company-sponsored training and how to get started with it.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
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I will be calling my first companies within the week, as I have just passed testing for my cdl class A permit in my state.. I am looking for tips on applying with in house company training for my cdl.. What are good questions to ask for myself/ to ask to seem knowledgeable/ to ask to seem desirable.. what are things i should without doubt be aware of before making first contact.. Should I contact my favorite company first?/ should I wait to contact them after a few to get a clue haha.. etc.. thank you for your time its much needed :)
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: