What Do Trucking Industry Job Seekers Care About in a Job Ad?

When searching for a new employer via the Internet, newspaper and industry magazines, truck drivers want to know basically 4 things from job ads and whatever else they 'might' read, a great number of them won't remember. Advertising positions should be as short and to the point as possible and cover the following:

1) Pay, Benefits
2) Hometime
3) Hiring lanes
4) Equipment

A company's reputation is set in stone by the chatter gossip they pick up on the CB & truck stops plus Internet social networks posted by other drivers. Most seasoned drivers don't believe the opinions or claims made by the companies. Newbies use to believe anything they were told by the schools and companies but that has been changing ever since the Internet has become people's main source of information. Blogs, FaceBook, Twitter, etc. rule the world now by those who post their experience & opinions about trucking companies (or any business), most of which, for trucking companies, is not always positive. Therefore if recruiters can 'show' confidence themselves in their company to the driver job seekers it creates a huge improvement for overall success as long as they are not told little white lies or are mis-led in any way.

In my almost 20 years experience dealing with drivers I've found that even if you are clear on information you are sharing as a recruiter on the phone or an in-person interview, you MUST email or snail mail that info or at least give them the address to a company web page with the same details you covered with them in your interview. Add believability to your vetting process and as a recruiter, you will double your hiring results. Retention will also increase IF everyone on staff exudes the same confidence and high integrity. This is true of any employer/employee relationship but seems to be lacking within the infrastructure of far too many trucking companies.

Drivers want to be respected more than just being viewed as a link in the corporate chain. They want the respect that makes them feel that their employer realizes that without them there would be no trucking industry, period. A company's advertising, recruiter staff, TM, safety manager, dispatcher (logistics mgr), even the automated voice instructions when they call into the main office number should be soaked with respect for what they do and who they are. It's vital to how your company is perceived and keeping drivers on your payroll for many years as a faithful, loyal professional truck driver is just as vital. Companies who practice this behaviour have the highest retention rates. At the end of the day it doesn't matter how much positive spin a company puts on their reputation and employee treatment as what your drivers perceive a company to be and shares that perception across the country in person and online.