Interviewing for a new driving job? Be sure to ask the recruiter the right questions

Here’s a true story from my past life as a driver recruiter.

“I won’t drive a (insert truck brand here),” said the new employee. “If I’d known this company had them, I never would’ve come here.”

The thing is, that driver DID come to new-employee orientation.

After the carrier absorbed the cost of background reports, paid for transportation, lodging and meals, and devoted hours to recruiting, testing and training, they decided to inform us of a stipulation he could (and should) have mentioned in his first phone call with the recruiter.

Unfortunately, such scenarios are not uncommon.

Why does this happen?

Recruiters are trained to gather information from job applicants. They have a list of questions a prospective hire must answer before being considered for employment.

Recruiters have talked with hundreds — maybe thousands — of drivers, and they know what to ask in order to move an application through the process. Their questions often revolve around qualifications such as your driving record and work history.

Drivers, on the other hand, are NOT trained in how to speak with a recruiter. Of course, you’ll need to know whether you qualify to work for that carrier — but being qualified doesn’t necessarily mean this is a job you want.

What’s important to you?

The first step in applying for a new job is to determine what’s most important to you.

Is it pay? Home time? Truck condition? Freight lanes?

Make a list, and put the items in order of importance. Make sub-categories for the items on your list, and make sure any “deal-breakers” are identified as such.

What’s the pay scale?

For example, if pay is at the top of your list, you’ll certainly want to ask for the pay rate — but you’ll also need some details about how your pay will be calculated.

• Is the pay rate applicable to all miles driven?
• Does it include empty miles?
• Does the rate change, depending on the length of the trip or whether you’ll travel in certain areas?
• Does the quoted rate include safety or performance bonuses you may (or may not) qualify for?

If the carrier pays by the mile, you’ll want to know how many paid miles you can expect each pay period. After all, a great pay rate is meaningless if drivers aren’t getting miles.

Most carriers track the efficiency of their fleets and will be able to provide an average length of haul and average miles per week. If the carrier offers multiple types of job, such as regional, dedicated or 48-state hauls, make sure the mileage estimates you’re looking at are for the fleet you’re interested in rather than an average of the entire fleet.

Assessorial or extra pay for things like detention or layover often become problems long after a driver has been hired and completed orientation. You’ll want a breakdown of how much this pay is and how it’s calculated.

• Does detention pay start after you’ve been at the customer for an hour? Two hours? Four hours?
• Does the customer need to sign something?
• Will you be paid for detention when you’re paid for that load, or will that pay be delayed until the customer pays the carrier?
• What happens if the customer doesn’t pay the detention?

Layover is generally paid when the carrier doesn’t have a load for you to haul, but the conditions can vary between carriers. Is there a waiting period before you’ll qualify for layover?

Some carriers don’t pay layover if you’ve been waiting long enough to put together a 34-hour reset of your hours of service, as if gaining more hours to drive is the equivalent of pay. Others don’t pay if you were at home while you waited to be dispatched.

Will you be compensated for breakdown time? For inclement weather? If you’ll be pulling a flatbed trailer, what’s the pay for securing the load or for tarping? What about trailer clean-outs?

What’s the pay schedule?

You’ll also want to know how often you’ll be paid and if there are any conditions attached. Will you be paid in the same week you deliver a load, the following week or longer?

Does the paperwork need to be in the office, or does the carrier pay off the electronic record?

If you need to advance cash from your checks to fund your time on the road, make sure you ask the procedure for that. How much can you draw per week? What fees will be charged back to you?

What about home time?

Home time can be a confusing topic, and some carriers don’t make it easy to predict when you’ll get back to your family.

For example, the term “weekend” probably doesn’t mean you’ll be home for supper on Friday and leave on Monday morning. It may mean that you’ll get home for at least a 34-hour restart at some point of the weekend — but it could be Saturday afternoon, or even Sunday, when you actually pull into the driveway.

Some carriers use the term “home weekly,” without specifying weekends in particular. Some offer a percentage of the time you’ll be home on the weekend.

Be sure to ask what equipment you’ll be using.

Equipment is another area that can result in disappointment for new hires.

Most carriers can provide an “average” age of the trucks in their fleets. Keep in mind that the average should be halfway between the oldest and newest trucks. In other words, a fleet with a three-year average will have some 6-year-old trucks in it.

Many drivers have a favorite brand of truck, and most have preferences for engine size, governed speed (if applicable), transmission type and more. If you’re picky about equipment, ask questions up front.

Ask nicely.

How you ask questions is important, too. If you ask in an accusatory manner, you could alienate the recruiter who’s trying to hire you.

Stay calm, and ask for clarification when necessary. Also, keep in mind that some carriers do a great job of keeping their recruiters informed about what happens in the company’s dispatch, safety or maintenance departments, while others aren’t as diligent about providing information.

You’ll want to make the best possible decision for you and your family. The questions you ask during the recruiting process can go a long way toward helping you choose a job you’ll enjoy and want to stay with.

Cliff Abbott

Cliff Abbott is an experienced commercial vehicle driver and owner-operator who still holds a CDL in his home state of Alabama. In nearly 40 years in trucking, he’s been an instructor and trainer and has managed safety and recruiting operations for several carriers. Having never lost his love of the road, Cliff has written a book and hundreds of songs and has been writing for The Trucker for more than a decade.