What to expect and what to ask recruiter & o/0

[buddy]

Greetings to ALL,
My wife and I have reached a crossroad in our life and needless to say its time to persue a differant carrer/job. This Biz of trucking has us very interested. We have read a ton of the posts on this web, Have 2 friends in the expediting industing (one a sub-contractor w/ straight truck the other she is an o/o with cargo van) discussions with them as well.

We are curious as what to expect (stories-promises etc) from a recruiter as well as what is fair for us to ask/request? Yes I said FAIR. Likewise what would be fair to expect/contract with a o/o? I would hope that drivers/sub-contractors will respond to this as well.

We want to make a "well informed" decission.

Please respond and a Big Thanks In advance

 

[ATeam]

No disrespect intended, but I am a little confused by your post. If you have read a ton of posts in the Open Forum, would you not already know what is fair to ask for? The information is certainly there. Perhaps you can tell us more about the question you are asking and why you are asking it.

 

[buddy]

None Taken A team. When I say "tons" I meant alot. what do we look for in a recruiter? Who's intrest do they have? that sort of thing. All the carrier advertisements say they offer the best, better or none other. Yes we all have our favorite ice cream and that is a good thing. However we all know there is cheap (made-quailty) ice cream and there is high quaility ice cream, so if all the recruiter were butter-pecan, what would i look for to find which one is higher quaility?...hopes this answers your answer...thanks hope I didnt confuse you all.

 

[butterfly610]

One thing I use to decide between two or more companies, in any situation, not just when I was choosing a carrier, is who actually returns my calls and answers questions. Sometimes you can tell how a company runs by if they return your calls and don't ignore you, things like that. I would say the recruiters are good for asking what types of company expenses you'll incur and stuff, but I would ask other drivers regarding miles, how they operate, etc. You might get more honest answers. A recruiter is not going to tell you everything that might help you decide between carriers. We all have our preferences, and you have to choose one that meets most of yours. Sometimes you can tell a difference in the professionalism in one over the other also, and that matters to me. I like a company that treats me with respect and seems to have it together. I think the best thing to do is ask other drivers, and don't believe only the negative. Some people aren't happy no matter what, and you have to be able to decipher the truth from them just talking. Someone honest usually tells you the good and the bad.

 

[LDB]

Every company has warts, plural. If the recruiter gives you both pros and cons of his company s/he is more likely to be giving you the straight story. If they tell you the fleet avg miles for your class that's good. If they tell you they do "up to" x miles or "can do" x miles or anything of that sort it's probably not good because they're probably giving you the amount the top producer of the year did. Yes, that can be done because someone did it but it's not nearly as likely you're going to match it as you will the avg. Even the avg isn't guaranteed since to get the avg there have to be units with less than that amount. If they can't/won't give you weekly deductions there's a problem. Finally, read back at least 1 year in the general, newbies and recruiter forums. That doesn't mean every word but go back that far checking thread subjects and reading any that might possibly educate and benefit you. That will help you with your list of both questions and answers.