We don’t have to tell you that when it comes to hiring drivers, things are tight, tight, tight. The high number of drivers retiring plus the pandemic created a perfect storm—one that’s still producing bad weather in terms of driver recruitment.
And here’s the thing: The long-term forecast suggests that the labor market for drivers will remain ultra-competitive for the near future. We could be facing a shortage of 160,000 drivers over the next decade if nothing changes.
What’s an HR manager to do? Where should you go to find more driver applicants? And are there any strategies you can implement ASAP to improve your current recruitment process?
Keep on reading . . .
Post job listings to driver-focused job boards
It only makes sense, right? If you want to attract more driver applicants who are eager to work for you, go to the places where they’ve been instructed to look for gigs: driver-focused job boards.
You’ll find a list of the most popular ones below. We’re listing everything in alphabetical order for easy skimming, and we’re noting which ones are paid and free. (Some of the free options also have premium options.)
- Alltruckjobs.com – Paid
- BestDriverJobs.com – Paid
- Careersingear.com – Paid (formerly TruckerClassifieds.com)
- CDLjobs.com – Paid
- ClassADrivers.com – Paid
- Drive My Way – Paid
- EveryTruckJob.com – Free
- Gary’s Job Board – Paid
- HiringDriversNow.com – Paid
- JobsInTrucks.com – Paid
- Layover.com – Paid
- MeetATruckDriver.com – Free
- The Trucker – Paid
- TruckDriverJobs411.com – Free
Do you need to post listings on ALL of them?
It can certainly get pricey to run postings on all the pay-to-play job boards—and not all of them will apply to your specific needs anyway. (For example, Layover.com specializes in dry van jobs.) Not to mention, managing all the listings can be overwhelming if you’re doing everything on your own without the help of an online system to manage applications.
If you’re brand new to your HR position, you might want to aim for posting to multiple sites and keeping track of the ones that deliver the best results—both in terms of the number of applicants and the quality of those applicants.
Over time, you’ll get a sense of which sites deliver the best ROI for your business. You can shift your focus to those job boards. But if you find applicant numbers drop or the quality drops, pay attention. Like anything else, things can—and will—shift. Some job boards might improve, new ones will enter the market, etc.
Don’t overlook or underestimate the “usual suspects.”
As we said earlier, the key to finding more driver applicants is posting listings where they’re already searching. While many drivers will look at driver-focused job boards, some of these same people might be considering a variety of gigs—not just trucking—and scouring other job boards.
Mainstream job boards, like Indeed.com, are being searched for everything nowadays. In fact, Indeed.com is currently the largest jobs site in the world. And in the US, Indeed delivers two times as many hires as all other top branded external sources.
Bottom line: If you don’t post your listings on Indeed, you could miss out on some great candidates.
Want to cast an even wider net? Post listings to Indeed’s biggest competitors like LinkedIn, Monster, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter.
Do your part in making the hiring process as efficient as possible.
Keeping qualified drivers behind the wheel can be one of the most stressful parts of your job. All those job postings, all those applications, all those driver qualification files you need to maintain! The list is seemingly endless.
Luckily, there are steps you can take (and products you can use!) to help reduce the stress and even eliminate it in some areas.
Manage recruitment from one system. Using an applicant tracking system (ATS) can be a smart way to manage multiple listings from one dashboard.
Streamline your applications. Long gone are the days of applications that go on for two or three pages. We live in an era of “just the facts, ma’am.” Request only the most pertinent info that will tell you if the person is a good candidate to be considered. You can always request more info as candidates progress through the interview and hiring process.
Make your applications mobile-friendly and DOT-compliant. Compliance is critical, but your application should also work seamlessly across electronic devices—phones, tablets, laptops, and good “old-fashioned” desktops.
Make background checks mobile-friendly, too. People are attached to their phones and are much more likely to respond to a text than an email. Kicking off the background check process via text message is an excellent way to get candidates to complete background checks faster.
Mind your driver files. Twenty percent of audit violations are due to sloppy driver file recordkeeping. This is something within your control! Check out this driver file creation checklist.
Bonus: Use a trusted partner like Foley.
Given that truck driver recruitment has so many requirements (certainly more than the average office job), it makes sense to use industry-focused software developed by a trusted partner like Foley.
The Foley Platform allows you to compliantly recruit, onboard, and monitor drivers—all within one convenient dashboard, so you can focus on getting more driver applicants. Intrigued? Seeing is believing. Request a demo and we’ll show you how everything works.
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