Do you have ambition? A burning desire to be hailed as recruiter of the month… maybe the year? In that case you’ll be wise to listen well, for that which I am about to divulge is valuable information indeed.
These commandments will guide you towards greater and greater recruitment success, so remember them well.
I. Thou shalt advertise to passive jobseekers
The concept of passive and active driver candidates is one we’ve spoken about in previous blogs, but for those unfamiliar, let me reiterate.
In short, let’s look at the characteristics of passive and active jobseekers (in this case, truck drivers).
- Active jobseekers - These jobseekers, as the name implies, are actively looking to make the switch and find a new job to go for. These drivers then spend their time on platforms and websites along with other active jobseekers. These drivers have many options, and are notoriously hard to chase down and win over.
- Passive jobseekers - Passive jobseekers, on the other hand, are drivers that are not actively looking for new opportunities, but ones that would be open to changing jobs if they see or are made aware of a new opportunity. The attention of these drivers is not fought over by hundreds of trucking companies, and as such they are easier to target and win over - if you know what you’re doing.
It's important to be seen on job boards, but to get great results you must diversify.
Drivers that are actively looking for work on job boards typically look through the positions in their area and apply to dozens of jobs at a time.
The problem is that those drivers will get called down by dozens of recruiters. Their attention will be divided. Active jobseekers are therefore less likely to convert into hires.
Passive jobseekers, on the other hand, aren’t looking for something right away, but are open to change if they get a convincing enough offer. Many drivers are passively looking for work at any given time.
The best part is, there is almost no competition for the attention of these drivers because most carriers don’t know how to target passive jobseekers.
You see, whereas most companies post their jobs on saturated job boards with high competition, very few companies know how to get their jobs in front of drivers when they’re just doing their thing online.
At YouCruit, we focus on helping our many customers target these drivers using a blend of programmatic advertising and Facebook advertising. In doing so, we get job ads out in front of relevant drivers, and ensure that each job ad gets the full attention of every jobseeker.
II. Thou shalt call thy leads fast
Time matters. If you get your hands on a qualified driver lead, get in touch with them and arrange orientation as soon as possible!
Too many driver recruiters take a “no pressure” approach to getting a hold of their driver leads. They’ll send an email or two, wait for the driver to get back to them, and when the driver never gets back to them, they brush it off as another loss.
Unless you’ve got all the money and time in the world, this approach won’t work for you. Instead, call your leads fast - it’s what the pros do.
I’ll draw a quote from another blog.
What I observed from working with many in-house recruiters at some of the biggest carriers was that...
...the recruiters at the biggest carriers were all quick to convert driver leads.
...They won the trust of drivers quickly(...) didn’t have several follow ups, they didn’t let qualified drivers slip away…
See it as making a sale. When you’re on the phone with a qualified driver, you should make it your mission to close them as soon as possible. If they’re eager, start making a plan to get them on a flight, bus, or train to your next scheduled orientation right away.
That’s enough self-quoting for now. Just remember that persistence is key!
III. Thou shalt be honest about thy job
Honesty is the best policy, because it wins in the long run. Twisting the truth about certain elements of your job can get you short term results, but it’ll leave many bridges burned in the future.
If you’re honest upfront about the expectations you have for the driver and what expectations the driver should have of you, you’ll be in a good spot.
Being honest is simple enough, but what if you are honest about your job and still not seeing the results you desire?
If that’s the case, you might be making some costly recruiting mistakes. But don’t despair, for mistakes are usually fixable. To find out if you’re making any costly recruiting mistakes, check out this post.
IV. Thou shalt get off the saturated job boards
Actually, don’t get off the job boards completely… Just don’t rely on them as your main source of driver leads.
The problem with job boards goes hand in hand with the problem with active jobseekers. Let’s sum up the issues you encounter on job boards:
- Not reaching the full scope of drivers - At any time, a large chunk of all drivers looking for work are not actively looking for work. Those drivers are not on job boards.
- Paying to promote your jobs without any guarantees - When you pay to promote your job on a job board, you’re not guaranteed a return on investment. You pay regardless of whether your ad is successful or not.
- Not getting the full attention of the driver - Unless you have a stellar reputation, most drivers will see you as just another company when they’re on a job board. Your job will be listed among hundreds of other similar jobs in your area.
If you do choose to advertise on job boards, at least don’t let the whole process waste more of your time than it needs to. Nowadays, software can do a lot for you. For instance, YouCruit converts the information about your job into a readable and professional job description. This description can then be shared on multiple job boards at the click of a button, and is also made available on the Lanefinder app for truck drivers to discover.
V. Thou shalt use an ATS
Speaking of job boards and placing your ads manually... please do not do that. Instead, use an ATS. ATS stands for ‘Applicant tracking system’, which is a piece of software dedicated to making recruiting easier.
Wikipedia says this: *“An applicant tracking system is a software application that enables the electronic handling of recruitment and hiring needs. An ATS can be implemented or accessed online at enterprise- or small-business levels, depending on the needs of the organization.” *
All the larger companies use ATSes, and there’s a reason for that - they’re absolutely essential to getting things done in this day and age.
Here are some of the essential ways an ATS will help make hiring truck drivers easier:
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You can use an ATS to reach more drivers - Aside from being able to easily post to a hundreds of job boards at once, some applicant tracking systems offer other job advertising options to really boost your results.
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It saves time managing applications - Some ATSes such as YouCruit allow you to sort through your applications by hiring stage, direct message drivers, and collaborate effortlessly with your team.
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It helps you build a driver database - An ATS can serve as a recruitment depository that's much easier to keep track of than a bunch of spreadsheets or emails.
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It can help you with your employer brand - If you so choose, you can use certain ATSes to build career sites for your company. Here are some benefits of having a career site.
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It can actually lower your cost per hire - Companies that nail their ad strategy with the help of an ATS significantly lower their cost per applicant, and by using an ATS to efficiently screen and place those candidates, they cut down on their applicants per hire.
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It can improve your hire quality -Better advertising, better screening, and better filtering will yield better hires.
Find out more about the 6 ways an applicant tracking system can make your recruiting easier here
Is an ATS right for you? It probably is.
Conclusion
Now go, spread the good word among your recruiter fellows. Remember these commandments, and you too shall become a truly godlike truck driver recruiter.
If you want to get your jobs on YouCruit and receive free drivers from the Lanefinder app, either sign up here or reach out to us at sales@youcruit.com. And remember to subscribe to our newsletter below for helpful truck driver recruiting content.