“There aren’t any good jobs out there.”
If I had a nickel for every time I heard that from a driver, I’d have at least a handful of nickels. When I hear that, I reassuringly tell the driver to hang in there and that they’ll find a gem eventually.
Then I stop, think, and ask them “Where do you look for jobs?”
"Awh hell, you know… Indeed, Craigslist"
“Right, right.” I nod. “You know there’s a lot of carriers out there that aren’t on Craigslist and Indeed, right?”
Usually, when I tell them that, they're flabbergasted.
And it's not because drivers are bad at finding jobs - It's that trucking companies are terrible at letting their presence be known online.
As a recruiter or someone in charge of hiring, you can do a lot. Feel free to check out some of the other blogs I’ve written if you want some inspiration on that front.
But I’m not here to overwhelm you with things to do. I’d rather tell you how to do the bare minimum, and still receive a steady stream of driver applications. The best part is, once you get these few steps out of the way, you can enjoy results without lifting a finger. Now excuse me while I get on this soapbox.
Upgrade Your Online Presence
Obvious disclaimer: If you don't have a website, get one.
Are you still riding the internet superhighway? Do you have still have a Rocketmail account? Listen up, because I'm about to blow your mind with some tips that will transform your website into something that generates driver applications like a driver application generation... machine.
There are many things to consider when building a website, but for now let's take a look at the essentials that you need to check off your list to make sure your site is functioning.
- Check readability - Make sure the information on your site is easy to understand and clear.
- Have a good contact page - Pretty obvious, but make sure the driver knows where and how to reach a relevant contact person if they want to work for you.
- Check mobile-friendliness - Many truckers will apply to jobs when they're in between loads. Usually, they don't have access to a laptop or a desktop computer, and will use their phone. If your site is inaccessible or looks unappealing on a smartphone, you're likely to lose out on smartphone applications entirely (that's most applications you're going to get)
If you feel like your site is up to standard, there are a few things you can do right now to check if your website is adequate enough to yield passive applications:
- Google trucking jobs in your city and state, and see if you show up.
- Google your own company name. How many results before you see your company?
- Check your website. Is there a clear way to apply?
- Are you listing all vacancies on your website?
There are many reasons as to why you may not be showing up on Google. (Enough with the bullet-points already!)
- You may have SEO (Search engine optimization) issues- sorting these out by yourself is possible, but requires a bit of research and savvy.
- Google is not picking up your business- You need to set up a 'Google My Business'
- Your website is too new - It takes Google a few weeks after you set up your website to start properly indexing your site. How well you start ranking depends on your domain authority, which is a different topic altogether.
- You don't have enough content on your website.
- You might have a company name that is similar to a much bigger company.
If you nail all or most of the above, you'll have a site that is easy to find. A site that looks good and is easy to locate will encourage drivers to apply. However, if you really want to encourage drivers to apply, you need a career site.
Get a Career Site
If you don't have the time, resources, or abilities to do some of the more in-depth customization and optimization for your website, don't worry. There are many tools at your disposal that will take care of those things for you.
For instance, you can use a specially built software or service to construct an optimized site for you. You're never short of options, but ideally would want to go for something that is multi-purpose and suits your needs as a trucking company.
We offer a robust career site builder that is mobile and SEO optimized while being integrated into an applicant tracking system that also gives you several other tools to attract and process driver applications.
There are many benefits to having a dedicated career site where drivers can find out about and apply to your jobs. I seriously recommend you read about them here.
In a nutshell, a career site will convert more visitors into applicants. A career site is built for jobs and applications. It gives you traffic every time you get an application from elsewhere.
The best part is, when you advertise on job boards while using a career site linked to an applicant tracking system - candidates get into your system, giving you traffic.
What is Your Hiring Need?
This approach is really easy to get going, and once you've done the groundwork, you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. However, all good things come with trade-offs. If you have a decently optimized website and a functioning career site, you will get applicants... but they will come in at a slow and steady pace.
This approach alone will never yield the results necessary if you have a serious hiring need.
If your hiring need is urgent, you need to consider paid job advertising as your primary strategy to getting your trucks filled. If you feel like paid ads aren't worth it, please read this article to find out why paid job advertising is your best bet if you want to fill your trucks ASAP.
There is also no guarantee of quality when it comes to drives that apply passively to your website. Drivers that apply may be unaware of your hiring requirements, and can cause you to spend unnecessary time processing them. If you want more concrete methods that are more likely to convert qualified drivers into applicants - consider other advertising channels such as Facebook and programmatic advertising.
Having applications come in passively will never be enough to keep your driver "pipeline" filled, but it's a good bonus for when you least expect it. As long as drivers can find you online easily, and can apply to your jobs via a professional and easy career site, you're going to be in a better spot.