You’ve seen the numbers by now -- 80,000 new truck drivers are needed annually in the U.S. alone to keep up with freight demand, according to the American Trucking Association, with 37,000 new truck drivers needed each year between now and 2008 in Canada, notes the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council.

Add to those numbers the record levels of turnover being experienced in trucking – 136% among large carriers and 102% among smaller operators in 2004 alone – and it’s no wonder many drivers, company employees and independents alike, feel now is the time to make a switch to get better pay, better benefits, and more home time.

But before moving on to supposedly greener pastures, Dale Lawless says drivers need to instead take some time to get their proverbial house in order so they can move on to a new job with the least amount of impact on both their business and personal finances.

“Few drivers plan their job transition – they are working on the emotions of the moment,” says Lawless, president of Lowell, AR-based consulting firm LPS Inc., which specializes in driver recruiting services.

“They feel like they are not getting paid enough by their current employer, so they jump ship at the first opportunity, yet they are living hand-to-mouth and end up needing an advance to keep paying the bills,” he says. “That’s the first rule of your job search – don’t go to your next employer broke.”

Lawless also says that, while there are plenty of good driver jobs out there, not every driver is going to qualify for them. That’s because carriers are being even more selective these days about the types of drivers they hire in an effort to reduce turnover and keep out unsafe operators that cause insurance headaches.

“Carriers are looking closely at their insurance policies because they know they can’t afford to have certain [driver] profiles,” he explains. “Drivers that have citations for speeding are more than likely going to speed again and that increases their premiums.”

Portland, OR-based human resources consulting firm Unicru notes that a survey it conducted for the Truckload Carrier Association found that improving safety performance is an important issue to the industry. The firm adds that, according to the latest numbers posted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the average cost of large truck crashes exceeds $19.6 billion annually, including $6.6 billion in productivity losses, $3.4 billion in resource costs, and $9.6 billion in quality-of-life losses.

“Hiring practices directly affect safety performance, yet many carriers take what they can get from their recruiting process,” says Adam Mertz, senior manager of transportation workforce solutions at Unicru. “Using advanced screening strategies as part of a comprehensive program to go beyond what drivers have done in the form of experience and skills to focus on what they can do and what they want to do will help carriers find the best-fit drivers.”

He also notes that the cost of accidents in particular is a growing concern to trucking companies: A $25,000 accident to a carrier with a 2% profit margin, for example, results in the operator needing to generate an additional $1.25 million in revenue to pay for the losses, according to data generated by the FMCSA.

Do your homework

The key to making a job search and switch go smoothly, says Lawless, is for the driver to do his or her homework first – especially when it comes to documenting their work history.

“Many drivers are not tending to their careers,” he says. “You need to protect your CDL (commercial driver’s license) because that’s your license to work. Yet many drivers accept marks on their motor vehicle record (MVR) such as parking tickets and other minor infractions that adversely affects their CDL.”

Drivers also have to stop changing jobs so frequently as that is giving more potential employers a lot of pause, Lawless warns. “Companies are starting to specify the number of jobs a driver can have in the last three years,” he says. “I actually had a driver who had 25 jobs in the last two-and-a-half years. Job hopping like that doesn’t endear you to a prospective employer.”

Accidents, reckless driving, and other major highway incidents are also going to hurt a driver’s ability to market themselves to carriers. “If you’ve had a rollover, for example, there’s almost no way you’ll get hired unless you have all sorts of documentation saying it wasn’t your fault,” Lawless says.

“Remember too that incidents such as bumping a dock look like accidents on your MVR, so if you get more than one or two of those that will hurt you,” he notes. “Then there are improper lane changes and speeding citations, all indications of road rage. Sure, the freight needs to get there, but it has to be done safely. Most drivers are not wild or reckless but the few that are spoil it for everyone – they have made carriers cautious.”

Unicru’s Mertz says carriers are trying to stop being distracted by the driver shortage and are instead focusing on ways to increase the quality of their drivers. This could be achieved through using a variety of advanced screening techniques in order to find, hire, and keep the best-fit drivers. “Tying driver performance back into the recruiting and screening process is also being emphasized,” he says.

Driver Investigation History Files (DIHFs) are also becoming more widely used – detailing the positives and negatives of a driver’s career from job to job. That means drivers must rigorously monitor what is being said about them, says Lawless.

“The driver’s performance is getting more attention: Too many late deliveries or company policy violations, etc.,” he says. “Drivers have the right to rebut anything that is placed in them – but you need to request them [DIHF’s] before you leave and before it gets placed in your record.”

Look and learn

Once your own records are in order, it’s time to look closely at the company you want to work for. Research them via the Internet and ask drivers that already work there what the environment is like and, more importantly, if they are following through on what they are promising in terms of pay and benefits.

“Look at what they put down in writing when it comes to time off, layovers, medical and dental coverage,” Lawless says. “Questions to ask include: What type of rooms are drivers staying in on the road and at the terminals? Is the food decent? Is there clean reliable transportation to the company? Are the trucks assigned to new drivers clean and operational? Is someone tracking miles the first 30 days and making sure pay is correct? Has someone called the spouse to verify the emergency number is correct and answer any questions about the company? Does the company ensure its home time policy is enforced?”

Lawless also stresses that drivers have to step up and recognize the needs of carriers as well: it can’t be just a one-way street. “Most of the companies out there are really proud of what they do and they want drivers to join them, to be part of a team,” he says. “It’s important to recognize that.”

There are also a lot of job-hunting tools available on the Internet as well. Take TransCore’s Driverlink online recruitment center at www.driverlink.com -- it now includes automatic e-mail alerts to drivers and carriers, as well as information resources for professional drivers.

Originally launched in 2000, Driverlink is an Internet-based job hub that allows drivers to post resumes, search for employment and receive leads from carriers announcing job opportunities throughout North America – and currently more than 5,000 drivers and over 400 carriers use the service.

Drivers post their profiles online using a resume wizard and can search for available employment opportunities. Drivers and owner-operators can participate for free, while employers pay a monthly subscription fee to post unlimited job openings and search for and receive leads on available drivers who match their needs. Single highway drivers and owner operators may use the site to search for local and long haul jobs, including both regional and cross border work.

Finally, do one last “gut check” to compare the company you work for now with the one you’re thinking of joining, says Lawless. Figure out the pay you get now, the home time, equipment quality, and relationship with dispatch with your current company. Then write down five reasons to stay with your current employer and five reasons to leave – then do the same for the new company you’re looking at.

“The biggest question drivers need to ask themselves by using this process is, ‘Am I going to gain anything?’” he says. “You have to take an honest, fresh look at your current employer one final time to see if the things you don’t like are things you can actually deal with if things like pay or home time are better by comparison.”

Planning the transition

OK, so you’ve done your homework and determined that switching jobs is the best move for you. Now you have to plan the transition in such a way that your finances don’t get squeezed or that you leave your current employer in the lurch.

“Don’t quit under load, for starters, and make sure you have money to help you cover the time you won’t be working,” says Lawless. Switching to a new job means at least two weeks without income on average for a driver, because they usually take a week off and then have to go through some sort of orientation process at their new company before getting a load.

“First thing is try to wrap everything up on a Friday – turn in your equipment, last bills, etc., because most carriers typically handle driver settlements at the end of the week,” he says. Then plan to have money on hand to cover your bills for up to two weeks so you don’t have to go in to a new employer needing an advance.

“Make sure you budget for a transition,” Lawless says. “Because if you start off needing $700 to $1,100 a week to cover your bills, yet you drew advances and are only getting $100 to $200 a week, chances are you’re going to feel like you aren’t getting paid enough – and that’s going to put you right back into that job-switching mindset you started with.”