Been with 2 different companies in the last 3 years but quit the first one for greener grass which ended up being turf and went back to original company. Now Im ready to try something else for more money. I have shot off a few applications over the weekend, just wondering if any company may see me as a job hopper?

 

you're not as bad as some of the people i've come across within the last 13 months. i've come across people who were on to their 3rd company within a year while others were on to their 4th within their first year of otr trucking. all i could think to myself was, "you're a f'ing dumbass."

 

In trucking that would not be job hopping. There are drivers out there that go to 2-3 companys in a year. :shock:

 

Have a buddy that I graduated school with. He has been with two companies already. In both cases, he bailed during training due to... Well, they were Werner and England, pick your horror stories. I don't think anyone would hold that against him.

 

Unless a company goes out of business on you, you start to enter the realm of job hopping if you have more than 2 jobs in any given year or 4 jobs in 3 years.

I, like many, know drivers who change companies every 3-6 months. These people then wonder why they were not hired when that 45 cpm drop and hook job comes their way or that $24 an hour line haul job with $5 per week family medical benefits.

 

I was going to speculate about 1 company per year average. My opinion drivers "hop" companies before they find a "niche" or understand and adapt to the company they are with. Drivers should spend more than 1-6months with a company before settling on an opinion about the company.
Another possible reason for the "job hoppers" is the Truckstop rags, the on that are nothing but blazing adverstisments for companies. Each one sounds like the "perfect" company, so drivers take the "hook" and before they know it are in a company just like the one they left except the color of the truck is different.
Im also certain that alot....if not most...of the "bad mouthing" of companies come from drivers that havent been with that company more than a year.
Ill bet some the recruiters on this site could offer some "insight" into this "job hopping" industry.

 

Some companies consider any driver who has more than 3 jobs in 2 years a job hopper.

 

you said he was your buddy? not your brother? I was gonna say-- guess we know who got the brains in the family.
But you know-- friends don't let friends driver for C R England. Was there something wrong with his record that prevented him from being hired by Crete?

Some would.... these Mega Carriers all stick together-- control the ATA.

 

I tried very hard to get him to look at Crete. Tried again. Not sure if he listened or not. Last I heard, he was going to try for some local jobs (can't blame him for that).

As for my brother... Grumble, grumble, I'd rather not talk about him as it relates to his (lack of) employment.

 

I'm beginning to believe that "churning" works.... Recruiters will tell you- and companies will try to 'scare' you into staying with them. They sight- stistics that show-- you'll lose income that year you jump ship...but everytime I've ever hopped-- I've improved my Gross Income over the last year at the previous employer.... But this is due to the fact that companies are focused on retaining drivers for a magical 1 year- then the years afterward-- they Kick the ol' dog on the porch-- and shift their concern to the constaint stream of new hires-- and keeping them Happy, Fat and running hard.
But the downside is-- you can't 'hop' every year-- without establishing a pattern which is very unattractive.. recruiters will identify you only being 'worth' a low ball cpm starting wage because they know you're be gone in 1 year.
Do your best-- try to 'work' with your employer-- but keep your eye on the
$$$ numbers-- this is a dog eat dog business. Everyone in the world is trying to improve their standard of living-- and this is very hard in Trucking- as these times are getting hard-- it's important to just Maintain that standard of living-- so you got to look at the numbers--