In my two decades as a truck driver, you can bet your buns I have. And that is precisely why I wrote How To Find A Great Truck Driving Job. Notice the title has the word “Great” in it? The initial title used the word “Perfect,” because well, who doesn’t want to find the perfect truck driving job?

But the more I thought about it, the more I knew the title had to change. Why? Because there’s no such thing as a perfect truck driving job! I certainly didn’t want anyone chasing me down with a meat cleaver while screaming an Apache war cry simply because their expectations were too high.

Every trucker has an idea of what their perfect driving job is.

But as I’ve already pointed out, the perfect job doesn’t exist. The driver’s goal is to simply find the one that gets closest to their “ideal.” Unfortunately, it usually boils down to finding the job that has the least amount of annoyances.

Here’s how the job search usually works…

As a truck driver student, you might have trucking recruiters come by your truck driving school and give you a spiel. You might ask a few follow-up questions and the next thing you know you’re working for a company you know very little about. I know that’s what happened to The Evil Overlord (wife and ex-codriver) and me.

As for experienced drivers, you search the trucking magazines or visit one of those trucking job websites to find a company that looks interesting. Maybe it’s their advertised pay or their hiring area that catches your attention. Or maybe you just like the looks of their trucks (a little hint; the truck in the picture is always their best truck). Whatever the reason, you call them and talk to a driver recruiter.

You ask how much they pay. You ask them how many miles you’ll get. You inquire about their benefits. You investigate their home time policy. And you ask if you’ll get to drive a new truck. Ha ha. Yes, you experienced drivers know that’s a funny one.

If that first company doesn’t fit the bill, you may call a few others. Next thing you know, you’re sitting in their orientation class trying to keep from drooling on the table during the Hazmat safety video. Sound familiar, driver?

But here’s the thing I’ve discovered…

The majority of things you don’t like about the trucking company you drive for are probably the very things you didn’t think to ask about! I know it was for The Evil Overlord and me. Click here for full author bio.

Your first reaction is that your recruiter is a liar-liar-pants-on-fire! But are they? Did you remember to ask about that one little thing that the safety department is annoying you with? Did you neglect to ask ahead of time if you could install your 3000-watt inverter? My point is this:

No company earns sales by advertising the negative aspects of their company or its products and/or services.

Why should a trucking company be any different? If they know their drivers hate their maintenance procedures, why would they tell you about it? Is it in their best interest to tell you that their safety department is stricter than a nun with a ruler?

Ahhhh… but if you ask about it beforehand, now they’ve only got two choices: Tell the truth or fill up a bucket of water in preparation for those impending flaming liar pants.

The key to finding a great truck driving job is asking the right questions.

Not only will this book tell you the right questions to ask, it will also explain to you new truckers why you’re asking those questions. The beginning of the book covers some of the reasons truckers switch jobs so often and discusses the hiring process most trucking companies use.

But the vast majority of the book is a list of questions that you should be asking any potential employer, followed by an explanation of why you’re asking the question in the first place as well as some useful information about each topic.

You’ll find links to this “Trucking Company Questionnaire” throughout the book and you can download it and print off as many copies as you like. That way, you always have a copy handy when you’re preparing to call that next recruiter. Even better…

You’ll be able to download updated versions of the Trucking Company Questionnaire throughout your truck driving career.

My hopes are that readers like yourself will send in their own questions that they’ve found useful in their job searches. Every so often, I’ll add those questions to the book and the questionnaire along with the name and location of the person who submitted it. So you can get your name in a book and help all those truckers who will be following in your footsteps. Cool, huh?

How to Find a Great Truck Driving Job is good for both newbies and trucking veterans.

For new truckers

How would you brand new truckers know to ask the recruiter about a company’s rider policy if you don’t even know what the heck one is?! Or how do you know how to compare pay packages if you aren’t familiar with the nuances of mileage pay and percentage pay? How do you know if the home time is decent?

The explanations that come with each question should address any confusion you have. If it doesn’t, you can always use the email address in the book to ask me directly. And if I don’t know the answer, I’ve got lots of trucking friends who probably will.

For experienced truckers

Now if you’re an experienced driver, you may already think you know all the right questions to ask. If so, feel free to go through the hassle of making your own list of questions. Doesn’t sound like much fun does it? Trust me, it isn’t. Writing How to Find a Great Truck Driving Job was about as much fun as getting throat-punched by Chuck Norris.

If you’re honest with yourself, you know you’ll never getting around to writing out your own list of questions. So why don’t you veteran truckers make it easy on yourself?

Obviously, I’d be thrilled if you bought the entire book, but I also wanted to provide a way for you  to benefit from the Trucking Company Questionnaire for a lower price without buying the entire book. Is a measly $1.99 worth all the effort you’re going to put into your own list?

Link goes to Paypal and forwards to FetchApp for download.