Have you ever felt like a truck driver recruiting agency took advantage of you? You were promised hundreds of qualified applicants flooding your ATS, making hiring a breeze. Instead, you spent most of your time calling truck drivers who have no interest in speaking to you. Chances are that you purchased a list of multi-carrier applications.
Multi-carrier applications can serve a purpose but are very difficult to convert into hires.
Here is everything you need to know about multi-carrier driver applicants:
- What are Multi-Carrier Applications?
- How can I Tell if I am Purchasing Multi-Carrier Applications?
- Pros and Cons to Multi-Carrier Applications
What are Multi-Carrier Applications?
Truck driver applications that have been sold to multiple different trucking companies are multi-carrier applications.
Typically these occur when a driver submits an application to a job board site and has no clue which carriers receive their application. Oftentimes the driver’s application is continuously sold to companies even after they have accepted a position.
Agencies that sell these applications make their money by selling the same applications over and over again. They sell quantity, not quality.
Multi-carrier leads are cold leads. Calling a list of multi-carrier applicants is cold calling and can lead to frustrating results.
How Can I Tell if I am Purchasing Multi-Carrier Applications?
Any company that uses language like “driver database”, “driver pool”, or “driver list” is trying to sell you multi-carrier leads.
Recruiting agencies will tell you that they have a database of driver applicants and will match your company with drivers that meet your requirements. These are multi-carrier applicants.
Every carrier who has the same requirements as you are sold the same leads you were sold.
A good way to tell if you are being sold multi-carrier applicants is asking the sales rep what their process is for finding applicants.
If they do not find fresh applicants specifically for your company then you are talking to a company that sells multi-carrier leads.
Pros and Cons to Multi-Carrier Applications
When you unknowingly purchase multi-carrier leads it can feel like they are useless. However, there are some positives to multi-carrier applications.
Pros:
- The applications are not expensive
- Guaranteed high level of volume
- All applicants meet your hiring criteria
Cons:
- The applications are cold leads
- Drivers may not be looking for work
- Lower conversion rate compared to direct applications
- Take longer to hire the driver
- Can be frustrating to contact
If you are intentional with how you plan to use multi-carrier applicants then they can be a useful tool. For example, carriers will use multi-carrier leads mixed in with direct and referral applicants. This allows their campaign to have high quality leads and high quantity.
Multi-carrier applications are very common in the industry. These leads are popular because you can buy a lot for cheap. However, you may feel ripped off after buying these applications because of the low conversion rate.
Having a plan and mixing in these applications with your direct applications can make for an effective hiring strategy. Make sure you know when you are purchasing multi-carrier leads and have a plan for recruiting these drivers.