Truck driver demand is growing, but turnover rates are still high. If you want to retain good drivers, you must think about how to find CDL drivers who are more likely to stay. Beyond that, you’ll also need a strategy to attract quality employees and show them why your company is worth their time.

Why Is It Hard to Find Good Truck Drivers?

Quality drivers seem to be drying up because many carriers are not providing good enough reasons to stay. Qualified truckers leave the industry for jobs that offer them more money, family time, and desirable working conditions.

The shortage comes from too many drivers leaving, but many people are still interested in trucking careers. So, if you want to find CDL drivers who are best for your company, you’ll need to focus on:

  • Fostering a better work environment,
  • Getting your branding on point, and
  • Attracting drivers by highlighting what your opportunity provides for them.

Where Can You Find CDL Drivers?

First of all, you’ll need to know where truck drivers spend their time. Where can you reach them?

When drivers are looking for jobs, they’ll go to boards like:

  • Indeed
  • TruckDrivingJobs.com
  • ZipRecruiter
  • SimplyHired
  • EveryTruckJob.com
  • Glassdoor

Truckers also spend a lot of time on social media, mostly on Facebook, followed by YouTube and Instagram. A survey from Truckers News also found that drivers rank LinkedIn highest in places where they get updates on the trucking industry.

You can use this information to your advantage. Go where truck drivers are “hanging out” and grab their attention with relevant, engaging content.

You can also market directly to truck drivers based on their physical locations, which we’ll get into below.

How to Attract Quality Truck Drivers

Now that we’ve covered some places where drivers spend their time, let’s talk about how to find CDL drivers and make sure they know about your company.

1. Get Clear on Your “Why” and What Makes You Different

Truckers are looking for opportunities that offer more. It’s not enough to post a boring job description and hope for the best. In the current climate, you need to stand out.

Before writing each job description, outline why a driver would want to join your fleet. Also, think about what will be most important to the types of employees you want to target.

Your job posting should include:

  • Clearly-defined roles and responsibilities of the job
  • All experience, skills, and certifications that you expect
  • Benefits that you offer
  • Limitations of the job (and be honest)

If you aren’t upfront about all aspects of the job, drivers won’t stick around long. Also, consider how you can offer competitive pay, work/life balance, respect, advancement opportunities, and other perks that drivers care about most.

2. Post Your Job in the Right Places

Next, you’ll need to post your jobs where drivers can find them. Large job boards are one option but don’t forget about your website’s own career page. With a targeted marketing strategy, you’ll bring the most interested and qualified drivers directly to your site to apply.

3. Get (and Stay) Active on Social Media

Find more of your ideal truck driver candidates by showing up on social media. Create informative and engaging posts several times a day, and stay responsive to messages, comments, and questions.

Think about ways to use pictures and videos to show your company culture and what you can offer. Talk to current employees, and feature their testimonials about working with you.

​​4. Create More Direct Leads

How do you create more direct leads? By getting your company in front of drivers where they spend time online, as we’ve outlined above.

A direct lead strategy combined with multi-channel leads provides the best lead list of drivers who are the best fit and want to work for you. Over time, you’ll bring in more of the highest quality drivers—and they’ll come directly to you.

A targeted strategy like what we provide includes:

  • Video advertising
  • Online display ads
  • Search engine optimization
  • Social media management and advertising
  • Geo-targeting to reach CDL drivers based on their location, such as at truck stops

It’s all about delivering the right message at the right time to reach the best candidates.

Contact AMG Driver Recruitment today to learn more about how and where to find CDL drivers who are best for your fleet.