• Employers should watch out for vague, concerning, or incomplete answers during driver interviews.

When interviewing an applicant, recruiters and other carrier officials should be trained to assess the candidate’s answers not only for what is revealed, but also for what is not revealed. Vague or incomplete answers to specific and detailed questions may be indicators of the applicant trying to hide information and should raise concerns (red flags).

Interviewers should fill in all gaps and dig for complete information. Applicants should be expected to provide satisfactory answers to the following red flags:

• Reoccurring themes. During an interview, if the reasons an applicant gives for leaving previous employers sound like, “My dispatcher lied to me,” or “I didn’t trust the management,” or “My recruiter misled me,” the problem might just be with the applicant and not the former employers.
• Inappropriate expressions of hostility. This red flag is the next level to the above point of reoccurring themes. If the applicant expresses undue, aggressive, or even hostile emotions toward past jobs, supervisors, the government, etc., such displays need to be viewed as indicators of future behavior and should be considered major red flags.
• Gaps in employment. All significant gaps in employment need to be fully explained in detail. Employers need to ensure that former employers are not being omitted from the application to prevent a less-that-favorable reference. (Note: Some states prohibit discrimination based on employment status due to the economy.)
• Desperation to be hired. Carriers should be cautious of applicants who seem more anxious to get behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer than he or she is to find out about the company or the driving position. Is the candidate experiencing severe financial trouble, or does the applicant have a darker agenda?

HR topics to review as you hire motor carrier employees: Americans with Disabilities Act and Discrimination.