Want a Higher Salary? Learn to Negotiate!

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You have probably seen truck drivers on social media boasting about high salaries abroad. Are those salaries realistic? Very often, they are not, but there are certainly drivers who know their job and secure better conditions based on their strengths. On the other hand, many drivers, when looking for work, accept the first offer out of ignorance and fear, and it is often the worst one. Why? Well, because employers often leave room for negotiation, but drivers fail to take advantage of it due to a lack of negotiation experience.

So, it is no longer enough to simply be a good driver; you also need to stay up to date!
Before you hit the gas, research the average salaries of truck drivers in Europe. (Read here about truck driver salaries in Europe)

What are your strengths?

You must be fully aware of all your strengths and skills, and then present them with confidence. But be careful—stick to reality as if it were your steering wheel! Employers do not like drivers who sound as though the world would not exist without them.

Desirable qualities you can use in negotiations:

• Work experience
• Experience in international transport
• Responsibility
• Loyalty
• Fixing minor breakdowns
• Using new technologies (phone, tablet)
• Knowledge of English or German
• Kod95
• ADR
• EU passport

If you seek better conditions based on your strengths, you will be under the scrutiny of an employer who will be waiting for you to make a mistake. To not exaggerate when presenting your strengths; be realistic.!

FOR BEGINNERS:
If you are a beginner, it is wise to be cautious, as few companies hire beginners. Read here about how to negotiate as a beginner (How to negotiate as a beginner)

Steps for finding a job

Look for a job yourself; avoid agencies and fake intermediaries! Why would you, as an experienced truck driver, allow someone who has never spent a night in a truck to negotiate on your behalf while taking a commission from you? It does not make much sense, does it? In addition, there is a risk of fraud: you will not receive all the necessary information about the job, and you will have no room for negotiation—you will be given a take-it-or-leave-it offer. You can read more about how agencies and intermediaries deceive truck drivers here.

Find employers yourself, and make your own career decisions. You can easily do this today in these 5 steps:

• Job Search
  For a quick search for truck driver jobs, use the portal PosloviVozača.com. Enter any city in Europe and the licence categories you hold, and you will immediately get results for active job ads that you can easily apply for and negotiate directly with employers, without agencies.

• Choosing an Employer:
  Our advice is to find several transport companies to apply to so that you can ultimately choose the best option.

• Checking Employers:
  When you find several companies you would like to work for, ask colleagues and search online for information about the company. Be careful, as there are many fake reviews, both positive and negative. We have written in detail about how to check employers here.

• Applying for a Truck Driver Job:
  After choosing and checking a few companies, send them your CV by email; you can also apply through the PosloviVozaca.com platform directly to the employer without a CV.

• Contact with the Employer:
  After sending your CV or application, employers will contact you. If you have applied for work abroad, in most cases you will arrange everything by phone.

Negotiating

Want better conditions? Ask for them, otherwise you will not get them!
In the following lines, we share several key rules you must remember if you want a higher salary. Let's go through them together.
With most companies, you will have 2 interviews; in practice, it will look roughly like this.

The first contact with the employer is mainly for getting acquainted. Be relaxed and confident.

First Conversation:

• Introduce yourself – Tell them everything about yourself: where you are from, how old you are, which licence categories you hold, where you have worked, how long you have worked, whether you have a tachograph card, KOD95, ADR, etc. We stress: do not exaggerate!

• Find out who you are negotiating with – If you are negotiating with an agency, you must obtain the agency's details, including its name, tax ID or registration number, to make sure the agency actually exists. Here You can check whether the agency is registered for employment services. Stay away from unregistered agencies and fake intermediaries.

• Find out as much as possible about the company– Work system, the routes you will drive, whether you will work at night, whether you will drive regular routes, whether you will be involved in loading/unloading, the type of truck (curtainsider, refrigerated trailer, tanker, etc.),  if the job is abroad, whether a foreign language is required, whether a contract is signed… To not ask too many questions; they must be meaningful. Ask only what is genuinely most important to you. This shows that you are serious, knowledgeable about the job and interested in the position offered.

• Highlight your strengths – Now that you know how the company operates, bring your personal experience into the conversation. Perhaps you have already had the opportunity to drive tankers carrying hazardous materials, operated the same truck brand they use, or transported the same goods they transport.. The point is to chat as you would with a colleague in a parking area and show that you truly have extensive knowledge and experience—that you are a professional.

• Never talk about pay at the first meetingand– Even if the employer brings up the topic, listen to them but do not reveal whether you are satisfied with the pay or not. As we have already said, this is the first offer, which in 90% of cases is not final, so simply ignore it.

• To not make a decision– Never agree to or promise anything in the first interview; instead, ask for time to think it over. No matter how good the conditions are, ask for time to think!

• Consult your family– Consult your family and think carefully about whether the conditions suit you or whether this is not the right job for you.

Second interview

The working conditions suit you; now it is time to negotiate your pay.
There is no room for excessive greed, but at the same time, you do not want to accept less money than you truly deserve. Then there is that fine line—you do not want to seem as though money is the only reason you are there. Employers usually do not look kindly on that.

Remember, your future employer is not your opponent!

Have a relaxed conversation and create a pleasant atmosphere. Answer all questions the employer asks you politely, and feel free to ask your own questions if you have any uncertainties from the first interview. This is an opportunity to create a constructive dialogue, present yourself as a professional and assess the employer's profile. If the employer is reluctant to answer your questions, gives brief answers or provides answers that are unclear to you, it is a sign that you should be cautious.

Find out the pay

If the employer does not start the topic of pay and you are satisfied with all the conditions, tell them that the conditions suit you and that you would be happy to become part of the company. Then politely ask for details about the pay.

Write down all pay details

When the employer starts talking about pay, listen carefully and make sure to write down all the details. Most companies offer certain bonuses for mileage, loyalty, fixed salaries, daily allowances, etc. If you do not write down all this information, you will forget important details.
Companies tend to deliberately complicate pay calculations, so be careful and write everything down!

Clarify all pay details

Ask whether weekends are paid and how much you are paid when you sleep in the truck, whether you have annual leave, whether annual leave is paid, and, if you work in freight forwarding, whether you receive a base salary every month regardless of how many days you drove that month. If the company is based abroad, ask them to explain all costs related to obtaining a visa, residence registration and accommodation.
The base salary is the amount on which you are officially registered. If you work in freight forwarding, you should receive this every month regardless of the number of working days.

What amount are you officially registered on?

One of the key questions is the amount on which you are officially registered. This is not only a matter of your current pay, but also an important factor for the future, especially regarding your pension. It will also help you assess the company's seriousness and its attitude toward employees.
There are drivers who, after 10 years of working abroad, earned a pension of 60e. You do not want to be officially registered on 450e.

Now that you know all the details, it is your turn.

• The salary is not satisfactory:
  If you feel that the salary is not satisfactory, remain calm and composed. Remember, you did not come to argue.
  Clearly and directly, without beating around the bush, tell the employer the salary amount you would be satisfied with, but be realistic and do not exaggerate. You cannot ask for a salary of €5,000 if the average salary for a truck driver in that country is €2,500.

• Not sure, need more time to think:
  If you are not sure about your decision, do not accept the offer. If the employer puts pressure on you to make a decision immediately, tell them that you need a little more time to think and ask for more time. There is currently a driver shortage; good drivers are not turned away!

• The salary suits you:
  If everything suits you, ask to receive everything in writing. This can be part of the employment contract or informal documentation clearly stating the working conditions, company name, stamp, and employer's signature.

Read this too, it will be useful to you.

Find a job yourself! No fake agencies or intermediaries!

Read

We reveal how fake agencies and fake intermediaries deceive drivers.

Read