In the trucking world, owner-operators already have quite a few advantages over trucking employees. They are responsible for their own vehicles, and have the freedom of operating more like a business owner than an employee. But the soaring price of fuel has taken a toll on owner-operators, who are hit hardest by the crisis, and many are turning to second ways of earning income.

One of these innovative new ways of earning income for owner-operators is mobile advertising trucks. Companies allow owner operators to lease the sides of their vehicles to companies for the purpose of advertisement. For owner operators who don’t have a client to advertise for, the opportunity can be lucrative, earning drivers’ extra money for the routes they would already be driving. Owner operators can rent space by the week, month, or year, and printing companies will provide the adds, according to truckersmall.net.

The advertisements are similar to those seen on standalone billboards along highways, but the advantage to companies is that the moving billboard will target the thousands of drivers on highways across the nation. Though owner-operators who travel nationwide are preferred for many types of advertisements, local drivers are also considered for many local companies who choose mobile advertising. National Mobile Billboards says one of the advantages of mobile advertising is the fact that companies can decide if they want to focus on a small geographical area or an area as large as the entire nation.

According to Moving Billboards Incorporated, companies choose to use mobile advertising because it works, citing that a national study reported 91% of respondents remembered an advertisement they saw on the side of a truck.  National Mobile Billboards says, companies are now choosing the non-traditional mobile advertisements over traditional advertising such as stationary billboards because of the increased amount of target audience and the fact that, stuck in traffic, a person has no choice but to look at the trucking advertisement in front of him or her.

Though the advantage for owner-operators to lease their trucks for advertisement is a beneficial one, drivers shouldn’t feel left out of the loop. Though some mobile billboard companies lease sides of trucks for advertising, others hire drivers to do nothing all day but drive. With no loading or unloading, the mobile billboard driver job is one of relative ease. The task is simply to drive all day and be seen. Because this work is often in regional areas, this opportunity is a great one for the once long-haul truck driver who now wants a relatively easy job staying home. Drivers looking for these jobs can search truck driving websites, like cdljobs.com, in addition to other classified sites, like Craigslist or Myspace.

Whether you’re an owner-operator looking to make some extra money to make up for gas or an employee looking for easy work, the mobile billboard industry is increasing income and job opportunities for regional and long haul truck drivers.

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Under the Help Wanted section of some newspapers, a disclaimer is run along with advertisements for babysitters, landscapers, and, of course, truckers. That disclaimer usually advises job searchers that they operate at their own risk when searching the classifieds, and that some agencies advertising in the Help Wanted section charge fees or are not legitimate businesses. Because so many scams pray on the jobless and frustrated, some question whether to search for trucking jobs in the classified ads. On the other hand, classified ads are a great place to find trucking jobs, both for major long-haul companies and small companies in your neighborhood. Though it’s up to you to make the decision about searching the classifieds, both praise for classified searches and alternative ways to search for a trucking job exist.

According to Alison Doyle’s about.com article on help wanted ads, some local and regional employers do not post on major Internet job search sites like Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com. Though it is more likely for them to advertise on free classified sites like Craigslist.com, you might find that some companies believe the site to be unprofessional. Instead, many local employers are looking for truckers from the area who will not have to relocate and who are already familiar with the routes they will be asked to drive. Because local or regional trucking is a dream job for many truckers, cutting out the local classifieds might not be a smart move if you want to make sure to nail down these opportunities.

Though they may not advertise online, most local companies’ classified ads can be found online, according to Doyle. In fact, most major newspapers have an accompanying web site where classified ads are listed and even able to be searched by date, job type, etc. Even .jobuntorg advises users not to limit their job search to only the Internet. By doing this, potential employees loose out on a whole host of jobs with smaller companies.

But if you decide not to use newspaper to search the classifieds because of safety or illegitimate job listings, there are a variety of ways to find good trucking jobs on the Internet. Of course, going to large online job search web sites is one way, but according to jobhunt.org, employers have to shell out big bucks for listing on those sites, and some are not likely to do so. In addition, jobs listed at big sites like Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com are often visited by thousands of job searchers a day. Your chance of getting one of these jobs is rather slim by sheer probability.

Jobhunt.org suggests looking at specialized sites that deal with your industry, and there are thousands available for truckers. But job searchers need to be careful of visiting these sites as well. Some sites charge a fee for listing a resume and some job opportunities are really attempts to take money for “training” and then leave the employee without a job.

To avoid these scams, a great way to search for jobs is to seek out a company’s help wanted ads by visiting their web site. Here, you can not only be assured that the job is probably not a scam, but also, you can view more details about the job, and perhaps even salary information. Many trucking companies even have a feature that allows truck drivers to submit their resumes online.

So whether you’re looking for a local job or wanting to run with the big companies, there are thousands of ways to job search. Customizing your search for what kinds of jobs you want most is the best and most efficient way to find a great trucking job in the paper or online.

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Across the internet, thousands of websites promise to find owner-operators great gigs if they just fill out one application, but deciding which of these sites has the best information, resources, and databases is not often as easy as locating them. But by frequenting these five job banks for owner-operators, truckers will find unique resources for finding the best employers in the business.  

1. Owneroperatorjob.com

In addition to a feature that allows owner-operators to fill out one application to be considered for a variety of jobs, this website includes a selection of unique features that allow owner-operators to educate themselves on the kind of jobs they are looking for. One of the most informative of these features is a best trucking companies list, which breaks owner-operator trucking companies into categories by type (van, reefer, flatbed, etc.), and lists the top companies in each. The list also gives detailed information about these best companies. Other resources include a searchable job bank, message board, job postings, and list of other helpful links.  

2. Premiumowneroperators.com

More than just a job recruitment site, Premium Owner Operators is a one-stop shop for owner-operator truck drivers. Like most owner-operator job banks, this third party site uses an application to connect owner-operators looking for work with the trucking companies that best fit them. In addition to the internet-based application, this site is unique in that it also offers an application by phone. But the really unique part of this site is that it offers a variety of other resources for owner-operators, like trucking news, links to road condition updates, and insurance.  

3. 1099trucker.com

Unlike some sites, which offer job banks for the entire trucking industry, 1099 Trucker is one of the few that are specifically for owner-operators. This narrows down the job field, and insures that owner-operators will not get annoying calls or offers from jobs that do not apply to them. Like other job banks for owner-operators, this site separates jobs into category by the kind of truck, but one of the best features of the site is the “urgent needs” category. This category lists companies that are in immediate need of owner operators, allowing potential contractors to view the companies that are most likely to hire them. For those that don’t like to do a lot of searching and wading through companies, this is the fastest route to the most needy companies! 

4. Truckertrucker.com

Though this site offers job banks for all kinds of truckers, whether owner-operators or company drivers, it contains a rather large owner-operator job bank. Allowing a search by state, and providing links to extensive company profiles, this site leaves little research to be done by the job seeker. A brief list of preferred trucking companies and trucking news section also make this site useful to the searching owner-operator.  

5. Layover.com

While other sites might provide vast resources, lengthy job banks, and telephone applications, Layover.com is the owner-operator resource to use for job seekers who want a reputable name and a solid record of service. Layover.com has been connecting truckers and employers for over ten years, according to their website, and it is a certainly respected in the cyber community of truckers and those involved in the trucking industry. In addition to filling out a multi-job application on layover.com, truckers can peruse a list of trucking companies and profiles, and search job classifieds. Like popular job search websites like Monster.com, Layover.com allows users to post a profile, save it, and edit it at any time. And when truckers are done filling out applications, they can enjoy one of layover’s many other services, like trucking software and message boards.  

Though looking for a new job is never easy, the internet has made it simpler than ever, especially for owner-operators. With a couple keystrokes and a couple clicks, after visiting these sites, truckers will be closer to that dream job.

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