Heavy-duty truck dealers
Dependable people in parts and service.
Heavy-duty recruiting · Carbondale, Illinois
Parts and service
people who
know trucks.
Semi Expert finds diesel techs, service writers, and parts people for truck dealerships and repair shops within about 150 miles of Carbondale. We grew up in a truck dealership, so we know who's worth hiring. You pay only when you hire, and every placement comes with a 90-day replacement guarantee.
Serving Southern Illinois, St. Louis and the Metro East, Cape Girardeau, Paducah, and Evansville.
THE RIGHT PEOPLE. THE RIGHT SHOP.
Pay only when you hire
90-day replacement guarantee
10 years in a truck dealership
Local to Carbondale, IL
Posting on Indeed gets you applicants. Not hires.
Techs leave for a couple bucks more.
Job posts bring in tire throwers. The hard part is finding hardworking, efficient people who show up and are worth training.
You need a pre-screened, qualified person matched to your exact needs, ready to hire.
What we hear from shop owners
“It's hard to find good people.”
“You never know who you're hiring.”
“We spent money on them and they ended up leaving anyway.”
What an empty bay really costs.
in lost billable time
A typical placement fee on a $65,000 hire: $13,000 to $16,250.
Defaults are based on our family's dealership. Put in your own numbers.
Talk through my numbersThe roles that keep your shop billing.
Parts, service, and the shop floor.
Parts Counter / Parts Sales
The people who keep customers moving and trucks rolling.
Parts Manager
Inventory, margins, and a counter team that runs right.
Service Writer / Service Advisor
The link between the customer, the bay, and the bill.
Service Manager
Leaders who keep the shop productive and the techs happy.
Diesel Technician
Class 8 diagnostics, PMs, and repairs done right the first time.
Trailer Technician
Brakes, lights, suspension, and DOT inspections that pass.
Who we serve
Built for the places
that keep trucks moving.
Independent truck and trailer repair shops
You can’t afford to lose weeks to a bad hire.
Fleets with in-house shops.
Techs and shop leaders who keep trucks on the road.
Why Semi Expert
Not generic recruiters.
Truck people.
We grew up in it.
Our founder sold trucks for 10 years at a heavy-duty dealership, our family runs one, and his brother has run a parts department for 5 years. We know a parts counter hire from a parts manager, and a trailer tech from a diesel tech.
We’re local.
We work within about 150 miles of Carbondale. We know the shops, the commutes, and what it takes to pull a good tech away from St. Louis money.
We know the call you're expecting.
We sat on the other side of the desk and took recruiter calls ourselves. So we keep it short, honest, and about your shop.
How it works
A real conversation.
A better hire.
No runaround. Just a clear search, from the first call to their first day and beyond.
01
Quick call or shop visit.
We learn the role, the pay, the schedule, and what makes your shop a good place to work.
02
We search.
We go after people who aren’t on job boards, not just the ones who are.
03
We screen.
Every candidate is pre-screened against your exact needs by someone who knows the work, so you only meet people worth hiring.
04
You hire.
You pay only when you hire. If they leave within 90 days, we replace them at no extra fee.
Pricing
Right here. Upfront.
A search that fits your shop, and a fee you know before we start.
Standard Search
20 to 25%
of first-year base salary
$8,000 minimum
Paid only when you hire.
Example: a $65,000 hire is a $13,000 to $16,250 fee.
Founding Client
18%
of first-year base salary
18% for our first 3 shops, in exchange for an honest review after we place someone.
Ask about founding spotsHiring Partner
18%
of first-year base salary
For shops making 3 or more hires a year. We keep searching for you.
Need someone ASAP? Priority Search.
$2,500 to start, credited toward your fee. Your role moves to the front of the line.
Standard searches have no upfront fee. You only pay when you hire someone we introduced. Techs and candidates never pay us anything.
Straight answers.
Our promise
Weekly updates.
You’ll hear from us every week, whether there’s big news or not. No chasing us down.
90-day replacement guarantee.
If your hire leaves for a reasonable reason within the first 90 days, we find a replacement at no additional placement fee. It's written into every agreement.
Straight answers.
If we can’t help with a role, we’ll tell you.
About Semi Expert
Built by people who grew up
in a truck dealership.
I spent about 10 years selling trucks at a heavy-duty dealership, and my family's business is a truck dealership. My brother has been a parts manager for 5 years. We've seen what a good tech does for a shop, and what one bad hire costs.
Read our storyJacob SandersFounder
Let’s talk
Have a role open,
or one you know
is coming?
A 10-minute call is all it takes. Tell us about the role, and we'll tell you honestly whether we can help.