Moving
Early accessHire movers by text.
Summer fills your calendar before it fills your crew. Movers, drivers and helpers text the number on your job post or your truck, and GuavaHire runs the first interview in their language while you’re out on a job.
Roles you can screen
- Movers
- Moving helpers
- Box truck drivers
- Packers
- Crew leads
- Junk removal crews
Screening real applicants for Qinti Cleaning today
MovingExample conversation
Luis Ortega: Saw your ad for movers. Still hiring?
Northside Moving Co.: Northside Moving Co.: Thanks for reaching out about our Mover opening! Just a few quick questions. It usually takes about 5 minutes. First, what's your first and last name? Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for info.
Luis Ortega: Luis Ortega
Northside Moving Co.: Thanks, Luis. The job means carrying furniture and boxes, often 50+ lbs, up and down stairs. Can you do that, with or without accommodation?
Luis Ortega: Yes, I've done it for 2 years
Northside Moving Co.: Great. Do you have a valid driver's license? Our trucks are 16 to 26 ft.
Luis Ortega: Yes, regular license, clean record
- First and last nameLuis OrtegaCaptured
- Carrying and stairsConfirmed, 2 yearsMeets
- Driver's licenseValid, clean recordMeets
The hard part
Where hiring slows down for moving companies.
The busy season is short
Peak season starts in May and runs through September. Every week you spend calling applicants back is a week of jobs you can’t staff.
The work is heavy
Moving means lifting and carrying all day, often up stairs. You need to know who can do it before anyone comes in for an interview.
Drivers are a separate hire
Not every mover can drive the truck. Sorting helpers from drivers, and who has a clean record, takes a round of calls on its own.
What we screen for
What moving companies screen for.
You choose which ones each job asks, and how much each counts.
“The job means carrying furniture and boxes, often over 50 lbs, up and down stairs all day. Can you do that, with or without reasonable accommodation?”
Stairs and heavy furniture are the whole job. Describing the load and asking if they can carry it keeps the question about the work.
Set up with you in early accessUsually: Deal breaker“Do you have a valid driver’s license and a clean driving record?”
For drivers. Most box trucks up to 26 feet don’t need a CDL when the truck’s rated weight is 26,000 lbs or less, but they do need a licensed, careful driver.
Set up with you in early accessUsually: Strongly preferred“Have you driven a 16 to 26 foot box truck?”
Backing a loaded truck into a tight street is a skill. It tells you who can drive on day one.
Set up with you in early accessUsually: Nice to have“What moving work have you done? For example packing, wrapping furniture or loading a truck.”
Experienced movers protect floors and furniture, which saves you claims.
Set up with you in early accessUsually: Strongly preferred“For junk removal: are you OK hauling out messy or dirty loads?”
Junk removal isn’t a clean move. Asking up front saves a surprise on the first job.
Set up with you in early accessUsually: Nice to have
Plus work authorization, availability and start date, asked today in every trade.
After the text screen: interview questions for moversTiming, reach and pay
Be ready before the rush.
When you’ll be hiring
May to September
Peak moving season starts in May and runs through September, when more than two million Americans move between states. Staff up before May.
Where applicants look
- Indeed
- Craigslist
- Facebook groups
- Referrals from your crew
- Signs on your trucks
- Spanish-language classifieds
What the work pays
$19.35 an hour
The median for people who move freight, stock and goods by hand, across all employers, May 2025.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Hiring rules
What moving companies should know.
Rules for every job are in the fair hiring guide.
Anyone who drives on public roads for your jobs, or rides along as an outside helper on the truck, must be 18 or older. The exception for 17-year-olds covers only small vehicles, driven occasionally and in daylight.
Driving and riding along are part of a moving crew’s day, so the age limit decides who can fill those roles.
On interstate moves, drivers of trucks rated 10,001 pounds or more must be 21 or older under federal motor carrier rules.
It’s one of the few jobs where federal law sets an age above 18, and it applies only to interstate driving.
Federal motor carrier rules: driver qualifications (49 CFR 391.11)
A driving record ordered through a background-check company is a consumer report. Give the applicant a stand-alone written notice and get their written permission before you order it.
The record matters most for the people driving your truck, and it carries the same steps as any other background check.
FTC: Advisory opinion on driving recordsFTC: Using consumer reports
General information, not legal advice; state rules can be stricter.
Questions moving companies ask
- Do my drivers need a CDL?
- Usually not for box trucks up to 26 feet: a CDL is required when a truck’s rated weight (GVWR) is 26,001 lbs or more. Check the label on the driver’s door. Interstate trips can add other requirements, such as a DOT medical card.
- Can GuavaHire tell helpers from drivers?
- Yes, in early access. We set up your moving questions with you, such as a driver’s license and box-truck experience, and every answer shows in your dashboard, checked against the job.
- When should I start hiring for the summer?
- Before May. Put your GuavaHire number on your posts early: applicants who text in get their first interview right away, even on a Saturday night.
- Can I hire helpers under 18?
- Federal child labor rules bar anyone under 17 from driving on public roads for work, and anyone under 18 from riding along as an outside helper, so most moving crews hire at 18 and up. State rules can be stricter.
- Do applicants need an app?
- No. Any phone that can text works, and applicants can answer in any language.
Your next great hire is already texting.
Moving is open for early access.