Grandpa:
ETS:
Sooo so so sick of agencies with their constant lying, not paying 100% of what was promised, cancelled shifts etc. - anyone who’s been through that route know the story.Been trying to get a full time job or at least an interview but even got a response from any of the places I’ve sent my CV+cover letter to, mainly via indeed.crap who keep spamming my email with “offers” but no one ever as much as acknowledges my applications…I’m too shy and not that desperate to go knock on doors, besides my CV isn’t that impressive with 0 prior driving related experience. HGV driving 8 months, that’s it.
I was feeding some feint hopes for the current place i’m at but considering there are less than 10 drivers there who are on a perm contract I don’t see it happening as there are agency drivers who’ve been at the place way longer than me and no mention of a full time position.
Me being picky about the kind of work I’m willing to do doesn’t help either
Right now it seems my only option is to wait for my credit card to arrive and see if it’ll have enough of a limit to cover a class 1 course + test. Class 2 work has brought me nothing but disappointment and mediocrity but at least it got me into the “world” of trucking. Then again, thinking about it class 1 is an extra £1-2 per hour and it’s a more difficult task to drive + maneuver an artic. At a £1500 cost that’s an extra 750-1500 hours or up to 30 weeks of steady 50hrs a week work just to pay back for the training (/wo interest) and that’s if I don’t go Stobbart which I’ll probably have to as there’s no way I’m going back to agency once I get my full license.
For what it’s worth sending out resumes (not CVs) doesn’t work and especially with limited experience as it simply exposes that inexperience even more.
Agencies have contracts, just like companies and they put their long term drivers on the best contracts; the newbies get the odds and sods that no one else wants. It’s a bit like the jobcenter who advertise those jobs no reasonable human being would touch with a bargepole!
I’m probably a voice in the wilderness as I had no problems with agencies years ago and I don’t suppose they’ve changed much. I think the mistake often made is that people tend to treat agencies as a regular employer, which is what they’re not, but can be if approached the right way. The way I did it is to initially take whatever was available and over a couple of weeks you’ll find the one you like. A quality personal business card to the transport manager after you finish the shift (they’re not expensive), together with a smile and thanking him for the available work and reminding them that you’re available the next day. Stand out from the usual crowd and you will be remembered. It just takes time, with no accidents, a pleasant personality and do the job well, which is all a company are looking for and very soon the employers will begin to ask the agency for you by name and your reputation will grow, as will the amount of quality work.
I’ve never done class 2 so I can’t comment on that, but if you go class 1 concentrate on the multinationals and supermarkets who employ 24/7 and don’t waste your time on profit margin general haulage. You are not going to replace old Fred who’s been there 20 years and is on sick for a few days. Initially, in the first few weeks be flexible and if means getting out of bed at 2am for that desperate delivery no one else will do, do it and you will be remembered for it. I’m sure many will disagree with all this, but that’s the way I used to do it and will be using the same approach shortly. Sincerely, good luck with it whatever decision you make.
I agree with what you say I was on Agency for 4 years always earned well without getting into debt. Did nearly 3 years via the Agency for a well known High St company before being handed an application form. After 17 years permanent with them I retired.
Previously it was one job after another moving onto something better each time,it was not always grass being greener on the other side,BUT I was not expecting to get the “cream” jobs straight off it was a case of moving up the ladder as “new” drivers started.