I passed my Class 2 test on 30th September,it took a while to get my Licence/CPC cards back.[November] I have been applying for various jobs without much joy.I have handed out CV’s sent e-mails. I have had one interview on Friday and I will know by middle of this week wether I have the job.
I am starting to think for Plan B now and going down the agency route. I thought with having 4 years PCV driving experience and a clean licence/record I would not struggle as much.
Is there anything I can do differently to get my first job ?
I’ve signed up on lots of Jobsites and went to quite a few local companies. I may be being naive when thinking four years of driving buses and coaches would make it easier for me to get a foothold.
It can be tough mate. I renewed my class 1 in July after 20 odd years of not needing it and even though when I was doing the job with extensive experience on all hgv classes, still finding I’m getting fobbed off. Even Agencies are being fussy as they seem to be able to pick and choose at the moment from a pool of more experienced drivers (so much for the driver shortage).
I’ve tried the direct employment route as and when I see a vacancy but that hasn’t worked, been registered with a few agencies for a while as well with nothing as of yet. Saying that, had a call today from an agency I registered with last week and they’re looking to get me some work hopefully, albeit on £8/ hour but beggars can’t be choosers and I’m willing to take that money to get the experience and prove myself.
andy_s:
It can be tough mate. I renewed my class 1 in July after 20 odd years of not needing it and even though when I was doing the job with extensive experience on all hgv classes, still finding I’m getting fobbed off. Even Agencies are being fussy as they seem to be able to pick and choose at the moment from a pool of more experienced drivers (so much for the driver shortage).
I’ve tried the direct employment route as and when I see a vacancy but that hasn’t worked, been registered with a few agencies for a while as well with nothing as of yet. Saying that, had a call today from an agency I registered with last week and they’re looking to get me some work hopefully, albeit on £8/ hour but beggars can’t be choosers and I’m willing to take that money to get the experience and prove myself.
Good luck, think it’s a case of perseverance.
It’s been a bit of a eye opener mate. I was made redundant in July when my bus company went bust. I had already planned to do my Class 2 but the company went before I could do it. I’m going to register for a few agencies this week. Hope you get sorted soon.
It can be very tough out there mate like others have said.
All I can say is don’t give up. Go to local companies & nag them like crazy.
There is work out there but you have to look for it.
If your desperate for work sign up to agency (all of them in your area) & hopefully stuff will start coming your way. I’m in the south east of England. Good companies want all this two year bollox but I think if your keen & willing to do anything then there is stuff.
Good luck to you mate & pester pester pester mate!
Agency has the advantage that you’ll get more experience on different stuff, like multidrop, curtain siders, fridges, box vans, pallet trucks etc as well as different makes of truck which each have their own “interesting” features…eg: DAF = awful, MERC = alright, Renault = gizmo city!
Be prepared to do anything they give you as sometimes the companies you’re doing agency for will be looking for someone but don’t want the hassle of hiring and firing, so they test through the agency instead and can keep changing people until they find a decent one. Try to do the best job you can and you know they like you if you get asked back another time.
Most of the time you’ll get the really knackered truck, but at least you learn to drive with dodgy gearboxes, sticky back doors (recommend packing a hammer), curtains which need replacing and such. Occasionally you’ll get something nice, like I got a 16 plate Renault recently for a day and that was heavenly compared to the 08 plate DAF I’m driving currently. The main advantage of older trucks if they don’t care if you bend the odd thing, as long as it’s not on someones car, so it’s a good place to start out as you will make mistakes.
It’s not easy for sure especially getting a start with a regular employer, but do keep applying and updating your CV. After a while you become more desirable and hopefully it’ll start to come together. I’ll let you know when I find how to get there.
PS: Have heard that doing ADR can help in employment too. Not sure if it’s always true, but can’t really hurt.
Thanks for the advice and encouragement guys much appreciated.
One of the things that I find frustrating in the hunt for a Class 2 job is the 2 year rule some companies throw at a newbie. They don’t want to take into account that I’ve driven buses and coaches ranging from 8.5 to 13m in size. Yet even some of the 7.5 ton companies are saying I don’t have experience of large vehicles.
I’ve applied for a few this week, I’m in the Chester/North Wales area not heard anything back as yet,so tomorrow I’ve armed myself with some CV’s and I’m popping into local comapanies and taking it from there. Friday is agencies !
andy_s:
It can be tough mate. I renewed my class 1 in July after 20 odd years of not needing it and even though when I was doing the job with extensive experience on all hgv classes, still finding I’m getting fobbed off. Even Agencies are being fussy as they seem to be able to pick and choose at the moment from a pool of more experienced drivers (so much for the driver shortage).
I’ve tried the direct employment route as and when I see a vacancy but that hasn’t worked, been registered with a few agencies for a while as well with nothing as of yet. Saying that, had a call today from an agency I registered with last week and they’re looking to get me some work hopefully, albeit on £8/ hour but beggars can’t be choosers and I’m willing to take that money to get the experience and prove myself.
