anyone know what to do apart from phoning them back?
basically ive been going mad applying for agencies etc and they ask me to send my cv to them which i do then i hear nothing back?
ive also applied for a job yesterday and they took my details and said the manager would get back to me, still heard nothing
i just dont wanna seem like a pest or something.
any ideas?
It happens, I’ve had that too. Usually if you don’t hear anything, the chances are, its a waste of time dwelling on it, they’ve got someone.
But, if you think they might not have you phone number right, then you could always check with them.
theyve got my number its just it was a decent enough job, though only driving vans still was better paid than what im gettting
the other job was a welll paid class 2 job.
I would like to nominate Maritime Southampton as ultimate time wasters, the worse I have ever come across in my entire driving career.
The appointments I have made with them never happen, the person is ‘unavailable’ (means I have wasted a 145 mile round trip - several times).
Promised return phone calls never happen
CV’s have been ‘lost’ despite being sent recorded delivery
Online applications, a total waste of time, no response at all
I’ve moaned about this crap (well, I initially though they were ok) company before, but they [zb] me about so much the dust hasn’t settled yet 
Tiger.
achh its annoying especially when they are wanting a post filled.
its ok though i got the ones who actually have a proper job and ive driven in with a cv and handed it in, in person so im a bit happier.
going to an interview with manpower on friday though i have to take 2 passport photos with me for some reason.
i always find the most annoying bit is you apply, here nothing for months so take another job , low and behold as soon as you start the new job they ring you and want you to come for a interview.
Maritime probably have applications coming out of their ears, for Southampton anyway.
Manpower, is that for the P.O. ?
Its really getting beyond a joke at some places.
I’ve got an agency “Interview” on Friday. They gave me 2 days notice of it, I’ve got to fill in a mountain of paperwork, take my drivers licence (of course) tacho card, any tacho’s I have for the past 28 days, my bank details, a recent utility bill and my passport - unless it doesn’t have a recent photo in it, in which case I have to take a photo as well.
and if I can’t make the appointment, the time and date of which I had no choice about, then I couldn’t sign up!
Scarab:
Its really getting beyond a joke at some places.I’ve got an agency “Interview” on Friday. They gave me 2 days notice of it, I’ve got to fill in a mountain of paperwork, take my drivers licence (of course) tacho card, any tacho’s I have for the past 28 days, my bank details, a recent utility bill and my passport - unless it doesn’t have a recent photo in it, in which case I have to take a photo as well.
and if I can’t make the appointment, the time and date of which I had no choice about, then I couldn’t sign up!
yea i dont understand why ive gotta get 2 passport sized photos and take my passport but whatever. i got a choice plus im heading that way on friday to see my g/f so it just means a lil stop off on the way there. though i dont have to take my tachos
nah im going to the grangemouth manpower so havnt a clue what i could be doing but right now im not giving a ■■■■ ill do anything that involves draiving…thats legal anyway
Same where I live gogzy, I’ve sent off 3 job apllications in the post and one via email, no replies to any.
I signed up with one agency back in May, did all the paper work at their office, plus interview, not heard a thing since despite numerous 'phone calls, I’ve given up with them now, total wasters.
Stu
gogzy:
agencies/companies not returning calls
This is not what I want to read having just passed my test 
I’ve called a few companies,but none are taking on. Still searching
teatree:
Same where I live gogzy, I’ve sent off 3 job apllications in the post and one via email, no replies to any.I signed up with one agency back in May, did all the paper work at their office, plus interview, not heard a thing since despite numerous 'phone calls, I’ve given up with them now, total wasters.
Stu
yea same though both my agenciesim thinking of giving up on them, one ive only had one shift out them and the other one just suddenly ran dry, used to get tons of work ith them and then the next day its gone and nothing for a month.
Sorry Gogzy, but IMHO I think your thinking about this wrong.
You want to be a pest, you to be on the phone every day to agencies, you want to be calling the manager who was meant to get your details. Did he actually get them? You want to be phoning people you sent your CV to a few days later. Did they get it? Have they any questions? You need to be a right pain in the arse and hassle these folk.
This can have 2 results. 1. They tell to [zb] off and stop bothering me 
or 2 they give you work.
I don’t mean to be harsh, but they won’t chase you, you have to chase them. 
yea well the company that has a proper job and not an agency i got ahold of them again, seems the office staff never passed on my details but ive been in and handed a cv in person to them,
i am on the phone to my agencies everyday and i know they are sick of me phoning twice a day but they never give me anything. i know one of them are getting work because she even said to me they are getting work but there aint much work and tbh right now i couldnt gve a crap what im driving and i keep telling them that, but the staff at the agency keep changing and only one person there knows what ill do and the others are a bit well useless.
ive got an interview to start with manpower on friday, im with nas though tbh they are not getting me any work right now but im slowly giving up on them.
2 photos will be for manpower ID cards
Gogzy, you wanna read some of the old threads on agencies, particularly the ones by myself. I used to work full time on agency work and I could write a book on the tricks they like to play and I pretty much have done in my previous posts. You need to interview them, not the other way round.
The first thing you need to do is keep away from all the majors like ADR, Driverhire etc as these are run by muppets who don’t even know one end of a truck from the other, never mind any of the rules and regs, and always at least a quid an hour less than the localised ones/one-man band outfits.
Once you’ve crossed all those off your list the next thing you wanna do is get on the bell and actually find out if they do currently need drivers for your class. Of course the answer will be “we always need drivers, come down and see us and then we can talk” etc. Don’t fall for this ■■■■■ because they all play that game. Be forceful with them and make a point of saying “if I sign up with you today can you get me out working tomorrow for definite and the rest of the week?” and add in somewhere “I’m sick of agencies wasting my time saying they’ve got work when they haven’t, so if you haven’t and just want me on your books then please say so now so that you’re not wasting my time and I’m not wasting yours”. You may laugh, but trust me they think twice when they’re told how it is from your point of view. I’ve yet to have one that has been dishonest with me after saying that - they either say “yes we can definitely use you” and ask you if you’ve done x work before because that’s where you’ll be going or “well to be honest we are a bit quiet at the moment” which means you don’t bother wasting your time going to register and you move on to the next one.
I’ve been out of the loop for 12 months now but reading some of the posts on here leads me to believe that overall the agencies are quieter than ever at the moment, with the employed job sector being about as scarce as well, so don’t get your hopes up for anything agency any time soon. Remember that all agencies have their half a dozen “cream” boys who always get 6 days a week and all the good work with the riff-raff under them who only get work if they’re busy otherwise it’s an odd day here and an odd day there. If they’re already quiet - which I suspect the majority of agencies are - then you as a newcomer haven’t got a hope in hell of getting any work out of them and hence why your phone isn’t ringing 
.
The other thing you might want to consider is looking up your local haulier/companies that operate the type of vehicle you can drive and bell them up/go see them and offer yourself as a self-employed driver. Forget the big logistics companies unless you’re a limited company because they won’t touch you for (potential) tax (avoidance) reasons but many of the smaller companies aren’t fussed. Ask them what the agency charges them and then just offer yourself for a quid an hour less than the agency. Generally speaking you’ll be looking at a tenner an hour minimum if you’re class 1. Ideally you could’ve done with working at the place via agency already though, so they know you and you can do a good job.
i hear what your saying and ive tried staying away with agencies really. ive been with driver hire for a year and when i was 18 i was with the same office and the franchisee remembered me fromt hen so i always got work and up until say a month ago i always got work 5 days minimum a week then i finished up one friday at the local council and that was my last job with the agency
right now im not fussed what im driving aslong as im working, though not for minimum wage. my office of driver hire are a bit useless right now, the new folk working there are stupid, yesterday they tried to get me out in a class 2 with a company who i have had problems with in the past for £5.75 an hour, £5.75 AN HOUR!!! and about a month ago i got asked to do a nightshift, i got the call at 11,25 at night and i had been up since 7am so its not really a wise thing for me to be up for 24 hours while driving an artic.
i will make sure they can give me work when im there, dont care what just driving thats all.
get your phone book out and ring up any local firms that have lorries. loadsa drivers jack so might get lucky.
…
christianh:
.… whilst the agency probably heard the same day or within a couple of days.
.
Don’t kid yourself. One of the most frustrating tasks as a consultant is checking up references; clients want agencies to provide fully reference-checked drivers (for very good reasons) and you can waste hours trying to get previous employers to send reference requests back.
In the current climate it’s hardly surprising that agencies are quiet is it ? You all know yourselves that when times are good, you can pick and choose; when times are bad it’s the client who gets to do that, and it’s no different with agency rates to what it is with haulage rates; there’s always someone who’ll undercut to get the business.
Easy enough to blame the agency for all life’s ills; yes some of them do bring a lot of the criticism on themselves by promising the earth and not delivering, but in my experience the same is true of a lot of prospective agency drivers!
Persistance pays; it’s well worth asking the consultant if they’re having any trouble getting references, and perhaps contacting your previous employer yourself to speed the process up if possible. Sadly, references for previous employees are not often at the top of a manager’s in-tray.