id learn French. iv a bro who lives over there he couldnt get to grips with the lingo at first but got it after face to face tuition for a solid week. Id wager you could even end up living there ,once you are fluent ,Altho bro had a nasty first marriage did you know after divorce in France you have to keep paying a settlement to your ex for life? hes remarrying again soon and seems happy nobody works like a dog in France and proper time off
switchlogic:
Carryfast:
switchlogic:
The point and difference is that none of your face fits bs applies to the UK type dross described.
Also bearing in mind that your view of my supposedly ‘wrong demeanor’ doesn’t explain how an international job offer was actually made based on the interviewer liking my demeanor and work record enough to offer it.
Then apologising profusely for the offer being withdrawn unlike you having actually met me and conversed with me.
He also reacted positively,
to my declining the altered offer of UK work and that luckily I hadn’t handed in my notice because it all sounded too good to be true, along the lines of ‘‘I don’t blame you’’.
However I guess that he would have shown me the door before the driving assessment if I’d said that I’d ditched a truck in the past, or even my car on the way to the interview.Fair enough, not your demeanour, just your unwillingness to take a chance seems to be the long and the short of it. If you dream of doing international work it’s surely better to be working for a company that does it than one that doesn’t? Even if you’re on U.K. for a bit. Like I say 8 years it took me, well 5 years until I got on with HSF but that was just local NL, B, GB, IRL work, 8 with Virginia, where I did U.K. work to begin with as that’s a perfectly normal practice for someone they don’t know from Adam. You were way too over cautious and expected perfect job to fall in your lap. They don’t do that
To be fair my situation of 5 years as a council driver and more than 5 years on night trunking and a not inconsiderable amount of agency dross as described and well into my 30’s by this point might help to explain my view of it and the sympathetic view of that recruiter v yours.
I’m absolutely certain that ‘if’ he’d have said from the outset you’ll be employed as an international driver based here at the international depot at Dover. ‘But’ we need you to do a 1 or 2 week trial on UK work at Northampton I definitely would have given it the benefit of the doubt and jumped.
Both him and me knew that wasn’t what I was being offered and why.
There’s some good advice contained in this ‘discussion’ for the OP.
Bit late to this gun fight, but my experience was similar to Harrys. I had lots of experience of heavy haulage but no European experience. Wandered into a company that i knew did heavy haulage to Europe nr me. Asked to see transport manager had a chat, he said yes I’ve a vacancy for that motor there, (old daf), I said that doesn’t go abroad , he said correct but I want to see what your made of first. No problem says I. ten days later get yourself home for 48 you ship out on Sunday. Sent me to Spain shadowing another lorry. never looked back. Also on the language front unlike Peggy deck I tried to communicate in the language of whatever country I was in and we did all Europe That made for some hilarious scenes, but I found after they finished laughing at me help was freely given, also sometimes Johnny foreigner wanted to practise their English’. All those years doing European were some of the happiest of my working career. I only stopped after many years because the firm went under and at the same time I was offered a job working for the AA. thebeardedone
thebeardedone:
Bit late to this gun fight, but my experience was similar to Harrys. I had lots of experience of heavy haulage but no European experience. Wandered into a company that i knew did heavy haulage to Europe nr me. Asked to see transport manager had a chat, he said yes I’ve a vacancy for that motor there, (old daf), I said that doesn’t go abroad , he said correct but I want to see what your made of first. No problem says I. ten days later get yourself home for 48 you ship out on Sunday. Sent me to Spain shadowing another lorry. never looked back. Also on the language front unlike Peggy deck I tried to communicate in the language of whatever country I was in and we did all Europe That made for some hilarious scenes, but I found after they finished laughing at me help was freely given, also sometimes Johnny foreigner wanted to practise their English’. All those years doing European were some of the happiest of my working career. I only stopped after many years because the firm went under and at the same time I was offered a job working for the AA. thebeardedone
Another one who’s face fit and was on the inner circle and closed shop of Euro work! 
FRANGLAIS,"Thank you very much "it is me that did not have any idea ,i have read so much on here about it but understood not a word ,tks dbp
switchlogic:
Carryfast:
As for agencies are you seriously suggesting that most agency drivers would choose local UK work over international given the choice ?.When I worked on agency this was very common. Agency I was on was filled with ex Euro drivers from Nolan’s, inc my Dad. Because you never did it you can’t understand why people would want to do something different. Like any job it gets to a point where you simply want something else. It does wear you out a bit in the end.
The work I’ve done has always fitted around my life more than the other way round. When I was young, free and simple I was happy to do the ultra long haul Russian work, when my children were born it was no longer appropriate to be away for weeks or even months at a time so I went onto shorter distance euro work, now I’m winding down towards retirement, have lost most of the enthusiasm I had and my timesheet for this week is absolutely typical of what I do nowadays. A run from Magna Park to Nuneaton and back suits me fine as a day’s work, thank you very much. The point is that wherever I’ve been in my life, I’ve had absolutely no trouble at all finding work that suited.
switchlogic:
Mercedes. It was mostly independent shops if I remember rightly with mind blowingly expensive clothes!
Thanks for the reply.
Harry Monk:
The work I’ve done has always fitted around my life more than the other way round. When I was young, free and simple I was happy to do the ultra long haul Russian work, when my children were born it was no longer appropriate to be away for weeks or even months at a time so I went onto shorter distance euro work, now I’m winding down towards retirement, have lost most of the enthusiasm I had and my timesheet for this week is absolutely typical of what I do nowadays. A run from Magna Park to Nuneaton and back suits me fine as a day’s work, thank you very much. The point is that wherever I’ve been in my life, I’ve had absolutely no trouble at all finding work that suited.
Exactly. The bulk of my Dads international work was at Nolan’s and that gave him his fill. He did a little at Virginia but didn’t enjoy it all that much and in his current job they do international work but he doesn’t even want to go to Ireland for them let alone the other way. I don’t think he’ll drive a truck abroad ever again.
I think we need to realise whatever we say about getting an international job, whether the experience is from the 60s,70s,80s,90s,00s,10s, or yesterday carryfast won’t believe us.
In times past I employed drivers for ME work.
The first impressions were really important:
1: How you walked through the door
2: Your body language
3: How you started your verbal communication.
The reason for this is on International work you will meet all sorts of people: from officials who can really spoil your day, people who might wish you harm, people who might wish you well and help you out of a tight spot, etc. etc.
So apart from driving, navigating, and dealing with an array of paperwork, you needed good communicators. Confident but not overbearing, able to be humble or unmoveable according to needs.
And with relevance to language, the ability to understand and be understood without any words of a common language.
In CF’s case, if his real-world communication is anything like his online persona he would have failed the interview by the time he sat down and once he opened his mouth the interview would be terminated as quickly as possible.
whisperingsmith:
In times past I employed drivers for ME work.The first impressions were really important:
1: How you walked through the door
2: Your body language
3: How you started your verbal communication.The reason for this is on International work you will meet all sorts of people: from officials who can really spoil your day, people who might wish you harm, people who might wish you well and help you out of a tight spot, etc. etc.
So apart from driving, navigating, and dealing with an array of paperwork, you needed good communicators. Confident but not overbearing, able to be humble or unmoveable according to needs.
And with relevance to language, the ability to understand and be understood without any words of a common language.
In CF’s case, if his real-world communication is anything like his online persona he would have failed the interview by the time he sat down and once he opened his mouth the interview would be terminated as quickly as possible.
Strange then how I was actually offered the job by someone who actually interviewed me but which was then withdrawn seemingly on the orders of someone who definitely never even saw me.
Your ridiculous comments just prove everything I’ve said.Bearing in mind that for the want of a few extra quid in the bank I would have met the O licence cash reserve requirement, with everything else in place, including operating base/parking at an extremely favourable rate and numerous offers of owner driver work, with none of the bs obstacles for a start which you’ve laughably described.
You sound like you was a recruiter for those civilian contractor Iraq military supply run suicide missions or UK - Iran trunks after the Iranian revolution.
Rather than UK - Italy full load traction work which I would have been happy with.Obviously RHD and using the passes wherever possible because, unlike Switch, I don’t like tunnels if I can avoid them and I generally know where the road ends and thin air starts and know enough French, German and Italian to get me by on route.
As I said elitist face fits bs.
On that note owner driving is just about the best, if not often the only, sure way into the sector without having to jump your type of laughable face fits hurdles.
whisperingsmith:
In times past I employed drivers for ME work.The first impressions were really important:
1: How you walked through the door
2: Your body language
3: How you started your verbal communication.The reason for this is on International work you will meet all sorts of people: from officials who can really spoil your day, people who might wish you harm, people who might wish you well and help you out of a tight spot, etc. etc.
So apart from driving, navigating, and dealing with an array of paperwork, you needed good communicators. Confident but not overbearing, able to be humble or unmoveable according to needs.
And with relevance to language, the ability to understand and be understood without any words of a common language.
In CF’s case, if his real-world communication is anything like his online persona he would have failed the interview by the time he sat down and once he opened his mouth the interview would be terminated as quickly as possible.
Roughly what percentage of people that got an interview with you passed the interview?
Carryfast:
Not many after subtracting those who had bs’d their way into that position by claiming ( having to claim ) false international ‘experience’.
I’ve never known anyone to do that. Exaggerate experience after the first few trips maybe but if you had never taken a truck into mainland Europe you’d be caught out in the lie the very first question you were asked. It didn’t really matter back in the day if you didn’t have continental experience, if you were reasonably switched on you’d get a start.
stu 675.
I guess about 95% - as I had already seen them in action, so the interview was to see if we were all on the same page.
One driver was particularly miffed to be turned down, he said “But you were on the lash with me in Istanbul.”
Yes, I said but I went to bed and slept it off, you got in your truck and set off home.
One interview session, my new business partner from Euro removal co. sat in on the interviews, after completion he said “How do you argue over wages with these boys??”
I said "We don’t argue over wages with them, we look after them, we have a self-sacking agreement, if they ■■■■ up beyond reasonable leeway they ask for a reference.
One driver in particular fu:ked up 2 trips in a row, first in the Cellars in Prague, the second in the West Berlin in Istanbul, when he got home on his last trip he asked “If I promise to go no further than Paris, will you give me a reference”
He was a good driver, but the sniff of fanny and all his running money would be gone - on Locals like Paris he could be an asset to someone - just not on runs of a month or more.
Thanks for the answer, and stories [emoji106]
Following on from that, Having let go of ‘RAF Jack’ due to indiscretions with ladies of the night, I was stuck with a wagon loaded for Saudi and no Driver.
Word on the street was that Jock Bell was home & available, somehow I had his phone number and rang him up to see if he was interested.
He was but he said " you know what I’m like are you sure" to which I replied “yes you ******* but you won’t let me down will you??”
His reply was of course not.
He did the trip to Jeddah & back in record time and as far as I know that was his last trip ever.
He was one of Astrans first drivers and sadly passed away in 2011,
pic halfway down Astran / Middle East Drivers - OLD TIME LORRIES, COMPANIES AND DRIVERS (INTERACT - Trucknet UK
As we are on the subject, I only ever had one driver as small as Carryfast, all the rest were at least 6’tall
Sid was around 5’6", Unfortunately for him I had a job to Jeddah in a day cab Ford D series - he was the only one small enough to kip across the seats so he got the job. If only CF had made an effort to get his name around and about he could have had that job, and it was perfect for him: a one-piece load no handball!!
whisperingsmith:
As we are on the subject, I only ever had one driver as small as Carryfast, all the rest were at least 6’tallSid was around 5’6", Unfortunately for him I had a job to Jeddah in a day cab Ford D series - he was the only one small enough to kip across the seats so he got the job. If only CF had made an effort to get his name around and about he could have had that job, and it was perfect for him: a one-piece load no handball!!
I’d have took it but I’d have been using the ferry from Venice to Alex then Safaga to Duba.
Carryfast:
Firstly I’m not talking about ‘ex’ International drivers.The fact is many of them chose to burn themselves out and/or compromise their home lives rather than share/rotate the job with those like myself on UK work.
“Hello, is that the Council?”
“Yes, speaking”.
“I run an international transport company, and I was thinking we might do a job swap. We’ll send half-a-dozen of our drivers to drive your dustcarts for a couple of months, and you send us half-a-dozen dustcart drivers to do our Italy trips for a couple of months. Whaddya reckon?”
“Click. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr”.