I passed my Class 2 last October and was lucky enough to get a job straight away, all be it with 3663 which went pear shaped.
Ive been registered with 3 agencies since…one of them I havent heard from for 7 weeks, the other for 4 weeks…yes ive been in touch… and the other one is only interested in van driving. Dont get me wrong, ive applied for jobs, phoned roud local haulage companies and have been round on foot aswell with my CV.
I think the final kick in the proverbials came last week when i applied for a job at Gardners in Plymouth, only to get an email back saying that they have to look for someone with 6 years experience. That to me is ridiculious…2 years i can stomach, but come on 6 years. So, as much as i love being out on the road, the chances for newbies are getting slimmer and slimmer so its time to look for a new career me thinks.
its something you just have to put up with in this job, its a load of {zb} most of it anyway, im just about to reach the magical 25, and already have the 2+ years experience etc so its all good.
I know you have to put up with it and im 41 and have put up with it for 23 years in the mob, but thers only so many times you can be told…sorry youre not experienced…before it takes its toll
Well what with the job market and economy at the moment the employers hold all the cards and they know it. If they want someone with 10 years flawless experience who will work for ■■■■ all and ■■■■ pure gold, then they will get that person as there are around 100 people applying for every job.
Saw something on BBC news earlier about a teenager getting quoted 33 grand for insurance on a 3 grand micra. Obviously a mistake, but the other quotes were for about 5 grand. Same thing. They know they can get away with ■■■■ at the moment and there is ■■■■ all we can do about it till the economical climate changes.
I know you feel like giving up but take the van work it might lead to more as a few people on here have done this and has paid off , it took me six months to find a place that would give me a chance and must admit felt like you but it happened and it will for you too just try and keep positive and it will show when you speak to people on the phone and face to face that you are willing to work Im 40 so same age as you too give em the old my at my age have got life experience quote at the end of the day you spent time and effort getting that licence and its what you want to do if you dont you may regret that what if ■■
As they say on dragons den " Let me tell you where i am." I passed my class 2 in 2004 to drive a 12 ton merc atego transporter, i was a valeter at the time prepping catering vans and got the license as a" fall back" as it were, in case of redundancy, i was asked to do deliveries all over the uk, either single or double man when it went quiet, fantastic job loved it, fast forward to jan 2010 i was made redundant, unemployed for 6 months, i never bothered to sign on just lived off my redundancy / garden leave money. (i decided to do my HIAB ticket in between ) I managed to secure a job delivering groceries for an online retailer in a sprinter van, the money was not good, but just about covered the bills, in the meantime i applied for every class 2 / 7.5ton job that came along skips,bin wagons you name it, approximately 40+ C.Vs sent out over 9 months ,i got maybe 3-4 interviews from this, i got excellent feedback from the interviewers then heard nothing more !!
The other day i got a phone call out of the blue from a local builders merchant offering me an interview, i duly got suited and booted and scooted down there 2 hours later, The upshot was having no hiab experience at all they were willing to take me on and train me up to their way of doing things,spending a week or two with a buddy driver to learn the procedures etc, when i am ready i get my own 26 ton volvo. The only downside was he said if the economy goes bad again, they may have to lay me off in october,as a last resort, which apparently scared most people off, but as long as i get 6 months experience under my belt, i could try elsewhere or go the agency route god forbid,( he who dares wins and all that as delboy said ), but as i have a forklift ticket aswell it was a huge benefit, as i could shunt products about or tip artics in the yard if there were no deliveries to do, he also stated that customer service experience is what these places are now looking for, as most of his present drivers being old school truckers just threaten to knock awkward customers teeth out, which no firm can afford to put up with these days.
…So the moral of this long winded story is never give up, just keep plugging away like i did, yes its soul destroying at times, but you just might drop lucky as i did.
Funnily enough I also passed my Class 2 around the same time as you last year { trained by Hargreaves in Leeds) and I had exactly the same experience as you so I decided to take out a small bank loan and take my Class 1 {which I passed in Jan 11). Even then I was told by every company that Id applied for that Id need 2 years experience to gain employment. I too was at the end of my tether and then out of the blue I recieved a call from a well known haulage firm in Bradford, had an interview the following day and am now a Class 1 driver with my own tractor unit. The moral is don’t give up if driving is what you want to do, you’ve just got to keep sending them CV’s out and trailing round the local firms and eventually it will pay off mate.
Dont give up mate , must be pretty disheartening but you have spent a lot of money getting that license .
You may have seen my thread about my first class 2 job , i was taken on on the understanding that its on a months trial . That suits me just fine .
my new boss said i was the right age (42) ,was keen ( i had made a real effort with my cv etc ) came in too see them a couple of times etc and had the right atitude .
A lot of experienced /old skool truckers have the wrong / bad attitude , so was happy to give me a job despite just passing my test .
OK the work wouldnt suit everyone , basically moving a waste product (aluminium oxide) from a factory to a landfill site .
In fact most experienced drivers probably wouldnt touch it with a bargepole
Have you tried the local skip hire companies etc
my local road sweeper company are currently advertising for drivers, experience not necessarily needed .
Hope something turns up soon and if it does, as has been said grab it with both hands .
Google Indeed job search its a search engine for looking for jobs you put in your requirements and how far you are willing to travel and it emails you jobs available you can then apply for the ones you like the look of
roadrunner:
As they say on dragons den " Let me tell you where i am." I passed my class 2 in 2004 to drive a 12 ton merc atego transporter.
(i decided to do my HIAB ticket in between ) I managed to secure a job delivering groceries for an online retailer in a sprinter van,
ZB me, how big were the parcels?
Seriously handballing up to 100kgs spread over 10 boxes up 10 flights of stairs, with busted lifts in a slum towerblock surrounded by smackheads at 10.30pm on a saturday night is no fun and all to be completed within your alloted 7-9 minute drop time, you were given anything up to 21 drops over 90-200 miles per shift but it payed the bills, free gym membership included
