Some useful advice here,
Last Thursday I presented my c.v. with a covering letter and also a self addressed envelope to 30 local haulage companies,Monday morning I got a positive phone call from M. Threlfall, and 2 other letters thanking me for interest, so personal c.v. and covering letters work better than emails, fingers crossed!!! 
Immigrant:
Think the Jobs all covered by Agencies who cant give you some as there Driver have signed a Contract of Employment,which gives them guaranty of Work,and well,âŚ
or the jobs taken by immigrants
Hello all, the way forward to getting the work for me,as stated by others, is to get out there yourself. Itâs what I have always done and while you may not get anything at the time, at least they know your face. Itâs how I got my current start and I know of at least 3 others this year that have got starts by coming in and asking the TM. Now, maybe that they were lucky, one came in the day one of the lads reported sick for 2 weeks, and was taken on to drive that night. He has been told if he does a good job he will be kept on to do general haulage. As for a CV I donât have one, if I rang a company and they ask for one I tell them so and offer to come in for a days work just stating, you can put anything in a CV but they cannot drive whereas I can, itâs surprising how often thatâs worked.
Good luck in the search
Slackbladder:
As for a CV I donât have one, if I rang a company and they ask for one I tell them so and offer to come in for a days work just stating, you can put anything in a CV but they cannot drive whereas I can, itâs surprising how often thatâs worked.
Good luck in the search
CV is a useful reference for the employer though, you cold call and youâve possibly impressed one of the senior bods, but so have a dozen other drivers when they spoke to him and the two other gaffers, later in the week the TMâs finally decide to employ 2 drivers.
They get out the 12 CVâs and have a little huddle round weeding out the drossâŚâoh and Slackbladder looked OK when he popped in Monday but doesnât do CVâsââŚâOK whats his past then?ââŚâbuggered if i can remember now and i donât know where i wrote his numberââŚ'never mind, Joe Bloggs and Jack Spot have done our sort of work before and clean licences according to their CVâs, get âem in for interviewâ.
I know some suggest professional CVâs, trouble is they all look the bloody same as if they came off a duplicator and you want to stand out as being head and shoulders above the herd.
Youâre quite right about showing your face though its still the best way, trouble is unless they have something A4 with a concise CV on it they might forget you and your contact details should a job suddenly come up several weeks or months later.
not teaching anyone to â â â â eggs, but unless your trying to get into a multi national blue chip number, the âFirst up Best dressedâ approach is much more successful.
Up early, well presented and turn up at the yard and speak in person type caper to anyone dwelling an office that will listen.
Well I speak for myself there. 
ironstipper:
not teaching anyone to â â â â eggs, but unless your trying to get into a multi national blue chip number, the âFirst up Best dressedâ approach is much more successful.Up early, well presented and turn up at the yard and speak in person type caper to anyone dwelling an office that will listen.
Well I speak for myself there.
Works a treat, got to agree.
Youâre Friar Tuckâd though if said office dweller asks for a CV and you ainât got one!
Geoffo:
Are driving jobs in the UK so hard to find??I saw 6 (yes six) full-time driving jobs advertised locally to me last Thursday in our local paper, ranging from :-
17 ton distibution driver to 40 ton round trips to Spain work.
Thingâs are picking up this side of the Channel anywayâŚ
Thatâs nothing new.There was always better opportunities for more (and better) work over there than here as far as I can remember back into the 1980âs.Same thing at the Jobcentre here.You can widen the search on their data base to include the continent and itâs like a different world.
But it saves a lot of wasted time to phone up and ask to speak to HR or Personnel or whoever it is who does the hiring and first ask if thereâs any vacancies and then ask for an application form or for an interview instead of sending out CVâs.If they then say theyâve got vacancies but wonât offer an interview then the place is probably a waste of time bothering with anyway and if thereâs no vacancies why bother anyway. 
ironstipper:
not teaching anyone to â â â â eggs, but unless your trying to get into a multi national blue chip number, the âFirst up Best dressedâ approach is much more successful.Up early, well presented and turn up at the yard and speak in person type caper to anyone dwelling an office that will listen.
Well I speak for myself there.
Thatâs going to get a bit expensive if you want to look for a job by asking 40-50 firms a day all over the country.Thatâs what telephones are for.
Yeah that is true but if itâs local and a nd a small firm going in person does help. I went to see a firm about a driving job and ended up in a lorry going out the gate within 10 minutes once.
kr79:
Yeah that is true but if itâs local and a nd a small firm going in person does help. I went to see a firm about a driving job and ended up in a lorry going out the gate within 10 minutes once.
they have been looking for it ever sinceâŚ
you should be ok soon mate, you will need a dcpc to drive, so the illegals , and immigrants should not get a sniff, plus most old timers are about an inch from throwing in the towel⌠if you can dig in for a wee while, everything comes to he who waits⌠lol
Trouble is, most people donât realize still how hard it is these days, especially for people with no experience like myself. My Dad says âahh no you donât want to do multi-drop, aahh no you donât want to do this or thatâ but the problem is you donât have a choice, heâll also say âyou donât want to drive 40 miles there and then 40 back to get a job do you?â trouble is, if itâs a job then I have no choice because in his day you could walk in and out of any you liked.
Sam Millar:
Trouble is, most people donât realize still how hard it is these days, especially for people with no experience like myself. My Dad says âahh no you donât want to do multi-drop, aahh no you donât want to do this or thatâ but the problem is you donât have a choice, heâll also say âyou donât want to drive 40 miles there and then 40 back to get a job do you?â trouble is, if itâs a job then I have no choice because in his day you could walk in and out of any you liked.
Your Dadâs wrong mate, because all that, however hard or crap it may be, is experience; and that is worth its weight in gold. Iâve done more than my fair share of jobs I wouldnât stay in on the agency, simply because they paid the bills.
If I was back in the TMâs seat looking for drivers, one of the things Iâd be looking for is willingness; past experience has taught me that those drivers who think that certain categories of job are beneath them because theyâve got a Class 1 tend to be just as inflexible when you employ them. Leave that long enough and it means youâre stuck with the buggers which does the rest of your drivers no favours, or yourself.
I donât mean keeping a Class 1 man on multi-drops with a Transit for ever, but if that manâs willing to do the job for a couple of days if youâre stuck it goes a long way with me; so long as heâs willing to at least give it his best shot, that means heâs a true professional.
gnasty gnome:
Sam Millar:
Trouble is, most people donât realize still how hard it is these days, especially for people with no experience like myself. My Dad says âahh no you donât want to do multi-drop, aahh no you donât want to do this or thatâ but the problem is you donât have a choice, heâll also say âyou donât want to drive 40 miles there and then 40 back to get a job do you?â trouble is, if itâs a job then I have no choice because in his day you could walk in and out of any you liked.Your Dadâs wrong mate, because all that, however hard or crap it may be, is experience; and that is worth its weight in gold. Iâve done more than my fair share of jobs I wouldnât stay in on the agency, simply because they paid the bills.
If I was back in the TMâs seat looking for drivers, one of the things Iâd be looking for is willingness; past experience has taught me that those drivers who think that certain categories of job are beneath them because theyâve got a Class 1 tend to be just as inflexible when you employ them. Leave that long enough and it means youâre stuck with the buggers which does the rest of your drivers no favours, or yourself.
I donât mean keeping a Class 1 man on multi-drops with a Transit for ever, but if that manâs willing to do the job for a couple of days if youâre stuck it goes a long way with me; so long as heâs willing to at least give it his best shot, that means heâs a true professional.
If they havenât got any actual job for a class 1 driver why advertise or ask for one and why would anyone want to pay someone class 1 rate to drive a transit,7.5 tonner or class 2 on multi drop. 
I also did my share of those zb agency jobs using a class 1 licence that could have been done (and paid at) car licence or class 3 rates.I often asked that same question and never did get an answer.It also,not surprisingly,never counted for anything at all when I did apply for the better types of class 1 jobs that I went for.
My own answer to that question was that if they are desperate enough for a driver theyâll pay class 1 rate if they have to and if they see that youâre mug enough to do the zb work theyâll just keep giving you more of it.
His Dad is spot on and he should listen to him and regardless of how bad things are now they canât be any worse than the early 1980âs.
Carryfast:
My own answer to that question was that if they are desperate enough for a driver theyâll pay class 1 rate if they have to and if they see that youâre mug enough to do the zb work theyâll just keep giving you more of it.His Dad is spot on and he should listen to him and regardless of how bad things are now they canât be any worse than the early 1980âs.
I think youâre missing my point CF. Samâs only had his Class 2 for 15 months, and I think only just passed his Class 1. If he walks straight into a good well-paid artic job straight away heâll count himself very lucky indeed; there werenât all that many who did that when you went straight in at the deep end. Many started off on a rigid. Multi-drop work might be crap but it gives invaluable experience in getting in and out of tight places for a start. Employers look for flexible drivers, not just drivers whoâve got a licence for flexible lorries. 
gnasty gnome:
Carryfast:
My own answer to that question was that if they are desperate enough for a driver theyâll pay class 1 rate if they have to and if they see that youâre mug enough to do the zb work theyâll just keep giving you more of it.His Dad is spot on and he should listen to him and regardless of how bad things are now they canât be any worse than the early 1980âs.
I think youâre missing my point CF. Samâs only had his Class 2 for 15 months, and I think only just passed his Class 1. If he walks straight into a good well-paid artic job straight away heâll count himself very lucky indeed; there werenât all that many who did that when you went straight in at the deep end. Many started off on a rigid. Multi-drop work might be crap but it gives invaluable experience in getting in and out of tight places for a start. Employers look for flexible drivers, not just drivers whoâve got a licence for flexible lorries.
Multi drop with a 7.5 tonner or a small rigid wonât provide the type of experience that a class 1 driver will need when he goes for a good job.Anyone needs to be very lucky indeed to get their first decent artic job and it was always so and probably always will be.
But in general wasting time doing zb 7.5 tonner or small rigid local multi drop work wonât make the slightest difference on the application form for the right job and thereâs not often any reason as to why anyone would want to pay class 1 rates for a 7.5 tonner etc multi drop driver other than desperation and they usually can only get away with it when times get tough and drivers decide to take anything going.
In which case itâs usually nothing to do with finding a âwillingâ âflexibleâ driver itâs more often a case of employers paying over the odds for an overqualified driver and taking advantage of their need for a job because those employers canât find anyone whoâs mug enough to want to do the job with a 7.5 tonne or class 2 licence and in general the only reason why any driver wants to upgrade their licence is to get the opportunity to get off of such zb work.
The idea that theyâve then got to carry on with the zb work they could have done originally just makes the whole excercise pointless and defeats the object.Itâs always been a case of thereâs not enough opportunities out there for class 1 and unless a driver is prepared,and able to turn down the zb work they donât want,thereâs not much point in upgrading the licence as a new driver and in my experience itâs that issue of zb job progression opportunities in the industry that is one of the main problems for new drivers within it.In my case there certainly came a point when I was doing agency work for a short period where I had to say that Iâd had enough of being taken for a mug and if they didnât have any decent long distance full load or bulk work and/or class 1 opportunities,then stop wasting my time,and the employersâ money by paying me over the odds for the job.
gnasty gnome:
Carryfast:
My own answer to that question was that if they are desperate enough for a driver theyâll pay class 1 rate if they have to and if they see that youâre mug enough to do the zb work theyâll just keep giving you more of it.His Dad is spot on and he should listen to him and regardless of how bad things are now they canât be any worse than the early 1980âs.
I think youâre missing my point CF. Samâs only had his Class 2 for 15 months, and I think only just passed his Class 1. If he walks straight into a good well-paid artic job straight away heâll count himself very lucky indeed; there werenât all that many who did that when you went straight in at the deep end. Many started off on a rigid. Multi-drop work might be crap but it gives invaluable experience in getting in and out of tight places for a start. Employers look for flexible drivers, not just drivers whoâve got a licence for flexible lorries.
To be honest, I donât mind multi-drop work, even in an artic (which requires a C+E licence CF!), itâs just places like Brakes, FOOD (you know who!) and the likes that get âmulti dropâ the bad name itâs got.
I have done multi-drop on air-freight and general and never had any probs with it, but I wonât do Brakes or 3663 or Whitbread or the likes, not because multi-dropping is bad, just that multi-dropping to their customers is!.
waynedl:
gnasty gnome:
Carryfast:
My own answer to that question was that if they are desperate enough for a driver theyâll pay class 1 rate if they have to and if they see that youâre mug enough to do the zb work theyâll just keep giving you more of it.His Dad is spot on and he should listen to him and regardless of how bad things are now they canât be any worse than the early 1980âs.
I think youâre missing my point CF. Samâs only had his Class 2 for 15 months, and I think only just passed his Class 1. If he walks straight into a good well-paid artic job straight away heâll count himself very lucky indeed; there werenât all that many who did that when you went straight in at the deep end. Many started off on a rigid. Multi-drop work might be crap but it gives invaluable experience in getting in and out of tight places for a start. Employers look for flexible drivers, not just drivers whoâve got a licence for flexible lorries.
To be honest, I donât mind multi-drop work, even in an artic (which requires a C+E licence CF!), itâs just places like Brakes, FOOD (you know who!) and the likes that get âmulti dropâ the bad name itâs got.
I have done multi-drop on air-freight and general and never had any probs with it, but I wonât do Brakes or 3663 or Whitbread or the likes, not because multi-dropping is bad, just that multi-dropping to their customers is!.
I think thereâs many different types of work that fit under the heading but doing a few medium to long distance bulk drops and/or collections with a 26 tonner rigid or an artic or even better full loads is a world away from most types of zb local urban multi drop work that characterises much of the jobcentre and agency work opportunities etc in the South East for example.
Itâs no surprise that itâs always the former that is the most difficult to find and often the latter which gets handed out to even C+E drivers who they think are mug/desperate enough to take it.
Itâs all a matter of personal choice but itâs no coincidence that itâs those long distance/international full load or bulk drops type jobs that are usually more in demand and most difficult to get onto whereas the jobcentres and agencies are usually more likely to be looking for someone for 7.5 t or class C local multi drop jobs than other decent type work.
Carryfast:
I think thereâs many different types of work that fit under the heading but doing a few medium to long distance bulk drops and/or collections with a 26 tonner rigid or an artic or even better full loads is a world away from most types of zb local urban multi drop work that characterises much of the jobcentre and agency work opportunities etc in the South East for example.Itâs no surprise that itâs always the former that is the most difficult to find and often the latter which gets handed out to even C+E drivers who they think are mug/desperate enough to take it.
Itâs all a matter of personal choice but itâs no coincidence that itâs those long distance/international full load or bulk drops type jobs that are usually more in demand and most difficult to get onto whereas the jobcentres and agencies are usually more likely to be looking for someone for 7.5 t or class C local multi drop jobs than other decent type work.
It might indeed be â â â â work and most of us have probably done our share of it; but it is worth pointing out that if it wasnât for drivers doing that, most of the long distance and bulk stuff would be out of a job too.