I need some honest serious advice

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

So I’ve been lurking around these forums for a bit now but I’ve never really explained my personal circumstances, now I feel like I know the community well enough to open up a bit.

I’m currently 30 years old and have been out of work for 10 years due to mental illness (depression and anxiety) after my mother passed away when I was 20. It took me a very long time to deal with it and it tore my world apart as 2 years previous I lost my father to kidney failure as well. I did odd jobs after I left school, bit of labouring, bit of retail work but nothing to boast about but in the last 10 years I’ve done literally nothing but sit on my ■■■ and mope around complaining that life isn’t fair and honestly I just wanted to crawl in a ditch and die. However I’ve finally pulled myself out of that nasty cycle and I’m totally committed to getting back to work and I want something meaningful, that feels rewarding and gives me a sense of purpose, I really have my heart set on trucking! I feel like it would be the perfect job for me as I enjoy being alone and you don’t get more alone than sitting in a cab by yourself for hours on end :smiley:

So here’s the problem, I just got my driving licence a few weeks ago to begin the long journey towards becoming a truck driver and I wanted to get a job doing literally anything for about a year until I’m very comfortable on the roads driving in all conditions etc. However I’ve had several interviews and have been unsuccessful, as I expected most employers aren’t exactly desperate to hire someone who hasn’t been in work for the last 10 years due to mental health! Trying to convince an employer that I’m back to full health is very difficult, but I am back to full health, I have been for over 9 months, no medication or therapy at all… I’m actually excited about getting back to work, contributing to society again and building a career for myself!

So having no luck with my recent applications for jobs, I’m thinking of picking up a new skill such as a forklift licence but again any potential employer will just see that gap and think “hell no” and employ someone who they don’t think is going to have a mental break down every other week… It’s so tough, mental illness still carries such a stigma it’s hard to detached yourself from it, unless I lie of course…

So that brings me to the main point, realistically do I have any hope whatsoever of getting employed as a truck driver if I’m honest about my work experience gap? Should I just fill it in with fake jobs and hope an employer doesn’t check the references? I can’t say it was for physical injury either because it would be obvious just by looking at me and I think the employer would twig I’m lying right away. Of course the other problem is a 10 year gap might also be a hefty prison sentence and I’m saying mental health as a lie to cover the truth, of course I’m not but an employer just isn’t going to take that risk I feel like…

I’d love to be a forklift driver because it would give me some experience loading and operating a vehicle which isn’t a car, health and safety in the warehouse environment etc I think it would look good to an employer to go from forklift to HGV, if only I can get the forklift job to begin with.

I dunno guys, I just need some real honest advice, sorry for the rant :confused:

2

Well a fork licence is a great deal easier to get (almost hard to fail) and was that 10 year gap while you were living in Spain ?

3

Dodgy Permit:
Well a fork licence is a great deal easier to get (almost hard to fail) and was that 10 year gap while you were living in Spain ?

Living in Spain doesn’t seem realistic. Oh 10 years in Spain, you must be able to speak the lingo by now? So what were you doing all these years, living off the money you got from your mother when you sold the house she left you :laughing:

Appreciate the suggestion but been on safari, living abroad etc are super old school cover ups. I was thinking to say I was self employed but they might ask to see some kind of tax history documents or even just search up the name of my supposed company on company house and see it never existed :angry:

4

I don’t think you’d have any problem at all getting a job driving a truck, many of the smaller firms don’t even ask about your work history. You’d have the usual problems faced by all new passes in that many firms won’t employ them because of insurance issues. You could invent a work history if you were so inclined, naming a company which has now ceased trading although equally you could just say you were away travelling, or didn’t work because of a lottery win/ inheritance/ personal reasons etc.

5

Harry Monk:
You could invent a work history if you were so inclined, naming a company which has now ceased trading although equally you could just say you were away travelling

I’ve thought of this and to be honest this really does seem like the best option. It kills me to have to lie as I believe relationships, whether personal or professional work best when there’s honesty but when that honesty prevents you from progressing, I think it’s ok to lie.

6

Where to start.

Your idea of a fork truck license makes sense to me for the following reasons.

  1. You will be working where you can be supervised and MENTORED while you gain experience, demonstrate your interpersonal skills and hone your fork truck skills.

  2. Once you have established your value as an employee opportunities will present themselves. Choose the right employer and you may well find that schemes like “warehouse to wheels” become available and possibly paid for by the company & getting paid while training.

As for the missing work history I would say be honest. You had some terrible challenges while a very young man which you have dealt with albeit over a long time, showing your determination and resilience. Did you have any work history from your late teens? Not all employers will be sympathetic but some will. from my own limited experience companies like the Coop, John Lewis, B&Q are the more sympathetic ones.

If you don’t have a warehouse close to you try retail stores, builders merchants as they will have warehouses and home delivery services that may be a career path for you.

Try not to get to hung up about being a lorry driver as this may blind you to other possibilities that YOU may find better. Good luck.

7

Pm sent

8

In my opinion, your best bet would be to go straight for your hgv licences if you’ve got the money.
If you go for your forklift licence, firstly you will have to pay for it, secondly, you will be looking for permanent work so you could find yourself in the same position of struggling to find work.
If you get your hgv licence, you can get started with agencies and build a bit of work experience while still looking for permanent jobs.
Be honest with potential employers if asked about your time not working. Depression, especially if linked to grief and bereavement is a serious issue. Most employers will be understanding and compassionate and if they aren’t then they won’t be the sort of people you should be working for.
All the best with whatever you end up doing, really hope it all works out for you mate

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9

Wiretwister:
Where to start.

Your idea of a fork truck license makes sense to me for the following reasons.

  1. You will be working where you can be supervised and MENTORED while you gain experience, demonstrate your interpersonal skills and hone your fork truck skills.

  2. Once you have established your value as an employee opportunities will present themselves. Choose the right employer and you may well find that schemes like “warehouse to wheels” become available and possibly paid for by the company & getting paid while training.

As for the missing work history I would say be honest. You had some terrible challenges while a very young man which you have dealt with albeit over a long time, showing your determination and resilience. Did you have any work history from your late teens? Not all employers will be sympathetic but some will. from my own limited experience companies like the Coop, John Lewis, B&Q are the more sympathetic ones.

If you don’t have a warehouse close to you try retail stores, builders merchants as they will have warehouses and home delivery services that may be a career path for you.

Try not to get to hung up about being a lorry driver as this may blind you to other possibilities that YOU may find better. Good luck.

Thanks for the tips. I’ve been applying for retail but no luck, I’m thinking about going for an agency but I’m still thinking they’ll take one look at the huge gap due to mental health and pass over my application. I don’t have any recent work experience whatsoever. If I can just get my foot in the door with something, it will be enough to get the ball rolling.

10

CookieMonster:
In my opinion, your best bet would be to go straight for your hgv licences if you’ve got the money.
If you go for your forklift licence, firstly you will have to pay for it, secondly, you will be looking for permanent work so you could find yourself in the same position of struggling to find work.
If you get your hgv licence, you can get started with agencies and build a bit of work experience while still looking for permanent jobs.
Be honest with potential employers if asked about your time not working. Depression, especially if linked to grief and bereavement is a serious issue. Most employers will be understanding and compassionate and if they aren’t then they won’t be the sort of people you should be working for.
All the best with whatever you end up doing, really hope it all works out for you mate

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Thanks mate! So are agencies more likely to overlook the 10 year employment gap? I thought going straight for HGV would be worse because that’s an even bigger risk to employ someone who has a history of mental illness and putting them behind the wheel of a HGV? But this is why I’m asking you guys because there’s so many experienced people here who know the industry inside out.

So do you really think I have a chance if I just go straight for my HGV licence and be honest with my work gap? A lot of people talk about agencies like they’ll pretty much hire anyone, is this true? (as long as I actually have the licence of course)

11

start on the vans , get a few miles under your belt including driving in the dark

12

TruckerWannabe123:
I’m thinking about going for an agency but I’m still thinking they’ll take one look at the huge gap due to mental health and pass over my application. I don’t have any recent work experience whatsoever. If I can just get my foot in the door with something, it will be enough to get the ball rolling.

If you insist on being honest then an agency is probably your best bet as a large agency will have an enormous variety of clients, every one of which will have different levels of discernment. Just be prepared for the usual thing of having to start out settling for the dross which nobody else wants, 03:00 Sunday starts etc.

13

What you did before driving is no business of a company employing you as a driver. Unless you were in prison for something related to the job in question.

I have a very varied and patchy work history and we are a very similar age. I’ve been in the army, been self employed. Worked for massive companies in a few roles. And I’ve even been a PhD student.

If you get your licences you will be able to go on the agency. They don’t care or check about references or history. Neither do some of the big companies. I always put my partner down as a reference claiming she was my boss for driving jobs - she has never been called!

As someone who is currently under the Doctor for depression I want to say congratulations on getting to where you are now. Go for your class 2 and see if you like it. Perhaps you will love the job. Perhaps you will hate it. If you don’t try you will never know.

Agency driving can be the best or the worst depending on your attitude and your luck. I have done some really interesting and fascinating work as an agency driver. But I’ve done some shocking stuff as well. It it what you make of it. Driving is not all that hard a job - if you approach is in the right way. Take your time, relax and don’t stress and you will be spot on.

14

Might sound a bit daft but have you thought about volunteering at a local food bank.
They are always looking for people to man the warehouse and van drivers to move stuff around the various centres.
Have a look at Trusselltrust.org. Volunteering for them will show prospective employers you have some commitment and it will be experience in the working enviroment.

Tyneside

15

I’ll just say something first, it isnt the stigma of mental illness, it’s the possibility of a relapse and bluntly, people off work sick are expensive. My own father suffered from mental health issues so on the one hand I have sympathy on the other I have employed someone with bipolar and I understand the difficulties it can present an employer. You asked for honesty.

However you are where you and reading what you have written, it is obvious that you are committed to getting back into work.
Part 1.

16

First of all well done for dealing with your challenges- not easy!
I would defo suggest the agency route- you could start off driving transit size vehicles and that might wedge a door open for you?
Other thing about agencies is the variety- some good, some beyond dreadful!
You will also find agencies can get you through the door of places you wouldn’t otherwise have a cat in hell’s chance of getting into otherwise!
If you’re looking at direct work, maybe focus on the jobs others might not want, multidrop, anti- social hours etc
Whatever route you choose, you’ve made good progress from where you were-good luck[emoji1]

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17

Part 2. Sorry phone limits amount I can type.

Personally I like honesty. If I find someone lied to me later, it breaks trust. But that one is up to you.

I would recommend knocking on doors and seeing what happens, it’s easier when someone can see you face to face.

Good luck and keep persevering.

18

You need to be more “creative” with the truth, put yourself in an employers shoes and you begin to see what I mean.

Think of another reason why you haven’t worked for a while I know it sounds harsh but mention mental health and that form you sent is going straight in the bin.

With the current situation around the lack of drivers in certain parts of the country there are lots of employers who will take new drivers and sent them out with experienced drivers for a period of time to you become competent, don’t give up you will find wha you want it may take a while but you’ll get there.

19

TruckerWannabe123:

CookieMonster:
In my opinion, your best bet would be to go straight for your hgv licences if you’ve got the money.
If you go for your forklift licence, firstly you will have to pay for it, secondly, you will be looking for permanent work so you could find yourself in the same position of struggling to find work.
If you get your hgv licence, you can get started with agencies and build a bit of work experience while still looking for permanent jobs.
Be honest with potential employers if asked about your time not working. Depression, especially if linked to grief and bereavement is a serious issue. Most employers will be understanding and compassionate and if they aren’t then they won’t be the sort of people you should be working for.
All the best with whatever you end up doing, really hope it all works out for you mate

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Thanks mate! So are agencies more likely to overlook the 10 year employment gap? I thought going straight for HGV would be worse because that’s an even bigger risk to employ someone who has a history of mental illness and putting them behind the wheel of a HGV? But this is why I’m asking you guys because there’s so many experienced people here who know the industry inside out.

So do you really think I have a chance if I just go straight for my HGV licence and be honest with my work gap? A lot of people talk about agencies like they’ll pretty much hire anyone, is this true? (as long as I actually have the licence of course)

Agencies will take on pretty much anybody, they want numbers on their books.
You could register with them now, start getting a bit of van work, even warehouse work to get some money coming in. Once the agency see you’re trustworthy and reliable, that’s what they will tell the companies they refer you to.

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20

TruckerWannabe123:

CookieMonster:
In my opinion, your best bet would be to go straight for your hgv licences if you’ve got the money.
If you go for your forklift licence, firstly you will have to pay for it, secondly, you will be looking for permanent work so you could find yourself in the same position of struggling to find work.
If you get your hgv licence, you can get started with agencies and build a bit of work experience while still looking for permanent jobs.
Be honest with potential employers if asked about your time not working. Depression, especially if linked to grief and bereavement is a serious issue. Most employers will be understanding and compassionate and if they aren’t then they won’t be the sort of people you should be working for.
All the best with whatever you end up doing, really hope it all works out for you mate

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Thanks mate! So are agencies more likely to overlook the 10 year employment gap? I thought going straight for HGV would be worse because that’s an even bigger risk to employ someone who has a history of mental illness and putting them behind the wheel of a HGV? But this is why I’m asking you guys because there’s so many experienced people here who know the industry inside out.

So do you really think I have a chance if I just go straight for my HGV licence and be honest with my work gap? A lot of people talk about agencies like they’ll pretty much hire anyone, is this true? (as long as I actually have the licence of course)

Agencies will take on pretty much anybody, they want numbers on their books.
You could register with them now, start getting a bit of van work, even warehouse work to get some money coming in. Once the agency see you’re trustworthy and reliable, that’s what they will tell the companies they refer you to.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk