So, it’s been a week since I passed my Cat C test and after tidying up my CV last weekend and getting a decent cover letter together I began bombarding local firms with emails (initially, as I’ve got a full-time job which involves sitting a computer) and printing off copies of the CV and letter. I had a couple of replies from emails saying they’d be passed along to the relevant people etc, but nothing concrete.
Yesterday I was on an early shift at work, which meant a 3pm finish so I went round half a dozen of the closest local firms that run rigids armed with CVs and letters and handed them over in person. Thankfully, I managed to see and speak to the people in charge at every place, and look them in the eye as I handed the paperwork over, so that was pretty fortunate. I didn’t get one knock back, and one place even said they’d literally just taken one new driver with no previous experience on a week ago.
I also spent yesterday having a look at a few local agencies’ websites, and came across a couple of adverts for Class 2 jobs nearby. I spoke to the agency, who were very open with me about the two years experience thing and how it would be better for me to approach firms directly and try to make my own case (which is what I did with one of the places which were advertising at the agency). Another place they were advertising for I wasn’t so sure about, as I’d never seen any of their trucks and had never been to their yard round here, so emailed their head office and copied the agency advert and link and asked if there was any chance they’d consider getting me in directly and circumventing the agency.
I heard nothing back on email, but today I got a phone call from the depot asking me if I could go in for a day to go out with one of their drivers and see how I get on. They said if the day went OK, they’d offer me a three-month trial to start with, with a view to taking me on full-time if there were no problems and I liked the job and they liked me.
Because of my shifts at my current job, I can’t take them up on the offer until two weeks today but they’re going to email me on Monday to confirm it all and take it from there. It’s not the best job in the world - hard physical and dirty work, lots of handballing, but it’s experience and that’s my biggest stumbling block at the moment. It’s not much, but it might turn out to be something