Hi guys, not been a member of the forum long, since december last year to be exact when i passed my class 2. Well heres April nearly and i have not sat sittin in a lorry yet! I have honestly lost count of the jobs i have applied for, easy 10 a week or at least 7, there has’nt been a day thats gone by without me applying for something. I am really regretting this move and wished I had went for something else, lisence wise. Anyone else in the same boat?
Not in the same boat but have been there. I applied to every company within 30 miles of my house proudly showing my new class 1 licence only to be greeted with the “no experience” Conundrum.
Maybe jobs were a little easier to come by in the mid 90s when I started but I signed on for an agency and with a bit of “I’ll do that” attitude the regular Saturday soon became the offer of a weekly wage.
Within a couple of months I was also offered a job with a big northern irish haulier that I’d just missed the cut for first time round and it was amazing how local firms that demanded two years experience suddenly showed an interest once I could fill out the previous experience box on the application form.
I know how tough it can seem when starting out, especially with so many drivers chasing ever diminishing demand, but try and get a day a week to fit in with your existing work.
These days more than ever you’ve got to prove yourself as the best candidate for any job and although the “experience” issue is a reality if you search hard enough you will eventually find somebody who will give you a go.
One of the best things you can do is to actually visit firms because it’s all to easy to dismiss somebody on paper but if your there at the right time and they like the look of you they might well give you a shot. I tried unsuccessfully to get on with a well known international fridge firm for a couple of years without success but just happened to call in one day five minutes after a driver had jacked and seven days later I was heading for Italy.
Good luck.
Cheers
Neilf
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Dont give up , took me six months to get a start and went down agency route , they will all sign you up and one of them will give you a job you might start out with a little job thats not what you want like a van job or 71/2 tonne but if you do that they will be more likely to give you a class 2 and your away its all about proving yourself and I have been to companies on agency work that have said to me look would like a perm position here, you never know impress them a perm job could come out of it 
keep plugging away it will happen 
Jx
I only got my first start on the 16/03/12 there after passing back in December and I’m 18. Just keep trying, it will come.
Cheers troops, actuallly got a call back today from one of the many companies i contacted, Grahams dairies. Going for a driving assesment in the morning.
When I passed my class 2 last year I found a lot of companies wouldn’t touch me, but stuck with a few agencies and also managed to squeeze info from a particular agency that worked with a particular company near here and as I knew the job they put me on it. The drawback was it was only one shift a week on earlies (2am) which knocked the rest of the week out of sync.
However, it got me experience. Don’t think I’ve worked more than 3 days there at a time but some of it has been consistent.
Getting my HIAB certainly helped, and this year when I get back into trucking I’ll be sticking a bit more with one agency doing all sorts. I expect I’ll be on van and 7.5t until they find other work and stuff but I’ll try and squeeze in what I can where I can.
This is the same agency that got me a night out run last year, its just a pity the customer defaulted on payment because that was a reasonable run, despite the truck needing a few things doing to it (and no cruise control)
Swings and roundabouts. Also worth knowing your hours pretty well so you can work the regs as much as possible. Was offered a 15 hour shift with a 9 hour break in the middle and didnt take it, it got split instead between two drivers. Still. Learning experience and all 
Jennie:
Dont give up , took me six months to get a start and went down agency route , they will all sign you up and one of them will give you a job you might start out with a little job thats not what you want like a van job or 71/2 tonne but if you do that they will be more likely to give you a class 2 and your away its all about proving yourself and I have been to companies on agency work that have said to me look would like a perm position here, you never know impress them a perm job could come out of itkeep plugging away it will happen
Jx
This is really good advice - Start off on vans and gain respect and trust with an agency and usually they will give you a shot at something bigger. That’s exactly how it worked for me.
Just keep tryin mate you will get there in the end 
wished I came on here and spat the dummy earlier lol, went for that driving assesment with Grahams dairy and went out in a fully loaded 26t’r. Got the job! to say im over the moon is the preverbial. Cheers for the support though troops.
Great news, especially on a Friday. Congratualtions.
Cheers mate.
uncleTruck:
wished I came on here and spat the dummy earlier lol, went for that driving assesment with Grahams dairy and went out in a fully loaded 26t’r. Got the job! to say im over the moon is the preverbial. Cheers for the support though troops.
Not gonna say told u so hell yes I am 
well done on that first job and I hope you enjoy it class 1 next
have fun and well done
Jx
Cheers Jennie, dono if I’ll bother with class one. Think I’ll just head for gettin my HIAB and ADR and stickin with rigid. Not sure, the current climate does’nt make it an easy choice, although the fact I saw 2 advertised jobs today which were class 2 hiab=£11 an hour versus class one delivery=£6.50 an hour!! whats that all about, dono what to do.