Hey all,
It’s been a little while since I’ve posted, so I thought I’d get you all updated on what’s going on.
Unfortunately, my CDL training school called and said my class was pushed back a week. So instead of starting this Monday, I start on January 19th. Arg! It’s only a 7 day setback, but it feels like an eternity! I’m so anxious to get started so this was a punch in the gut to me. Ah well, it just gives me more time to read through the DOT CDL manual a few more times.
Anyway, last week I quit my office gig. Sweet! I’m so happy I don’t have to go back to that damn sales job ever again! I won’t get into specific details, but that job really took a turn for the worse around July and it was burning me up mentally. The stress was ridiculous, lots of micro-management, pay-cuts, etc. It was getting to be unbearable. So I’m really happy I don’t have to walk through those stupid front doors of that stupid office building anymore. Just like in the movie “Office Space” those doors shocked me almost every single day I went in. Oh how I cringed touching those door handles every morning. No more of that!
I left the company on good terms. As much as I really wanted to pull a true “Office Space” and see how long it would take me to get fired from that hell hole, I’m a firm believer in never burning bridges. So I bit my tongue, told my manger how much of a pleasure it was working there and how much I appreciate the experience, yadda, yadda. He asked where I was going and I was straight up with him. Told him I was going to be a truck driver. The look on his face was priceless! Sort of like a “why in the hell would you ever want to do that?” look, but at the same time I could tell he didn’t want to come out and say it. So he just said ”Well, good luck with that” to me in a snotty tone. Needless to say, just like most corporate gigs, I was walked out of the office almost immediately, even though I offered to work through next week. Good riddance! It feels so awesome to be out of there, but pretty scary at the same time. Now I really have to concentrate on my finances. CDL training is 4 weeks long and then who knows when I’ll start working at a trucking company? Could be a few weeks after that before an orientation date starts. One piece of advice I got was to file for unemployment. Yes, I left on my own terms, but filing for unemployment is free and there is no penalty if you get denied. So why not give it a shot? Hopefully, if I qualify, they will pay for my CDL training as well (or at least some of it). You have absolutely nothing to lose by filing for unemployment.
A bit of good news though. The day after I quit my office job I got a call from one of the trucking companies I really like. I officially got a pre-hire! For those of you who don’t know, a pre-hire is basically an offer for employment on the condition a CDL-A license is successfully obtained through an approved CDL driving school (any state accredited school works for this company). So as long as I get through training and obtain my CDL, I’m in! Don’t wait until you already have your CDL to apply. Start applying early and get that pre-hire!
I have to admit, during this economy, I was a little nervous about finding a truck driving job. But I haven’t even started my CDL training yet and already have a job offer! How cool is that?? While this is definitely the company I want to go with, I’m going to continue applying to other companies and obtain more pre-hires. I’ll even be applying to companies I don’t really like. I just want to plan for a worst case scenario and have several options, just in case.
So you may be wondering what the interview and everything was like? It was simple. I filled out an online application via their website, then called a recruiter about a week later since I didn’t hear anything back. She asked me a few questions over the phone. The ones I can remember off the top of my head are:
- Have you ever been convicted of a felony?
- Have you ever been arrested for a drug or alcohol charge?
- What is your driving record like? Any tickets? DUI’s? Reckless driving?
- Where do you live?
That’s about it! I wasn’t asked why I wanted to get into truck driving, why I want to work for their company, what my plans are in 10 years, my strengths and weaknesses…none of the questions you’d really expect in a typical interview. All they really seem to want to know is if I meet all of their basic qualifications. Simple enough!
Since I spoke with the recruiter just before Christmas, she said to call back the first or second week of January as she was going to be on vacation. They needed some time to verify my employment history, criminal record, etc. She ended up calling me last week to let me know I’m pre-hired. For those of you who are worried about the economy and finding trucking jobs, stop worrying about it. The recruiter was disappointed I wouldn’t be done with training for another month. She said they need people and they need them now. Apparently they have “no empty trucks” right now and are staying “very busy” and “hurting for drivers.” If you’re going OTR, you’ll be fine. Drivers are still needed out there, contrary to what many online trucking forums will tell you. We even have a couple articles that talk about how job losses in the economy will not hurt truck drivers and how layoffs in trucking will not hurt your chances of finding work in the trucking industry.
And if you still don’t believe me, take a look at the tons of truck driving jobs we have on the site!
On Monday I’m going in for my DOT physical. I’ve been looking around online and haven’t found much info on this, so I’ll be sure to write about it in full detail on Monday evening or Tuesday. So be sure to check back early next week so you can see exactly what the physical entails.
I also bought an iPhone last week. You may recall in one of my previous blogs that I was trying to decide what phone to get. I was a bit torn between the iPhone and the new Blackberry Storm. Well, after much research, I did end up deciding on the iPhone through AT&T. This phone is freakin’ sweet! There really isn’t any other way to describe it. And the 3G speeds for surfing the web on the phone is lightning fast. So far, reception around my local area has been about the same if not better than my old Sprint service. So I hope that rings true when I’m out on the road. Once I get a bit more experience with this phone and learn all the features, I’ll post up a little review on what I like and what I dislike. But for starters, I can tell you that the iPhone is leading the way for the future of cell phones. I have absolutely no complaints so far about the phone and my jaw continues to drop at the features and available downloadable applications for this phone. I’ve only downloaded a few free applications, but most are no more than 2 or 3 bucks. This thing rocks! Enough said.
Other than that, not too much happening right now. I’ve just been busy wrapping up some loose ends. Had a dentist appointment last week and I’ll be going in for a full physical in addition to my DOT physical. I figure I might as well take advantage of my health benefits before they expire. I’m going to get a passport this week too. I figure it’s something I should have anyway, but especially if the possibility is there for me to travel into Canada while driving.
So I’ll keep you all posted and if you have any specific questions on anything, please either post a comment or feel free to email me at the address listed at the top of the page!
Thanks for reading my blog and until next time, drive safely!
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Grats…wish I didn’t quit my job to go into trucking..I ended up quitting 1 week after I was done with my mentor..had alot of problems with getting lost and crap, had to get towed out of a ditch trying to turn around. Hope you have better luck..I only made $422 in a week, not much considering you work 11+ hours a day. Ended up abandoning my truck clear across the country and took greyhound back..now I’m tasked with the almost impossible..finding another job
Man, that sucks! I sure wish we would’ve known ya before you did that. I’m sorry to hear about that because what you did is pretty much the very worst thing you can do – quit your first job right away and abandon the truck. I’m sorry, but especially in this economy you’re very likely going to have no luck at all finding another job for a long time. I sure wish ya the best of luck though.
IM UNEMPLOYED AN HAD TO CHANGE MY JOB. So I went to my second loving driving. Ive all ways wanted to drive a big gig. But with a family it was hard to get into it. Now that I have to change my in come. I would love to get in to my dream job. But theres a small promblem I need to go to school to get my CDL . And in order to this I NEED TO BE PREHIRED BEFORE I CAN GO TO SCHOOL. The problem is that I live in FLORIDA, and in order to go to school I need to be prihire. And there is not a company down here that will do that . Because there are to many unemployed truckers. The reason to is that dont want a job that takes them OTR. FOR MORE THEN A DAY. am willing to do this, theres just no trucking company that is willing to help. IS THERE SOME KIND OF HELP OUT THERE , TO HELP ME??????
Hi Ronald. I don’t have a master list of companies that hire out of Florida – I wish I did. There’s nothing much you can do other than keep searching the internet for any companies that hire out of Florida, including our truck driving jobs section of the site, and be very diligent about applying to them and calling them back. You should call them each every other day or so until you get someone on the line that can process your application, otherwise it may just sit at the bottom of a pile and never get looked at.
Here’s where you can find truck driving jobs – do a search by zip code and in other cities across Florida to see what companies are hiring in your area.
Hi there, I have a question re: School & the Pre-hire. My husband has been accepted to the school & also “pre-hired” by a company; I think that’s what it is, he filled out an online application, got an email asking that he fill out a paper application, team driver agreement, past DOT drug screens & an orientation checklist/fact sheet to fax back. Given this, he is very nervous that he will not actually be hired by the company once he finishes school (there’s a student loan that will need a cosigner). Any info/thoughts/suggestions regarding this process will be MOST appreciated. Thanks!
Pre-hires have been known to fall through from time to time so you want to get as many as you can – at least 3-5 to be safe. If you can get 3-5 pre-hires, then you know you’ll have no problems whatsoever finding work after school and you can be confident about taking the plunge and going for it! Best of luck!