Had My First Talk With A Recruiter This Week.

A recruiter for Roadmaster trucking schools called me. She walked me through how new students become truck drivers through their program. She talked about how students receive loans, go through the process of getting their CDL , and then go to a job fair after they graduate where prospective employers interview them. She even told me how employers often pay the loans owed back once the graduated driver becomes employed.

But there's the thing. The whole phone call felt rushed. I told her that I was working retail and how I didn't want to leave my current employer to embark on a new career path until after the holidays. I'm not undecided about becoming a truck driver mind you. I'm just undecided on how I want to go about it. I conveyed this to her as well. She asked if there was any way for me to get weekends off from my current employer so that I could go through some school and get it out of the way. I told her once again that I worked retail, and my employer will not let me have weekends off; especially during the holidays. She told me that she wanted me to call her back by the end of Friday (today) with a decision. This way, she would know "what to do with my file".

What should I do here? I don't want to make Roadmaster believe I'm not serious about a trucking career. And I don't want to burn that bridge to a career if I need to take it. But I am still at the very beginning of my research on which companies and schools to consider. I don't want to jump into a decision on Roadmaster without considering my other options. I certainly don't want to leave my current employer during its busiest time of the year, because that will look bad to companies I want to apply for "You left your last employer during its peak time of the year, how do we know you won't leave us high and dry during ours?" I am afraid of whats going to happen if I just ignore this recruiter entirely because if I finally decide that I need to go through Roadmaster to get my career started, I don't want them to say "We reached out to you before and you brushed us off. How do we know you are serious this time?"

Please help. As always, thanks in advance for any advice. It is greatly appreciated.

Hey Travis, don't sweat it. Roadmaster has a series of schools around the country and it's a great place to go. But there's no hurry. Whenever you're ready to begin they'll be ready for you. Recruiters are always trying to get you to commit as soon as possible and get going. They're salespeople, basically, so they're trying to land the sale. That's all.

Just take your time and look around. Be honest with the recruiter and let them know your plans. If you're going to wait til after the Holidays, then so be it. They'll be just as happy to have you then as they are now.

I think you are unnecessarily worrying about the recruiter. You are in retail, so you know how to close the sale. The recruiter is paid to close the sale and today is the end of the month. The recruiter is trying to make or exceed her number.

If you are straight with them and explain you are currently weighing all of your options (including Roadmaster) and you will contact them after the holiday season, I doubt they will think anything less of you or question your intent. This is a big deal, a life changing career decision. You decide the pace you want to move at, not the recruiter.

In the meantime there are a variety of options to consider for schools, links below:

Truck Driving Schools

How To Choose A School

Company-Sponsored Training