Big Let Down!!!

I just got off the phone with a recruiter. I had submitted applications to several companies and hadn't gotten through to any of them on the phone, until this one. After the recruiter determined who I was and what I was applying for (student application), she said my application was DENIED! I said surprisingly, "Denied?" She said, "Yes, we have had plenty of better applications. Good bye!"

Wow! Talk about taking the wind out of your sails! Dare I mention the company???

(And they were sort of on my short list, too!)

Hey, don't give it a second thought. Doesn't mean a thing. There are tons of companies out there and not every one of them is going to hire a driver no matter what the driver's background and all that. So just keep throwing all the applications out there you possibly can and keep moving forward.

Everyone has a ton of ups and downs trying to get their trucking career underway. You're going to be denied employment, do poorly on some tests, meet some people in authoritative positions that are some of the biggest jerks imaginable, come across unfriendly company policies, get sick when you're on the road, and a million other things. Just expect it, deal with each challenge as it comes, and keep moving forward. Don't get discouraged, don't take anything personally, don't doubt yourself, and stay focused on making it happen.

Keep in mind that your goal in the beginning should be to get one year of safe over-the-road driving under your belt. Roll with anything that's going to help move you toward that goal and quickly put anything behind you that isn't.

Without a doubt trucking is incredibly challenging mentally, especially that first year. Stay relentlessly positive, focused, and determined. You'll get there - no big deal. For now, keep on filling out apps and get some opportunities lined up. They're out there. Ya just gotta go get em.

Thanks, Brett.

I still have 2 or three on the short list. From there, I go to the ones that so many people say: DON'T GO THERE!!! You are right. My short-term goal IS to get through that first year without blemishes. You saw in one of my posts that Schneider ended conducting CDL school? That was one of my options. I'll have to prepare myself to go to the companies that many people say to avoid if my short list gets exhausted.

I just got off the phone with a recruiter. I had submitted applications to several companies and hadn't gotten through to any of them on the phone, until this one. After the recruiter determined who I was and what I was applying for (student application), she said my application was DENIED! I said surprisingly, "Denied?" She said, "Yes, we have had plenty of better applications. Good bye!"

Wow! Talk about taking the wind out of your sails! Dare I mention the company???

(And they were sort of on my short list, too!)

Steve don't let it get you down, I'm going to send you a PM on a company you can try.

Steven, Brett said it all when he said don't take it personal. I consider myself a competent professional, someone any trucking company would be proud to have on their team, but I was rejected and sent home from three different orientations that I had been accepted into. I also had several trucking companies tell me that same exact line, "I'm sorry but we had better applicants". So I know the temptation of taking it personal and sort of feeling like they didn't really even give you a chance to prove yourself.

Don't let it get to you. I'm gonna explain something to you that may or may not help, but these recruiters go for the easiest people that they think they can get in without them having to do much extra work at it. They grab the "low hanging fruit" if you will. Your situation is a little trickier than some others in that you are overseas. Our friend Roadkill ran in to this same issue, but he finally started getting somewhere after doing some of the legwork himself that the recruiters weren't willing to do on his employment verification.

Keep plugging away at it, you'll find someone who will get behind you. Don't you even worry about companies that you have heard bad things about. 95% of what you've heard is pure garbage and completely unreliable. I went right through my short list and on to a company that I had a pre-hire from but didn't really want to go there because there was nothing but very negative reviews on them no matter where I looked. I often tell people you would have thought the devil himself was in charge of the company, from the way the reviews sounded. Well I'm sitting in one of their trucks tonight telling you that you absolutely cannot take those internet reviews seriously. Disgruntled people who have ruined their own chances at success seldom, if ever, take a serious look at why they failed. It's always easiest to point the finger at the "greedy inconsiderate trucking moguls" who ruined their chances at having a future in this business. I have been very successful here, because I've chosen to be successful. I understand that my success is measured by my own willingness to make it happen. In this business when you prove yourself you're rewarded.

Don't get discouraged, keep at it. There's an empty truck out there waiting for you!

If you're still interested in Schneider, I believe they are still accepting new graduates within 90 days of getting their CDL and offering tuition reimbursement. I went to school at CR England and after getting my CDL considered Schneider, but went with another company instead as I wanted to be home daily instead of once per week.

Thanks, Old School. Very good advice. I may just go ahead and apply at all those "bad" companies anyway. Some of them are really large and one has to wonder if they are so bad, how do they fill the driver's seat of the many thousands of trucks they have. I think I'll adjust my list of hopefuls to the ones that offer the apprentice program for VETs.

If you're still interested in Schneider, I believe they are still accepting new graduates within 90 days of getting their CDL and offering tuition reimbursement. I went to school at CR England and after getting my CDL considered Schneider, but went with another company instead as I wanted to be home daily instead of once per week.

Now that is interesting. I assumed that if you go with a company sponsored school, you would go to work for them, or they would expect you to work for them. Hmmmmm.....

Now that is interesting. I assumed that if you go with a company sponsored school, you would go to work for them, or they would expect you to work for them. Hmmmmm.....

Several of the Company-Sponsored Training Programs will quote you a price right up front for the training if you just want to get trained there and go work somewhere else. CR England is one of them. I mean, you can train at any of those programs and leave right away to go work somewhere else but you'll have to pay back the schooling. Most people just stick with the company that trained them but that's not the only option you have.

But seriously, Old School is right - ignore the complaints about companies. If you want to know what life is like at a trucking company go to a truck stop and speak with some of their current drivers face to face while they're fueling or walking into the truck stop. Drivers ask each other about their companies all the time so nobody will think anything of it. And most drivers are more than happy to have someone to talk to for a little while after hours and hours of being alone. You'll be absolutely amazed at how positive the drivers are about their companies compared with the reviews you read online. You'll wonder how they could possibly be talking about the same companies.