Pre Hire Letter From Melton!
Topic 4664 | Page 1
Nice! Congrats!!!
But don't sit back and let time pass.....there are still things you can be doing to prepare yourself. That time is going to go by quickly.
First of all, you can't count on WIA. You can hope, but hope is not a strategy. So be thinking of a backup plan if WIA doesn't go through which may entail applying to the Company-Sponsored Training Programs if you haven't explored that avenue already.
Also, regardless of where you go to school, you'll want to go through our High Road Training Program before your classes begin. Here's a breakdown of what the course covers:
To Get Your CDL Permit:
- Rules & Regulations
- Driving Safely
- Transporting Cargo Safely
- Air Brakes
- Combination Vehicles
- Pre-Trip Inspection
- Driving Exam
To get your CDL endorsements which are optional but we highly recommend you get:
- Transporting Passengers
- Doubles And Triples
- Tankers
- Hazardous Materials
And two sections we've built ourselves with info you'll need for everyday life on the road but the manual doesn't really cover it:
- Logbook
- Weight & Balance
And lastly, apply like crazy to any company that hires drivers at 21 years old and get more pre-hires if you can. Pre-hires can fall through at any time. They are not a guarantee of employment. They simply say you're qualified to work there and at the moment they believe they will hire you when you're finished with your schooling and CDL testing. We have an excellent article on Understanding The Pre-Hire Process for those who aren't familiar with it.
So stay busy and keep moving forward! I know you have family members in trucking so it isn't an alien world to you. But believe me, there's a whole lot to preparation to be done! Remember, people that are good at something make it look easy. Watching your family members drive over the years probably made it seem a whole lot easier than it is. Unless they were really trying hard to prepare you for a future career as a driver, chances are you were somewhat unaware of just how many decisions they were making and how savvy they had to be to navigate that big rig down the highway.
Go through our Truck Driver's Career Guide if you haven't already. Again, I know this isn't an alien world to you but you want to make sure you're as prepared as possible. Believe me...there's a lot to know!
Pre-trip Inspection:
A pre-trip inspection is a thorough inspection of the truck completed before driving for the first time each day.
Federal and state laws require that drivers inspect their vehicles. Federal and state inspectors also may inspect your vehicles. If they judge a vehicle to be unsafe, they will put it “out of service” until it is repaired.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
Combination Vehicle:
A vehicle with two separate parts - the power unit (tractor) and the trailer. Tractor-trailers are considered combination vehicles.
Doubles:
Refers to pulling two trailers at the same time, otherwise known as "pups" or "pup trailers" because they're only about 28 feet long. However there are some states that allow doubles that are each 48 feet in length.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hires:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Do that High Road Training Program sooner rather than later. Once your in school you won't have too much time. Some (most) trucking schools do assign homework.
Dave
Thanks guys! Yeah I'm going to get on here and do the high road program. I want to know as much as I possibly can before I'm driving a speeding 50,000lb. Truck. Lol. I get so nervous driving beside them, and to think I want to control them.
Yeah if I can't get that financing I will probably have to do a company program. Any suggestions on which company I should do? I don't think Melton does it. A lot of companies won't let me apply because I'm not 21. But I will keep trying to apply! (: thanks for all the help!
Brett, thank you for getting all this together. You have no idea how much of a help this site has been. I hope if its not already gets endorsed or recognized by some of the companies or some of the national trucking organizations. Or schools! Something. Lol.
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Well, I got the pre hire letter from Melton prior to being 21! Which the school needs in order to enroll me prior to being 21! I'm pretty stoked about this. As long as the WIA funding checks out. I'll be in school here come October and on my way to trucking early 2015. :D
Pre Hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.