SAGE graduate still looking for 1st job

[madaxeman]

Hi everyone...I'm a new driver here. I graduate a couple of months ago from SAGE @ Isothermal Community College. I have NO accidents, DUIs, moving violations, criminal convictions, etc. Unfortunately, I haven't worked in almost four years. I am having a problem because of this. I've been laid off of the last several jobs I worked (which is why I decided to go to school for my CDL training). I worked at a place for 5.5 years then was laid off. I worked at another place and was laid off after 9 months. I am still looking for my first trucking job. I greatly appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

***Swift called earlier...I'm not sure about them though. I would like some other options.

[dc6860]

8) Madaxeman,

There are many companies that will take drivers without experience, but you also must be ready to move or go where they want you to go.

Being that you have a cdl already I would suggest that you just apply on this site to all companies that are advertising or recruiting for drivers without experience. As they say, if you throw enough sand against the wall sooner or later some of it will stick??

Good Luck,

DC

[madaxeman]

DC....thanks for the suggestion! I did fill out the CAD application.


What can I do about my employment gap of four years? I know I need some sort of letter. I have been helping my brother. He bought a run down house. I spent a lot of the time sanding and finishing hardwood floors, fixing walls, painting it, digging up overgrown trees and bushes, redoing the yard, etc. I also chauffeured him for over a year because he lost his driver license.

[T * Storm]

DC....thanks for the suggestion! I did fill out the CAD application.


What can I do about my employment gap of four years? I know I need some sort of letter. I have been helping my brother. He bought a run down house. I spent a lot of the time sanding and finishing hardwood floors, fixing walls, painting it, digging up overgrown trees and bushes, redoing the yard, etc. I also chauffeured him for over a year because he lost his driver license.

"Stay at home dad? Sabbatical? Real Estate speculating? Handy man?"

- Just some ideas you may want to try. A few letters of verification from friends should work with Swift and Schneider, and possibly others.

[TomB985]

I don't get it, what's the big deal with being unemployed for awhile? There are all kinds of reasons someone might not work...why do they need to verify this?

[madaxeman]

I don't get it, what's the big deal with being unemployed for awhile? There are all kinds of reasons someone might not work...why do they need to verify this?

I know...it's stupid! I didn't make the law. D.O.T. will fine a company if they don't have "proof" of the last three years...that is why I have been declined for employment from companies I have applied with so far.

[T * Storm]

I don't get it, what's the big deal with being unemployed for awhile? There are all kinds of reasons someone might not work...why do they need to verify this?

Blame the terrorists

[driverboy]

As a newbie take what you can with the short term goggles, fly under the radar and learn the ropes, try not to whack any doors/landing gear etc. (or worse) and then take that experience and go to where you want is my suggestion. Who will take you and where you want to be in a few years is most likely different paths so bite the bullet and take less than your ideal to get rolling!

[choperbob]

i was out of work 5 years, i was under a pshrynks care, they sorta said i was borderlind psycotic behaviour with sever depression, antisocial behaviour, unspecified anxiety and duh ptsd. 5 years aunder a shrink, and am still on meds, wow i just got haz-mat. just explain why and use whatever proof you got that you were not training as a terrorist, seriously a pastors letter, welfare papers, ssd, all work. you really want to drive? then just keep askin what you need to get.

[toner]

are you married? if your wife claimed you as a dependent on your tax records that could possibly be used as verification.

[choperbob]

yes if someone claims you it is verification, it is verification if a neighbor sends a letter saying what you were doing.

[dc6860]

8) Madaxeman,

First of all you have to realize that the information you are getting is only as good as the source it comes from, most people who give advice including myself can only give you in-put on what we have learned in the past as to what works and what dosn't, shop around??..

As I said before in a previous post companies today are now changing the way they have done things if the past not because they want to, but because they have to in order to survive in today??s market.

If I were in your place I would approach finding a driving job from a different position. I would put together a resume of past employment showing steady employment over the past years and then explain why you were off work for that certain period of time. What many people fail to understand is that its not against the law to take time off if you can show how you survived. If you had income from investments or stocks, retirement or maybe your family supported you in a different way, that's ok just explain it, that's what most employers are looking for because they have to explain it to someone else also.

Your entering the trucking market with no experience and that's ok because there are several companies out there that will train you. Just remember not all rules apply to every company so just keep knocking on doors and soon one will open..

DC