New to the board... and a question or 2
First post here... I've been reading this forum for a few weeks now and finally got around to registering, so this is kind of an intro post, kind of a background post, and kind of a question post.
Anywho, I'm 26 and from central pa, just got my cdl back in june after graduating from a pretty good local school. After that I moved to a bigger city and started working for a Linehaul company for a few months until I fell down some wet stairs outside of work and hurt myself. Now my position was union, on call and considered casual/temp. After I fell I needed some time off to recoup and the people I spoke to with the company were cool with that. Well apparently I spoke to the wrong people, and after 2 weeks I was ready to be put back on the list to be called. Well after not getting work or called for a few days, I got a letter stating that I was fired. Long story short, after going through some stuff and trying to get unfired/appeal, the firing was final.
Anyways, no real hate towards the company, I should have taken it upon myself more to make sure my time off was ok with someone that had more status in the company and I should have documented my injury better.(I didnt have much money or health insurance at the time, so I didnt go see a doc or anything, just used heat pads and stuff on my own and nursed it back myself, pretty dumb, I know.) So after messing up with that, I now consider that a huge learning experience on what to do and not do with injuries and employers and what not.
So after 2 months of training and then working with that company for 3 months, I came into some money and decided to take some time off. I wanted to take some roadtrips and what not and go see some family I havent seen in a long time. So on my trips I also stayed with these people and helped them do stuff around the house, even some remodling. After a few weeks I even helped one of my old roommates move across country.
The thing is with a break like this, its easy to let it go on and on, and before I knew it, I was going on 4 months and getting close to xmas without working. Eventually my money supplies were starting to dwindle so I began looking for work again. It was now after xmas and I then realized how alot of hiring slowed waaaay down after the holidays.
So anyway, here I am, applying for jobs with 5 months unemployment and a firing in my job history. I would really like to get on with an OTR company. At first I didnt think I would like that kind of lifestyle at all, but after reading about it and visiting this board, it actually appeals to me. After researching a bit and realizing that most good companies around here want 1+yr of experience, I'm about to start applying to some of the big name OTR companies to get that experience. This board has helped alot and given me a ton of info to run with.
But anyways, how screwed do you all think I am for finding a decent job with 5months unemployed and a recent firing? My driving record since 16 has been flawless as well as my criminal record. If anything I have definatley learned from all of this. I have learned that setting goals and planning go a long ways.
(probably going to be a huge wall of text, my apologies)
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