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)

Both the firing and gap in employment will likely cause you some problems. However, it isn't insurmountable. My guess is that the gap in employment will cause companies more concern than the firing. I am curious as to what reason they used to fire you? Unless you get back to work very quickly, you may need to go back to school for a refresher before some carriers will accept you. It seems odd that you would have taken so much time off after just starting in a new career. You will need to account for the gap in employment.

I agree with Gman! I don't think that it will be impossible, but I do think that it is going to be tough. More than likely, the companies are going to want a notarized letter stating the days of unemployment and what you were doing during those times. That would probably be enough to take care of that issue. Now the firing, They would probably listen to your side of the story and then get the companies side of the story and decide from there. As far as the experience goes, You are probably going to have to go out with a trainer and all that stuff. The length of time will just depend on the company. You do have some hurdles in front of you but nothing that you can't get over if you just keep after it. BOL2U