Hi Guys.
I just wanted to post some info on what i think helped me when looking for work after passing my class 2 and looking for that new job.
Please do not think that i am trying in any way to be patronising but i see so many threads on “how to get a job after passing my class 2” i really wanted to try to help anyone possible with some info that may be usefull.
This is what i did.
1, get some cheap smart black work cargo trousers of ebay or similar £9.99.
2, go to Shoezone or similar and get some cheap £9.99 work boots.
3, get a Hi-Viz polo shirt off ebay or similar £4.99.
4, Vista print, get some cheap business cards done, name, address, contact number home and mobile, emial, and i think very important, licence catogory and RELIABLE HGV DRIVER, SAME DAY AND SHORT NOTICE NO PROBLEM.
5, truckers tacho wallet off ebay £5.99 and a few tacho charts and some spare digi tacho paper rolls.
6, CV with as much driving related stuff as possible, (make sure this stands out more than the none driving stuff even if its a van)
This is how i got work.
make sure you got all the above either on or in a bag with some butties and a flask and start driving round the estates.
go to every factory, business, haulage yard etc you can find and make a note in a diary that day where you went, go in to every place you find and find the transport manager, boss, foreman anyone you can and speak to, give them a card, shake there hand, be polite and friendly even if there not friendly to you, ask if the need drivers, do they use agency, can you help on drivers holiday, sickness day off etc. if they say were fine thanks, tell them you always carry your stuff in the car and can drop anything to get to them within 15 minutes if they need it, ask them “DO YOU NEED ANYTHING TODAY? I HAVE MY STUFF AND WILL HELP IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING”
they will say were fine for now 99% of the time but you made an impression.
the most important bit is DON’T GET DISHARTENED
do the same the next day at different location but always write down in your diary when, where and who you spoke to !
on the third day go back to where you went on day one and try to speak to the same person at the same place you saw the last time, remind them that your available and have your stuff if they need anything,
same on day two, same on day three.
This really does sound like a ball ache but you must remember, EVERY BUSINESS YOU VISIT, 4 OTHERS VISIT AS WELL, BE THE ONE THAT STANDS OUT FOR THE RIGHT REASON!!!
Sign on with every agency you can and call them everyday asking for work. be prepared to take anything that is offered, even if its driving a crappy van for £6.50 an hour or whatever minimum wage is now.
the most important thing is DO NOT GET DISHARTENED it will pay off in the end ( i keep saying this but it is so important)
if you visit enough places and speak to enough people, you are presentable, friendly and willing something will come, you will fall on the time when there stuck for a driver and you will get a chance, even if they swap one of there drivers out of his van into a truck and offer you the van to drive, Take it!! and don’t let them down, there will be a driver that rings in sick, you will be remembered cause you went there every couple of days for the past couple of weeks, others just popped in and wernt seen again.
QUESTION? if you were a boss and a newbie driver came looking for work would you shove them into a £100’000 truck■■?
I wouldn’t i would try them out on something cheap that would matter if it got wrecked.
I did the above, within two weeks i got a call from a company that were totally uninterested the first three times i called in ( it was the very first company that i went to), i was offered class 2 work as they had just got a new contract and it was permenant.
when i accepted the job i asked why they had rang me and offered me the job, the boss’s reply was simply “if your gonna bother me every two days looking for work then your keen and i want people who want to work!”
In less than a week i had my regular truck that is now the cleanest on the fleet, and its noticed, and i was offered class 1 work as soon as i passed my class 1.
I asked every thursday and friday if there was any saturday work and after a couple of weeks got everything without asking as they new i would do it when the others wanted there saturday off.
Now i’ve got my experience and gone on to land my dream job with an employer who has a great reputation in the industry and will be getting my very own artic in a few weeks.
Please remember, when you pass your tesy and get your licence the details are not put on a list for prospective employers to look at, if you sit on your arse and wait for the phone to ring i can pretty much garuantee it won’t.
If you want it, go get it !!
Again this is not meant to be patronising or anything along those lines and this is not the be all and end all, I also hope others who have found work will share what and how things worked for them.
If one person can get a start from one peice of advice i have given then this has been worth while and i wish you the very best.
Please feel free to asked for anything and if i can help i will.
Best of luck to every newbie on here, remeber you are the future of trucking when the oldies have gone.
Madguy 
