Newbie Looking for Work

In my experience as a woman, sometimes if they meet you in person, its easier for them to get around the woman thing. On paper its easy to stamp 'declined' and move onto the next guy.
I decided which company I wanted to work for, and phoned the terminal manager. He put me off, and hummed and harred. Finally he agreed to a personal interview. I know he was still hesitant, as this particular terminal had only had one woman on the dock before and she left because of the attitude of the guys to her. So he was worried about introducing a new woman on the dock.
However, with the prospect of having another driver in the future, he agreed. I am well into completing my second year with them, and I am sure they still wonder why I have stuck it out so long! I love the work I am doing and I am happy with where I am.
Anyway, that is my story, and I believe that had I not had a personal interview that I would not be working for this company today.

Good luck with pursuing your driving and finding a company willing to take you and give you a chance.

 

I would check back with the Driving School you went to. They should provide some employment placement assistance.

 

argh! Said the pirate

 

Hello,

I'm scheduled to graudate 1/11/2009 from Roadmaster driving school. I have two pre-hires, and I having a hard time deciding which is the best co.
Stevens Transport or Werner. I haven't heard anything really positive about either company. Please help! Which co. should I choose and why, can anyone help.

 

I have never had a problem getting driving jobs as a female. I started back in 1999, when there were even less women out there then than now. Keep trying, and definitely check back with your school. They should be able to point you in some other directions.

 

Harleymama-

a few details you left out which might have a bearing on your employability:
*Your driving record for the past 10 years
*any criminal history
*And, if you waited too long after school, some of the companies won't take you without a refresher course.

If all of the above are clear, then I got nuthin'

Gailscottj- from what I have seen both werner and Stevens are bottom-rung companies, but I would definately go for Stevens over Werner. Drivers have been waiting weeks after orientation to get their trucks # werner.... then getting wayyy light miles/week # incredibly substandard pay scale.

 

Gail (or Scott?),
Welcome to the board, stick around...don't be a one time poster!

Well IF you had to chose between Stevens and Werner...Id go with Stevens. However, just because those are the only prehires you got, that doesnt mean those are your only choices. Check other large companies as well (if you want to work for a large comp, that is). Many companies arent even hiring...so on ONE hand, its good that you are at least getting some offers.
Either way, Id have a ton of questions to annoy the recruiter with...something you can ask any company you are interested in:
*Pay...is this what you will get or is there something with training pay...etc (you might want to get your pay in writing or something)
*how long will you have a trainer go OTR with you? Pay during that time period?
*How many miles do you expect to get on average (this can be a number they just toss out as bait, keep that in mind).
*when will your pay go up
*do you get paid for various situations like: unloading, deadhead, bobtail, waiting for a load, waiting to be unloaded...etc. Most companies don't pay for all extra stuff so keep that in mind...but if you can find a comp that pays you a bit for sitting around, thats a plus.
*hometime?
*ask questions like maintenance too, how often they get the truck worked on...etc, after all its going to be your responsibility...have some maintenance questions lined up....emergency roadside, regular PM intervals, if your truck breaks down for an extended length of time, will you get a replacement...etc
*are you going to be assigned everything under the sun to haul or are you going to be on a specific board or account, hauling freight you know?
*pets?
*passengers?
*inverters?
and so forth and so on...

 

What is your driving, criminal record like? Not saying your a criminal, but these are some of the things they will deny you for...

 

Harleymama & Ziggystyles,

Thanks Harleymama!
After reading your reply, and talking to several other people I decided to go with Stevens Transport. I heard exactly the same thing about Werner, long waits after orientation. I realize there are other companies out there, but like you said they aren't hiring right now. I narrowed it down to Stevens Transport and Werner, because they are currently hiring. I'll start out with Stevns for now and check into other opportunities at a later date once I get some experience.