Local experience that's needed?

Hi guys,

I was wondering if I decide to stay doing the local job I'm doing with Werner, how much experience do I need before I can go to a better local company? I see Ozark, Swift, Estes, Conway, Saia, and Old Dominion all have daycabs running around my area. Some of them are actually paid by the hour, rather than by the mile like I'm being paid.

 

How long have you been with Werner? Most local jobs usually want 1-2 years experience, but if they need drivers, they may take someone with less experience. IMO, it doesn't hurt to apply to local jobs you are interested in...

 

I was hired with Werner in October of 2012. I was out with my trainer for about 8 weeks or so OTR on a Reefer/T.C.U. account, completed training on December 14th.. and then I was came back to Memphis to start work on Monday, December the 17th at the local drop yard in West Memphis, AR. I've been doing local ever since..

 

I talked to swift last year they refused to give me a locale route told me I needed to put my time in with their company before they would allow me to have such a nice privalige I laughed and hung up

 

normally a LTL company will hire with little experience. I was hired at CWF for no experience but just a license. UPSF wouldve hired e at 5 months but if you have any tickets(including parking) they wont hire you. ABF wouldve taken me too and put me in their driving school but Its a two year contract you have to sign with them which I didnt want to do, plus They were over a hour away.

YRC took me with only 8 months experience... RIght now if your close to a big terminals that needs road drivers they will hire yu with a beating pulse. Estes wants two years but when I had applied (before YRC) the terminal manager, said I didnt have the experience they wanted but see what they could do. About 3 months later when I had just started at YRC they called me for an interview, but I was already at a job so I gave it up. I lucked out too because that terminal closed down since it belonged to UPSF and they didnt renew the lease with estes as they decided to reopen it for themselves

 

I applied at my LTL carrier as a linedriver with ZERO otr experience. Nothing is guaranteed, except for one thing: If I didn't say to myself "what the hell, why not give it a shot", I definitively would not have my job right now. It NEVER hurts to ask. If you don't try, you definitively wont get it. Good luck.

 

What you are saying, cannot be stressed enough. How many folks fail to get the job they want, because they don't get off their butts and TRY! What is the worst that can happen? You get told "you don't have the experience yet, here is what we need. . ."

 

I applied at six companies. Got three solid "NOs", two no responses, and the last one said: "yeah sure, when can you start?". Was worth every bit of my two hours filling out applications online.

Edit:

Check your local area on CraigsList under the "Transport" section. LTL companies have postings there. That is how I got my job. Also if you can't find them on there, look for terminals with daycabs in their yards, then look them up online to see if they have job postings.

Here is a thread I started way back then.

 

Put in the applications everywhere. I have friends driving for Saia and Estes and the jobs are great. Also try Miller Transporters. You can cover more companies starting with online applications. It cannot be stressed enough, ignore the "experience required" and apply if you like the company. I've posted before, I once worked for a tanker/hazmat company that "required 3 years tanker experience", but sometimes hired new CDL school grads.

 

A few of those companies require a doubles endorsement.I think Old Dominion requires 2 yrs otr exp.Not doing so well as a net ops driver huh.Gee imagine that.Does'nt matter what kind of driving you do with Werner,no check is good enough.