Suspensions holding me back

Prime....they even take felons.

Don't know but I think you should have checked a little closer on what license suspensions would to do you. Guess you call that the price of learning the trucking industry.

 

You probably will be better off jumping on the first job from a reputable company that comes your way. Waiting until January may fix your suspension problem, but it will cause another problem for you: "no recent experience". This may cause companies to require that you take a refresher course prior to being hired.

 

Two things come to mind as I read your post. First, if you are waiting for any company to call you back after applying, especially Prime, you are in for a long and disappointing wait. In today's trucking industry, the companies are so inundated with applications that they usually don't call people back. I have nothing on my record, and I called Prime everyday for a week before finally getting someone on the phone. I left messages everyday asking for a return call that never came. They simply don't have time to call everyone back. You have to stay on top of them. Not only will you then progress through the process, but it also shows them you are serious and persistent and will do what it takes to get the job.

Second, if you've already gone through CDL school as you've pointed out, if you do not go to work fairly quickly you will have wasted your money. Nearly all the companies that would consider you for employment want to see RECENT experience, or, that you just graduated school. Anything more than about 30-60 days beyond graduation, and they most likely will either not touch you or ask that you go through a refresher at a minumum, and most likely all the way through CDL training again. Sitting out of work for a long period of time after you graduate, even if it's not your fault, raises concerns that you are not qualified to hop in a truck and hit the road with a trainer to most companies. From my research, you need to get hired soon after CDL school or you are in for some reschooling. Ther are literally thousands of people that have their CDL and graduated from a CDL school that can't get or don't have a job. My advice would be to conentrate on companies that have schools or refreshers available. Once you apply, I would be calling them multiple times per day until your recruiter knows who you are when you call. Once you get that far, and they pre-approve you, you should be fairly good to go. They will know your background before they go to the expense of having you come to the terminal. If they have a problem with your background, you'll never get the invite. This is exactly the reason every company pre-qualifies their prospective employees. It reduces the expense of buying bus tickets and spending time and money on people that won't pass muster.

The 3 year window may be up in January for you, but you will be so far removed in time from your CDL schooling that you will likely have to do it all over again.

Apply online, and then get up every morning and get on the phone. Do not quit until you have been assigned a recruiter and that recruiter knows you by name. That is your only chance in today's market. Just my two cents.

 

You're welcome. Just remember-whether it's USA, Prime, or whoever, just stay on top of them and be persistent. Show them you want that job. Good luck!

 

It sure sounds like alot of trouble to get hired on to a lousy company. Your examples only prove my point that schools and recruiters are not there for you and do not work for your benefit. I know for sure if I came out of school I would also be on top of it all but not with recruiters or schools. I'd hit the bricks and try my own luck and get away from these companies that don't care for their drivers.

As the years have gone by and I've increased my pay with better companies I've discovered that the better the company the better they treat you. They know that a good driver is worth something and that driver will make them money not only by driving professionally but acting correctly when or if the time requires.