A Newbie CDL's Adventure in The West Texas Oil Fields.........

OK, this is "How I Got a Job In the West Texas Oil Fields (WTOF) as a Newbie CDL" - Part Deux.

This is the final installment on how I got my job, later this week, I will address "Life in The Man Camp" and

"What My Job Entails on a Day-to-Day Basis", or "Why Do I Have To Go Kill The Rattlesnake Just Because I Am the Newbie"

I think that my previous post covered most of the pertinent information, opinions, and suggestions, on how to find a job in the WTOF - except for perhaps the most salient suggestion/opinion which follows at the end of this post.

The bottom line is that there is no "right way" to find a job, the right way is whatever works out for you. If you live close to the WTOF, or if you can afford to relocate, or visit for a few days, by all means drive on over. Yet, I would still suggest that you take the time to first apply on-line prior to coming over. Get your ghost in the room before your body arrives.

How about networking, or guerrilla networking in my case? Many of the WTOF firms pay their employee a bounty for any driver that they recruit. So, when I was doing my job search on site, I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at the area truck stops. I would ask any driver that I saw if their outfit was hiring. Most were very receptive and gave me leads - several said, "Let me give you my Supervisor's number, and if they hire you, please tell them that I sent you." They wanted that bonus.

The biggest challenge that anyone might encounter in latching on with any trucking job is "Are you a convicted felon and/or can you pass a drug test?" When I was asked that the first couple of times by prospective employers; I was a little taken aback. I have never been arrested, I drink but have never had a DWI (I have slept it off in my car a time or two), and yes I can pass a urine, hair, or blood drug test, pick one.

The Supervisor that hired me said that he only had one reservation in hiring me, I said, "What is you reservation", He said, "The last 3 guys that I hired from your home state all assured me that they had no criminal records, when they arrived, we found out that they were convicted felons, we had to let them go before they even started." I said, "Great, statistically, I am the one who can pass a drug test and does not have a criminal record - I am the 25% that you have been looking for." The Supervisor laughed and said come on down.

The best bit of advise that I can give you is............. -- IF YOU WORK AT IT, I

n

 

Silly me, LOL, I accidentally hit the send button just I got to the important part, no I did not do that for dramatic effect, it was a fat fingered typing accident.........

The best bit of advise that I can give you concerning a WTOF job search is............. - IF YOU WORK AT IT, IT MIGHT WORK; IF YOU QUIT, IT WILL FAIL!

I applied to some 25 outfits on-line without a nibble. I came to West Texas and went to a Job Fair, went door-to-door, hit the truck stops, plus Craigslist, the local paper, the state employment agencies plus a host of other web sites that concentrate on work in the WTOF. And, Nothing. Not a nibble, not a bite.

And I still did not quit! I kept calling and emailing the outfits that I had heard or felt I stood the best chance of hiring on with as a newbie.

Plus, I had a job offer as an OTR Tanker driver and my attitude was, "OK, I'll do 6 months of OTR Tankers then hit the WTOF again." It did not come to that. I got a call (actually two calls) and both wanted to know when I could report for training.

My point is, the take away here is that I did not give up. I lost faith, I figured it would not happened for me, and yet I did not give up, I did not stop trying. And, that is what really got me a job in the WTOF.