Before signing the dotted line

Are you going with a reefer outfit?
If so, plan to be busy year round.

 

In my opinion you are always better off to have picked the company you want to work for before going to CDL school. CDL school is brief and you need to focus on learning, not doing the amount of research you ought to do to find a good company to work for. I would not sign a conditional offer unless I was 100% sure that company is where you want to work and you are willing be be on the road at Thanksgiving.

 

Prospective employers can not do anything to you unless you get paid , period.
If they want to rent you a car or fly you , or rent you a hotel pay out of your pocket and eat the expenses , unless your another starvin.

 

What's a permanent employment record?

Do we really have them or is this still the 1950's?

Look we have a system of employment that is called "at will", what ever you sign is meaningless because you are not working under a contractor's contract or under a personal service contract for employment so if I was offered this, I would say accepted, see you when you are ready to have me start and that's all.

When I make an offer to a driver, it is contingent on their verbal agreement and when they show up, they become an employee or a contractor in my company. Nothing until then makes them an employee or even close to one.

 

NOT signing the conditional letter of employment will make it factually more difficult for the company to claim the OP was hired, if he decides to back out of this company and work elsewhere. I don't see any reason to sign the letter until AFTER he as decided this company is his best option. That's to say if you are not an employee, if you have nothing in writing indicating you intend to work at the company why sign the letter? Is the company not going to hire new drivers 3 weeks from now? Is that company going to have too many drivers? If the OP can wait a week or two without a paycheck, he can afford not to sign the letter. If the OP is not 100% certain this is the company he will work for at the first opportunity, don't sign the letter.

 

I have never been asked to sign either conditional offers I have received (TMC/Roehl). Roehl has me scheduled to start the 28th, so I will be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.