Not really a newbie, But...

I was in the same boat. I had not driven for anybody in 13 years. I found a guy in the neighbor town. I went in in person and talked to the guy and he sent me out to drive with one of the guys. I got the job. They don't deal with the dac, never asked for a reference and just a hand shake sealed the deal.
I almost went with Central to get my foot back in the door. They startd me out at 40cpm and a 2013 truck and trailer. I am still in the honey moon phase, but things are going great and I am loving it. I got 10,000mls the first month. A couple local days and several days/ nights at home.

Go beat the bushes out there.

 

Similar situation to mine. Drove OTR as a company driver and L/O back in the nineties. No one would hire me due to the lack of recent experience claiming insurance was the problem. I went with Swift, who offered a refresher course in lieu of their school in Millington. Basically, 3 days orientation and 240 hrs with a trainer. I've been pleasantly surprised by the experience so far. Yea, the pay is low, but increases quickly and there are plenty of miles to be had. You could get a year there and then go wherever you want.

 

Most mega-carriers are going to make you take a refresher course and or go back out with a trainer for a bit. If you are trying to avoid all of this you may want to look into a small, mom and pop company.