Should a Newbie submit more than 1 app.?

That's right, whatever.

 

I had 14 pre-hires before i finished school.

of those 14, i picked the 3 companies i wanted to go with and set up 3 orientations one week apart. remember, nothing is done until it's done. this forum is FULL of stories of people who got to orientation and then got sent home in the first days or week for some reason. at my orientation of 9 people, 5 didn't make it past the first day, 4 students and one experienced driver. the other 4 of us made it through to the end of the week. i wanted to make sure if for some unforseen reason that happened i wouldn't have to start the process all over again and lose/waste time by having something ready to go immediately.

fortunately, my first choice worked out and I didn't need the fall-back plans....but, also made sure to call the other 2 companies that i had scheduled orientations with and respectfully decline the offer to attend their orientation just in case i might need the chance at some point later.

generally, the training period is still just a 4-6-8 week or however long interview and it isn't done until they say "congratulations, welcome to xxxxx company".....keep that in mind......i did 6 weeks training and it wasn't until AFTER i passed my upgrade road test at the end of that 6 week training period that they said "you're hired".......

put as many out there as you can you won't go wrong that way

good luck

 

gotta luv the kids that go , "whatever dude",lol can't shoot 'em.

take a company that has tank,flats and vans. you can switch while in the same company and not quit one. having experience in different aspects of trucking is only to your advantage.

I've done all but, "wiggle wagons", double's. don't do any but vans now, too much climbing and work involved in the other.lol getting old, I guess.

 

Apply to everybody that sparks your interest.

Just FYI. Its much easier to switch from a flatbed to a van. But not the other way. Flatbed is much more specialized, and you need a lot more knowledge to do that job. Anybody can pull a van.

 

Wow, and here I thought taking time out to answer newbies questions was giving back after becoming successful.
If I knew what I was doing I would suggest never take advice from anyone that says
Whatever

 

They must have a day in school that teaches these new drivers that you must go to this company and apply on-line like everyone else.

Look, it's your life and you can do what you want. If you think you'll be successful in the industry by following the heard then get in line. You'll be in line with most. OR,

would you think you might be better off if #1 you make a list of priorities of what you want from a company and what type of equipment. #2 you search all the companies you can find in your area and get off the computer and go see them. Even if they say you need to apply on-line there's a chance they can put the face to the application. Also not all companies advertise for drivers and some of the better companies do hire new drivers. How you going to know if you do not go out and see? #3 after you've beaten down the roads going to companies then you start filing on-line and you file to as many as you can. #4 these starter companies could care less about you as a driver. They want you to work for less than a year then move on. Wouldn't you rather find a company that wants their drivers to stay with them?

I would feel much better with myself if after I did find work that I gave all I could to find a good company. There's been a couple of new drivers on here that did go out to companies and they got lucky and found work. The companies they work for do not have a mass of new drivers and the drivers tend to stay at good companies. You'll never find more than just a couple of drivers that have retired from a starter company. And then even so I would ask why. You try to find the companies that keep their drivers and you start learning which ones from the start. So it's up to you, you either put a couple of apps on-line and get in line or you get aggressive and find where you want to work.

 

Yeah, and they don't fit in a microwave oven either!!

Yeah, the "whatever dude", is not even a driver himself, but a recent grad?? And not even working himself???

"whatever" he ain't my problem!!

 

No, actually I wasn't talking about pre-hires. A careful reading of the original would indicate that I submitted a formal application (which, by the way included 3 years of tax returns due to my self employment) and have a "conditional offer" which means, as I stated in the post, that if I pass their physical requirements and drug testing that I would receive a final offer. My question, although apparently not clear enough, was "should one submit formal applications to more than one company?". Is there a downside?

Most responses were very helpful, thank you!

 

Gizmo, you have to admit you do have a bit of an attitude occasionally. You even showed it to me once when I corrected you.