Stevens Transport

Typically, the drug screen and physical are on day 2. However, I would prepare for it to be on day 1 just in case. You never know, they might condense things a bit because of the lost day for Memorial Day. What I did the morning of the drug screen and physical was this- I hydrated well for several days (I usually drink lots of water anyway). I didn't have any cokes or anything with caffeine or sugar from about 5pm the day before. The morning of, I ate nothing, and drank only water. I urinated right when I got up, about 430am. I then drank 1-1/2 SMALL bottles of water. You don't want to drink too much because it will dilute your urine and you will either fail the test or they will make you stand there and retake it with an observer. We had one guy who they flagged for his urine being too clear. He retook the drug screen with an observer in the bathroom watching him to make sure he wasn't cheating, and it was still too clear. They eventually passed him, but he had to explain himself to the company doc. Once you take that leak first thing when you wakeup, try to hold it if you feel like you have to go again. Your pee test is the first thing of the morning. Mike will come into the class and ask for half of the class to volunteer to go first if they have to go to the bathroom. If you don't feel a need to go I suggest you wait, it will only be about an hour more until they call the second half of class. If at anytime you think you're about to burst holding it, speak up and they will walk you downstairs and put you in the front of the line. They are pretty accomodating. Just understand that once they alert you that you are going to take a federally required drug test, you are not allowed to leave the room, drink anything including water, or go to the bathroom. That's the law. Just be patient and courteous. Oh, and whatever you do do not flush the toilet when you take the test!! The nurse will tell you this, but she doesn't make a big deal of it. It is very easy to forget. I accidentally flushed the toilet out of habit and as soon as I pushed the handle down I yelled "oh sXXX!!" She laughed and said she could tell I wasn't trying to cheat the test because of my immediate reaction, so no big deal. However, if you flush they can either fail you or make you do it over.

Also, if you smoke or dip, definitely refrain the morning of the test. One shot of nicotine can raise your BP levels by 20 points! I don't smoke but I do dip on occasion, so I made sure not to have any tobacco that morning.

The reason I chose not to eat anything is because they use the drug test to check your blood sugar levels. If you eat anything, even if it's not sugar, it can get converted to a sugar in your body and raise your level. I stayed off the caffeine because it raises your blood pressure. You would not believe how much just a coke or a cup of coffee can raise it in a short time period. I have been charting my BP for a couple of months in preparation. It's wild...I was initially quite borderline high. I was a big coke drinker. Several a day minimum. I noticed that as I cut down on the cokes per day, my BP got better and better. After two months of doing this I have now been completely off coke (maybe one every three days now) for several weeks. I checked my BP yesterday and I was 118/68. I am now regularly in that range. It is truly amazing to me that just coke can do that to your body.

Once the test is over if you're like me you will be starving or needing a smoke. As soon as you do the test they will let you hit the roach coach or the break room and get something to eat or go outside to have a smoke. It's just a few hours of being hungry or having a nicotine fit and I can do anything for a few hours. It's worth it to have the peace of mind knowing you did everything in your power to be in good shape to pass.

 

boog and big you guys have been such great help to me in the last few weeks .I wish both of yall the best of luck, And man thanks for the tip on not drink soda i need to cut back big time start drinking water more.Im not sure what my blood pressure is but im not a vary big guy im 180 poundes 5 ,10 in alright shape ive started my work out plan yesterday and rode my bike for 8 miles and today i played basketball for 2 hours, boog if you can do you think that the dimmissed charge i have will affect me from going to stevens?

 

As far as the hiring interview-

You will do this the morning of the drug screen and physical. They start taking people for the interview as soon as some are done with the drug screen and while they're waiting to see the doctor. It is not really an interview in the usual sense. You just go and sit down with Janice. She has your file with the apps and forms you've filled out. She has already gone through it with a fine-tooth comb and has highlighted areas that are left blank that need to be completed. She will also go over your work history with you to make sure you have all the dates correct as best you can. If you leave people off the contact or reference list, she will ask you to put something down. It isn't really a big deal. It is the company's way of assisting you to make sure you have everything as complete and accurate as possible so that you pass the background check. It is also your last chance to make any alteration or to fill in any info you may have ommitted. She will ask you things like, "now, is this the only moving violation you've had?" Or, "you were unemployed during this gap of time and you can prove it?" It is their way of mildly pressuring you to list things you might have left off that you didn't want them to know. Trust me, if you leave off a job because you got fired or whatever and there is a gap of work history you list as unemployed, they will catch you. Some credit reports list your work history. They catch people up on this. Students or new hires think if you don't tell them they won't know about work history, but I have heard of people who have been caught omitting or lying. If you get caught, you're toast. You will be terminated on the spot the minute they find out. It just isn't worth it to omit or lie. They are very understanding, and they know that some people have had jobs who had XXX-holes for managers. It's doubtful they would hold something like this against you. When they do background, from what I understand, they just verify with the company you worked for that the start and end dates are pretty close to what you've listed. The weekend before class started I was going over some documents and my resume to take with me to class and I realized that I had mistakenly listed the start and end dates of a previous job incorrectly. I had gotten the months correct, but I had listed the wrong year. I explained this to Janice and it was no big deal. She just had me cross out the wrong dates and rewrite the correct dates and intitial it. They are very good about helping you to succeed at Stevens. They do not want you to fail for something silly.

 

Just make sure you list it and be honest. There is a space on the form where they require you to explain any criminal arrests or driving infractions/accidents. If, as you claim, you have the paperwork from the court that shows the dismissal, I very much doubt it will be a problem. If it were going to be a problem, I don't think you would get approved in the pre-hire process and they would bother with you coming to class. Stuff like that on your initial application goes straight to the Safety Director for his approval. Anything criminal or on your MVR goes to him. He has already seen it if you got the pre-hire, and he is the one that will make the decision once you are there. If you haven't already, I would make darn sure they knew about this before you show up. If they know before you show up and they still gave you pre-hire approval, you're probably good to go.

Just go to class with the understanding that they have not hired you until after you do the interview with Janice and they do your background check. If you are still in class at the end of the first week, from what I understand you have passed the background and are good to go. All that would trip you up past that point is not passing your CDL or doing something stupid that would get you fired. One more thing, and this goes for everybody. You have to understand that this trucking world is affected by the lowest common denominator. They have a lot of idiots show up that got the pre-hire approval. This is like dating. You have been invited to go on a first date. They have not asked you to marry them, just as you wouldn't ask a girl to marry you that you had never seen. They want to lay eyes on you and observe how you deal with minute to minute change of plans and adversity. They want to know that when you're out on the road all alone they can count on you to make intelligent decisions with their $100K worth of equipment. They have a very low tolerance for that lowest common denominator in class and in the truck. They will yell at you, they will talk down to you, etc. They are used to dealing with idiots. They kind of assume everyone there is an idiot until they prove otherwise. You will think some of them are axx-holes. They really aren't. They are just weeding out the dead weight. We had guys in the class constantly complaining and whining about sitting and waiting and stupid policies and such. They observe all of that and trust me it goes into their decision to hire you. If you are late more than once to class, they notice. Especially on the first two days. DO NOT BE LATE! They despise tardiness more than just about anything other than lying. That is why they go over your app and your forms so many times. If you lied on the app do they really want you as an employee? Most people don't understand that it's not just about the fact that they were previously fired from a job or had a few tickets. Those don't help, but it is made worse when people try to hide such things. Nobody wants to hire a liar or cheat, or someone who is constantly late for work. Just treat your presence there like a job you really want, be smart, don't whine and you will be fine.

 

Yea boog thanks man. Im ready for tomm, excited to see what all goes on. Just ready to get the physical over with. Yea my only thing was im wasnt sure on the months of one of my old jobs. Thats when i had to send them three refrence letters, bc of a 5 month gap in my employment. So i should be good on that. Ill just explain that to janice. If there is anyting else u can think of boog that i need to know let me know. Thanks bro for everything.

 

If anyone is here at the h0tel message me, so we can meet up.

 

hey boog thanks man for your info right now im unemployed doing my own thang mowing grass becuse when i first moved to ohio 3 months ago there wasnt any jobs for me, so i put flyers out for yard clean ups and mowing, soo i can get letters from a few people i cut there grass, and before that i worked with handdy cap kids and at autozone for a few years i hope that is good enough for stevens ,ill find out tommorow when i call. thanks again.

 

If I were you, I wouldn't just say I was mowing grass and doing yard cleanup. Make it more formal sounding. Say you had your own landscape company. Maybe even spend a few bucks and get some cards made, then have your clients sign something using that company name for your landscaping business to show that you had a job, as opposed to doing odd jobs. I would make it a formal company and just getat least 3 reference letters from clients. More than 3 is better.

 

right on thanks for the insight ill do that, will it matter if it wasnt on the books?

 

also,if you are collecting unemployment,a letter from your state labor dept.will work