Profile For BushWheeler

I wish I would've seen this earlier! I just went through their refresher program and was talking to some of the guys who were processing into the lease purchase program. Anyway, I haven't even been to orientation yet, so I'm not going to have a wealth of experience with the company, but I will be a company driver soon enough, and might be able to find out info for you in the coming weeks.

In all actuality, the school(Hinds) where the refresher program(or at least part of it) is located, is actually in Raymond, MS, which is a little bit outside of Jackson. I don't have the full details on that yet, I just know that their training academy is at that school, and that I had to apply to the school in order to complete my file.(It was a simple process)

I got the good news today and am really ecstatic! It took over two weeks to get approved, and I feared the worst, but the issue is that there was some mixup where they faxed the wrong branch office for my current job in order to verify my reference. I really can't determine on which end the mixup started(KLLM or my current job) but I appreciate that my recruiter didn't give-up on me and got to the bottom of things. The place I work now has a home office in a different city, and I work in a branch office that's elsewhere, so it's easy to see how someone got off course.

They emailed me a "Conditional Offer Letter" that I have to either fax or take a cellphone picture of and email it, and then they're going to get things started. I have a few loose ends to tie up before I can leave, but I will be going to the refresher program at Hinds Community College in Jackson, Mississippi.

I only applied to two jobs because I didn't want to have an endless soup of sales pitches swirling around in my head, so I just decided to research every potential company ahead of time, and made a Pro/Con list for everyone, and would apply to them one-by-one. I did apply to a second company just in case when the process seemed to stall at KLLM. Basically, what can be learned from this is to call your recruiter if you go a few days without hearing any information. I could've saved myself probably a week of anticipation if I had done so. Back when I first went to trucking school, I did things the other way where I applied everywhere, and I really enjoyed the simplicity in how things played-out this time.(Although, these days, and even on this site, you can apply to numerous companies at once, so that's an easier option than it used to be.)

Right now, I'm guessing that Monday March 21 will be my first day. They said if I returned the signed offer within the next day or so, I could start this coming Monday, but like I said, that's too soon because I have prior loose ends to tie up.(I'm finishing up grad school requirements.)

I'm thrilled that this day is finally here. I did mostly Class B straight out of trucking school back in 2003, and left the industry to get the college thing "out of the way." (I'm not a traditional-aged student as you've probably figured out) I chose KLLM because I knew I needed a refresher, and I liked their training philosophy. You get six days of a refresher, then, hit the road with a trainer for six weeks. I know all of the negative mojo floating around about how the trainer might just be there to "exploit" students to get team miles, but I don't really care about that, I'll just be glad to have a more experienced driver within an earshot if situations arise that I need assistance with.

I lived an extremely minimalistic lifestyle(outside of student loans) and I don't have to be one of the drivers who plays employment carousel chasing every extra cpm. I just want to work for a company where I'm happy, am treated like somewhat of a human being, and enjoy my job to some degree. I intend to stay at KLLM as long as I feel those needs have been met. Thank you for reading my thoughts, and I'll be glad to update my progress if it's helpful to anyone.

Question for you road veterans.

I know that every place has its own protocol, but can you give us rookies some idea of how it usually transpires once you pull up to a shipper/receiver? An example of what I'm looking for is

"If it's at a large warehouse/distribution center, you check in with security, who directs you around to the shipping/receiving office. You park off to the side somewhere, and bring your paperwork inside. You hire lumpers at this time if you're going to be using them. Then, you contact your dispatcher to know you've arrived. ETC ETC"

Everything I said may be out-of-order, but in your experience, what seems to be the common protocol for picking up and delivering freight?

UPDATE: I finally got through to the original company I applied to. The process was being held-up by the fact that my current employer has not verified my employment. The trucking company I applied to has been faxing them for almost two weeks and haven't gotten any response. HOWEVER, they've been faxing the wrong branch office, so there's been a clumsy logistical tango going-on. Hopefully, this will get cleared up next week.

Western Express is out. They won't hire drivers from my area. It's starting to look kind of grim right about now, but we'll see what the few companies left that will potentially hire an inexperienced non-student have to say. I might actually have to move to another state just to get a few more opportunities.

I'm 45 and am single with no kids so it may be right up my alley.

This is what I'm thinking too because I'm in the same situation, except I'm 39. People in our position are generally outsiders looking in to begin with, so the trucking lifestyle sounds like a really good fit for us. One of the top complaints people have about trucking is being away from home, and that's not really an issue for us. At the very least, we'll be able to avoid one of the things that causes most truckers stress, thus, we can proceed with optimism. I'm new here too, so welcome aboard!

So got an e-mail from my recruiter (she is working from home she is sick) Still no word from the investigation team.......Man I was really hoping to start Monday(3-7-2016) But if she doesn't hear from them I will have to wait until the 14 if they approve me. In the mean time I am going to put in applications at Prime(will have to see if "old salty dog" is still cool with me using him)USA, CR England, CRST, PAM, and Stevens Transportation. for now I will just drink my tea and wait and see.

I definitely feel your pain here. My philosophy, is I wanted to apply with one company at a time so as to keep my mind clear and not get overburdened with having to make decisions in the heat of the moment. I figured that I would apply to my favorite, then, if that didn't work out, go to my second favorite, and so on. The first company I applied with seems to have dropped off the face of the planet(I get put on perma-hold when I try to call them.) I applied with a second one last night, and haven't heard from them yet. I'm in a position to where I don't even really care about getting home time, and I live a minimalistic lifestyle and don't have to make a ton of money, I'm just ready to get on the road, get some experience, and take-on the trucking lifestyle. I know people say that hiring is slow this time of year, but I may start applying to one company per day because from where I stand, it's more important for me to get started than to sit around waiting for my top few choices to get it out of granny gear.

Especially if you're looking for an entry-level company to get trained and obtain your CDL. One of the reasons being, it is unlikely you will be able to obtain a HazMat Endorsement and TWIC card - which most companies require.

Pardon my ignorance, but is this a new policy? Back around 2005, I worked for a Class B company, and all we did was Hazmat(liquid chlorine, muriatic acid, etc). We had a RSO who worked for us, and I know for a fact that he had a Hazmat because I was training with him when we got stopped at a weigh station. I don't know about the policies for TWIC cards, but unless some new policy has been implemented, a Hazmat might still be possible. Like you said though, most companies require both, so I'm not sure how that would play out.

I got my CDL in 2003, but I went Class B right out of school, and left the industry a few years later, so I'm still a total rookie from an OTR standpoint. I don't have a trucking job right now and am playing the waiting game too(with two companies) so I know exactly the type of fun you're having. It's hard to focus on anything else, isn't it? Good luck with Swift. I have them on my short-list too. Keep us informed on where you stand. If you get hired and I'm still waiting, it'll feel good to at least know that other people are getting removed from the anxiety-inducing limbo that is waiting for unfinished business to work itself out. lol