Looking for a new job is never a pleasant experience. There are a lot of things to manage, and you may end up spending a long time on the market, waiting for the right thing to come around. But in the world of HGV driving, this isn’t quite so common. There is still a huge demand for qualified HGV drivers in haulage firms, so you might not have a problem finding roles to apply for. But if you want to make sure you’re a shoe-in for the job, you might need a little extra prep. So today, we’ve got a few tips for you.
You only get one chance at a first impression, so make sure yours counts. That doesn’t start at the interview – it actually starts before that. When you’re looking for jobs to apply for, make yourself a shortlist of the ones you’re going to reach out to and do some research on them. Visit their website, look up some of their employees, read their blog, and find out what you can about their goals, their ethos and about the company in general. Note down some questions to ask if you get an interview. Then, fill in their application/send your CV, and if you can, include a unique cover letter for that company. When you get an interview, make sure you’re presented properly, in clean clothes and freshly groomed, armed with the questions you noted down earlier. All of these things may seem small, but they add up and create a great first impression for your interview.
You might think that being a HGV driver means you don’t have to do a lot of writing. After all, you load, you drive, you unload, and you repeat. But during your daily work, you will be expected to fill in reports, sign documents, write up incident reports and generally be able to read, write and speak fluent and understandable English. In today’s digital world hand-writing isn’t something we do a lot of, so grab a pen and paper and practice your written English! Your handwriting needs to be legible, and your spelling and grammar need to be good (but not perfect). You might also want to practice some alternatives to swearing, and familiarise yourself with some of the lingo of the HGV and logistics world in preparation for your interviews.
Then, of course, you need the most important bit. You need to get yourself trained and qualified to be an HGV driver. This means you need to find and instructional school and go through their driver training programmes, with the Driver CPC being an absolute essential. Once you have that, you can look into the different categories of HGV license you might want to take, and how each would help you in the world of work. The more licenses you hold, the more attractive you are likely to be to an employer, so choose wisely. If you’re not sure, ask your instructor and they will be able to give you some guidance.
At The LGV Training Centre, we work with people just like you, helping you take the right steps to make a career as an HGV driver. Our expert trainers are on hand to help give you the training you need, support you through your interview and into your very first roll. To find out more, or to book onto one of our training courses, just get in touch with the team today.