Age 23, Almost Zero Work Experience. Can I Be Hired?

I am 23 years old and considering starting a career in truck driving. I've been looking over this site for information on the job, what's good and what's not so good, and it sounds perfect for someone like me. I'm more than ready to leave everything I know and get a fresh start with the lonely life, but I have barely any job experience under my belt at all. The last job I had was something akin to a social worker, but that was also a few years ago and the company I worked for isn't around anymore anyway, so good luck putting that on a resume, huh?

Since then I've lived with my parents and done a little bit of self-teaching on computer-related things after quitting college for a while to help with family related-issues. I went back to back to school more than half a year ago, though.

Just this Fall I managed to get a work-study job at the library at my college because I heard that truck companies look for reliability and the setting at the library is very hectic and requires you to adapt and get things done in a timely manner. So, what's going through my head is that would look good to the potential trucking employer, but the job is also only a twice-a-week, 3 hr a day thing, so maybe it wouldn't impress much.

So there's my rather pitiful work/job history. Also I don't know if this is an important detail or not but I got my drivers license during the earlier months of turning 23. Hopefully that wouldnt look bad to a truck company, getting started so late! From experience and knowledge, can anyone make a good guess as to how good my chances are of getting hired if I find a company willing to pay for CDL training and/or a bunch of prehire letters?

Also the page about the prehire process on this site made it sound like companies only look for workers twice a year, and if you don't make the cut then you have to wait 6 months again before trying again. Is that true and if it is, then just out of curiosity, why?

I need to get out and live my life. I've done some dawdling but now I want to get a good start. I hate living with my parents with no money and barely any livelihood when I could be developing some grit out in the real world. I just don't want potential employers to think I'm a lazy but for my sad work history because I have been working very hard lately trying to set things right.

Well first thing that came to my mind is this, and I say this as kindly as possible - you've been a bum for a long time now. I've noticed that for every fault you have in your history/life you've provided an excuse for it. I really would suck it up and not blame anyone or anything else but myself for the lack of getting out of the house and being a productive member of society.

We have all had family related issues in our personal lifes, but not all of us quit what we're doing in life because of it.

Maybe I'm not qualified to give you life advice since I'm only 24, but I come from a family that would have kicked my butt out of the house many many years ago if I had your track record. So I'm kinda left shaking my head, while also applauding your parents for the patience they've had with you.

But, I didn't come here to lecture you and again, I said all the above with nothing but concern and care for you. So here's the part where I actually help you with what you're asking.

Since you just recently got your license you don't qualify for a CDL quite yet. You must have you regular drivers license for a minimum of 1 year to qualify to a CDL. So that automatically disqualifies you as of right now.

What I would do though is get a job as soon as possible. Fast food, warehouse, whatever it takes. But you need employment. Companies ask for your previous 7-10 years of employment history and a lot won't take you from what you have right now so get on it as soon as possible.

Whatever job you get I would keep it and do well at it until you qualify for a CDL. Then I would Apply For Truck Driving Jobs. With that link you can apply to all the companies with just a single application - saves you hours of time. Be completely honest and forthcoming about you past and never lie about anything. If you do, they will find out and that will be the end of you.

As soon as you get a company that interested in you I would attend their Company-Sponsored Training as soon as you can.

If no one takes you then just continue your job and stay there for 6 months before trying again. This may take time so be patient, good luck.

Jack,

Trucking is a hard job that requires commitment and absolute professionalism. I personally don't think your lack of gainful employment at this point will be a huge problem.You have been in college and worked in the library done some off the books work. We have drivers out here that come from overseas ,im not sure how they would show a work history. I (think) we are required to list 10 years for driving jobs if you haven't been in a job that follows dot rules then its only 3 years. So you would just put down your college and work study ect. In my State i have been told there is no restriction on how long you need to have your regular drivers license before you test for your CDL , this may vary by State.

Call your DMV then call some company's.

Good Luck To You

Thank you Gary for the information. As far as I can tell from my state's DMV website, I don't need one year or more. I'm gonna a get a hold of someone over the phone that can answer me for sure, though.

My big thing right now is, beyond just sending out a bunch of applications to different companies hoping for prehire letters, is:

1: That the company itself will pay for my CDL schooling, and 2: If finishing just one quarter's worth of a work-study job would really be interesting to a truck company. I would gladly hold out in college for one or a few more quarters as long as I know it would be worth it, but if not, then I'd see if I could use that to get into a job with more hours on more days, which I would have settled on earlier if anyone wanted me, which they didn't, and if I could find one which jived well with my school schedule, which I couldn't do.

Would the HR departments of any companies be able to tell me a thing or two about my chances of making it past their orientation with the history I had? I want to make it the best as possible.

Really I just want to get out of my house ASAP with the best chance I can get that someone will take me as an employee after CDL school, because I can't stand my living environment and the longer I'm in school, the more money I'd owe for the loan I took out. Luckily I have a 6 month grace period to pay it back, and if I'm still unemployed for a certain amount of time then I think I can tell my lender and they'll give more more time. Two months of schooling and then a job w/ a paycheck should probably be enough, even if I need to hold out for a few months living in a car when I'm not trucking and eating discount store food to save.

For a while, truck driving was my back up plan because my plan A, which I was going to college for in the first place, could potentially, eventually, get me to a place where I could live relatively alone, but as it stands now it's kinda toxic where I currently live and I'm not sure I have it in me to make my plan A, so truck driving is starting to look like my path for a great escape. I seriously would not mind the job at all, in fact being away from my friends and family would be the least worst thing at this point because all my friends have moved on now and there's nothing left for me where I live and I don't want to be here any longer than I have to.

Jack,
Let me imagine that your first posting is the answer to the question, "What sort of work have you done to earn a paycheck?" I put it that way because your answer mentions "something akin to a social worker" and a less-than-part-time college work-study.

The thing a trucking company is looking for is more like "How have you spent your time in the last ten years?"

If you follow the common steps of graduate high school at 18, then 4 years of college, those gaps in your "work history" can be filled in with college, studying {your major}. Most companies can even accept full time care of an ill parent.

You can't just write words to fill in application blanks, though. Be able to back up the times with documents. The "taking care of someone" can be covered by a letter from, say, the doctor starting that, for example, your mother required full time medical care and you did that.

My "face value" impression I get from your story I get right now, though, is a person who got by with as little employment as possible, lived at home, gaming and doing internet things and stayed in school just to get out of the house. That's where Daniel gets the "Bum" from. I agree with him.

Gary covers the next thing. Trucking is rarely 9-5/M-F. It's the opposite - 24/7. It's not just driving around the country, it is managing 40 tons of metal and freight on the highway, living out of a small cubicle, meeting appointments at any time of the day or night, in nearly all kinds of weather. That's a far cry from the slacker I feel is writing your posts.

So Jack, can you really explain your last ten years being busy and committed? Can you really, personally, handle a hard, dirty and sometimes rough existence?

Trucking companies are looking and hiring every day people who think they can fill that bill.

One of the misconceptions I'm almost certain you have is that trucking isn't that difficult of a job. You're just driving around, right? Physically it's not demanding unless you're unloading freight yourself or you haul flatbed and you're doing a lot of tarping. But the law says a driver can be on duty up to 70 hours every 8 days. That's almost two full time jobs! And on top of that there's a ton of things you have to take care of out there that you're doing during your "off duty" times. Nine out of ten days out there you'll basically collapse from exhaustion by the end of the day. Eighteen hour days are quite common.

I've always recommended trucking for highly adventurous and ambitious types. I'm not going out on a limb by saying you're the exact opposite of that. You've done as little as possible, and not just for a short time, but basically your entire life to this point. If you were getting started in trucking today and I had to place my bet on the table my guess would be you'll last about three days. Seriously. That's not me trying to be a jerk. That's just being completely honest.

I'd love to think I was wrong and that you'd get out there and love it. But I don't think you've ever pushed yourself as hard as you would have to push yourself every single day out there on the road. The amount of grit and determination it takes to make it in this profession surprises nearly everyone. The fact that you're considering it means you think it's something that would suit you. From your descriptions, I don't think it would.

I'm not saying don't do it. But I am saying you should consider getting a full time job and then another part time job at the same time. Work 60 hours a week for a short time and see if you can tough it out. If so, you might make it in trucking. But I can assure you that's the kind of hours you'll put in out there, and to make it worse the schedule is almost never the same two days in a row in trucking. Your sleep schedule will be highly erratic. So not only are the hours incredibly long but the erratic sleep schedule makes everything that much more difficult. It's quite frankly a pretty brutal job.

I'm in school now and have been driving a car for 20 years. This is a hard adjustment just learning the truck in a few weeks. There is NO way I would ever recommend a new driver to try for a cdl. No offense..but new drivers don't have the judgment you need for quite some time. Now times that required judgement by ten for the truck.

As far as the "the company is closed"..your W2 would suffice. Completing college would look better..it would show endurance and commitment which is what any company looks for. But I'll tell you...I had a federal job for almost 20 years and had to jump through hoops because they don't verify employment. my tax stuff was lost in a flood and I had to order the copies from irs

Sponsored cdl programs listed on this site have new people come in weekly. About 100 people came in with me and within 4 days we were down to about 20. We are still testing on the road tests after having driven for a few weeks. Go to school..work part time for awhile..finish your degree to show commitment and dedication. The "I'll live in my car while I'm trucking" does not work either. You need a physical address for a license.

You sound like you just want to run away from home. After 3 weeks on the road I can tell you that this is not the kind of job where you just do what you want when you want. Good luck in whatever you do

Your situation sounds like mine somewhat. I quit driving 14 years ago when my Dad got a cancer that the doctors have no idea how or what causes it and as far as I know only one person has survived it and once found it has already been growing for 6 months and with chemotherapy and radiation the max life expectancy is only 15-18 months. I let everything go to spend 3 months with him before passing. Trucking is not an easy job at all. Most people I know laugh and say you just sit all day and drive around which to is true, but they don't realize you mess up on truck inspections- don't pass DOT inspections you get a fine, mess up on your pre plan, miss delivery and pick up times, run out of fuel or have to fuel off the network, having a bad day and get rude with shippers or receivers you will not have a career very long and even if the company offers CDL schooling it's a year minimum for some companies and if you don't complete the year you have to pay back the training cost. I have always been a loner so when you mention lonely life can you handle a 1500 mile run with no one to talk to, having to shut down at a rest area instead of truck stop, driving for 9-11 hrs at night and no one talking on the cb, etc? I went to college to be a network engineer 2 years and finally had no choice but to drop and am currently going through Prime's training program and starting all over from the beginning. My brother and his wife brought me to MO, the next day I get a call from his wife telling me he's at home crying and wanting to come get me and bring me back home, your 23 and i'm 40, can you handle and deal with a phone call like that? I can't just tell my trainer or dispatch that I need home right now and go, I tried that with my Dad and was quickly going into a financial hole. My truck payment didn't stop, the CEO and owner were both very understanding about the entire situation.

As far as work history I explained all that to my recruiter starting with my previous driving experience, then explaining the jobs I had worked while in school, and for the employment gaps explained that I was working through staffing agencies since gas stations here don't even want students actively in college and then when the staffing agencies couldn't find me any placements for employment I did what I had to do after 7 months without a job and then an agency found me a job, interviewed didn't want me either, but they offered me a temp position for one month and that's when I started calling recruiters. That's my .02 and whatever you do the background check is very thorough and if you lie at all it will be caught sooner or later, be up front and honest with them.

Good luck