Unverifiable Employment History

I have a little setback. I updated my application for Prime and just got off the phone with a recruiter, same guy I talked to 4 months ago and thought I was set with just having to amend my birth certificate with first and middle names (it just said male plus last name). Well this time he said I am not eligible for Prime cdl training as I cannot show employment history for the 4.5 years (2011-2015) I was a stay at home Dad raising our girls and now he says he needs W-2's or 1099's for those years. When last I talked with him I let him know exactly what my situation was as an at home father doing handyman work and apartment management and he suggested I put down apartment management as work history because it looked better. But we did not talk about 1099s or W2's and I and my application were very clear on no employment history while raising the babies. Not sure where to go from here... I do have traceable employment, unemployment and 1099 history for the prior immediate years and joint married tax returns for those specific years.

I realize recruiters are the gatekeepers and have their place in holding company policy and companies have policies for set reasons (usually insurance and security related) but how does one go about getting around this? Would any company understand a man's choice to staying home raising children?

If you were doing handyman work then normally Prime and other companies will allow you to get a notarized statement from the people you were working for to verify this. Ask them what types of verification they'll accept. I know in the past they accepted notarized letters.

Would any company understand a man's choice to staying home raising children?

Not really. The thing is, with trucking you can legally work 70 hours every eight days. But when you factor in all the things you're doing while technically not on duty it's the equivalent of having two full time jobs. Over time trucking companies have found that people with significant employment gaps simply don't stick around for very long. Everyone has their own special circumstances and reasons for their decision making but a company as big as Prime really can't take each person's long list of special circumstances into account. So at times they simply have to set a certain standard and go with it.

Prime normally won't hire someone who was fired from their last job or went a certain number of months unemployed in the past year. I'm not sure exactly what that figure is to be honest. But they've found that people who fit this criteria simply don't work out most of the time.

Ask them for other forms of verification they'll accept. If you can demonstrate to them that you were working it may get you in the door.

Skywalker for almost a year before I decided to attend truck driving school, I performed handyman and house renovation work. I asked my three best customers to write letters for me describing the work, cost and duration. These letters along with invoices and check copies were ample proof to Swift that I was working and generating an income during the my period of career limbo.

I had no delays or setbacks. Although you may have your heart set on Prime, you have other options in the event of a permanent impass with them.

Good luck.

Thanks guys, I appreciate your input. Is there another way to get in? Could I get another recruiter or someone on the inside? I am not a afraid of the hours of work involved in trucking, I am a workaholic and have always been working even while raising the girls just to supplement our family income. In fact I think trucking might be a cake walk after raising those girls! It was definitely a double time job especially after the second one came 16 months later. Great memories but real work and very little rest.

The thing is when I talked to this guy back in March I was very explicit in my situation, Just moved family across country, put girls in school, got first real job in 6 years but wife just left and now looking for long term career change. I even put stay at home Dad in as employment on the app during those years which we talked about and where he suggested putting apartment manager because it looked better. We had a good conversation and both thought name change on birth certificate was the big issue. So he put my app on hold and told me to call after getting it handled.

After really looking at my situation I saw my career choices were trucking or mailman. I figured working for the postoffice would be a great government job so went through all the tests and interviews, got the job in the town I wanted but after talking to the Postmaster I found it was only 32 hrs week @ $16hr and no hopes of union or benefits for a few years. And though I liked the job I had just gotten, installing solar panels on farm fields, had a great boss, good crew and started to work my way up, I didn't want to be a laborer for the next few years and needed to get out of the toxic situation I was in. I decided on trucking as it looks like a great career choice with multiple options and learning curves where I'd have minimal bills, and get see my girls on a regular basis while saving for their future. So after retaining a lawyer and going through courts to finalize custody and child support issues I decided to moved back to California to get paperwork in order and build a deck for a friend to pad my savings while I go through truck training.

Fast forward 5 months. So now that I finally got all of my paperwork in order, birth certificate SS card CA license Passport and permit all match with full names, I figured everything is in order and I update my application with Prime. I got the same recruiter as I talk to back in March so I figured that was great and I was in like Flynn, he remembered me and we got to catch up with some good conversation. Up until the point where he asked for employment verification for baby years. Well the conversation pretty much stopped and went downhill from there as I reminded him I couldn't prove verification and he kept insisting on it, almost religiously this time. I asked if there was anything else I could do or use besides 1099's or W2's and he said no. I asked what to do now and he said go to C.R. England or Swift and give a call in 6-9 months and we can help you. This really kind of ticked me off because he just knocked both companies down earlier in our conversation while he was saying I made a good choice with Prime. So I understand he wasn't worried about this in March but he is now. My application info hasn't changed so something else has, policy or incident wise maybe. Just surprised about this turn around...

I even texted him back saying I understand your and Primes dilemma about risking training for students as he mentioned that earlier, but what if I paid for the schooling upfront and got reimbursed after proving myself? No response back

Probably put all my eggs in one basket but amenities do count in a big career move like this... I think I am focused on Prime as I like their training program, training pay and starting pay. I need to hit the ground running with starting pay and $700 a week can't be beat during TNT phase. I like that they have 3 divisions to get experience in, reefer , flatbed and tanker so if I get bored or want to up my game I can switch within same company without starting over. I like that they got good trucks with APU's and I can put a fridge and nuker in them. For me this is essential for saving money and will help keep me on the road for days I would think. The drivers I've talked to on the road and through here all have good things to say about their Prime experiences and weekly pay. And plenty of miles if you have a strong work ethic, of which I do.

Funny... I just got off the phone with Melton. I sent them an application thru TT last night with stay at home dad as second of last four employers. They didn't have a problem with it and wanted to hire but they don't have cdl schooling. 160 hr certificate or experience minimum

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

TNT:

Trainer-N-Trainee

Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.

The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.

The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APU's:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Much like G, I was doing handyman, remodeling work, some on the books some off. My Swift recruiter asked for 2 notarized letters from my customers. I faxed them to the recruiter, brought them to the Academy with me, no one ever asked for the originals. It was never an issue. I am a Swift driver now.

The thing is, with trucking you can legally work 70 hours every eight days. But when you factor in all the things you're doing while technically not on duty it's the equivalent of having two full time jobs.

Thanks Brett for pointing that very important fact out! It is ABSOLUTELY TRUE. And I'm lovin' it!!!

I'm running into a similar situation with Prime as well. I've got large unemployment gaps in the past two years. I was with my previous career/employer for 14 years but when that went to hell I've been trying to find something long term/new career.

I've only had 2 small gigs in the past 2 years one for 2 months and one for 3 weeks. To get by I've used up my 401k and leaned on family as well as having boarders staying in my house.

Not knocking Prime, might just be a policy item for them. I wonder if I showed all the rejection letters I've received if that would help.

Nuts... I don't like rejection. At least not without a logical or explainable reason. I went through my application with a fine tooth comb looking for any discrepancies. Couldn't find anything off, all honest and straightforward. Reworded unemployment during baby years stating reasons why and did supplemental work and could provide proof docs for both. Sent app to Wil-Trans thru TT (like the new banner ads...) and got a call yesterday from WT recruiter. Explained my situ and app and that Prime just rejected me day before. He didn't have a problem with the app but he did say after running it through computer or something it came back as stating 'Better Qualified Applicants Available' which I took to meaning I was put on a gray list for some reason. Bummed and confused... This means that Jim Palmer is out for me too because of their relations.

I do not know what I said to have the Prime guy put me on this list but I know myself pretty well and think I am more than qualified. And in both conversations with him I was very honest straight froward and non-withholding on my situation. I am half tempted to send a letter to the owner of Prime or try and get a second recruiter but I know this guy is just doing his job diligently filtering applicants because he probably had more than a few applicants fail recently and is trying to do a better job filtering...

I think will call him up again and try to get some feedback

I take it as a challenge, will persevere....

Sent app to TMC and Wil-Trans actually left another VM

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

Skywalker, As G Town and I stated, Swift was perfectly fine with notarized letters. Its worth a shot. My Recruiters name was Sonya Pantoja, based in Phoenix. I filled out an online application and did 95% of my correspondence with her via E mail. It was a seamless process. Never a hitch! I read stories about all of the hassles people have reaching recruiters. I think the best plan is to fill out an online application prior to trying to talk to them on the phone. I csn only imagine how hectic their job is! I started corresponding with her via E mail after our first conversation. She usually responded within an hour or two. Never more than 24 hours. Remember, they sit in front of a computer ALL DAY! An added bonus is that everything is documented in writing! Good Luck!