Spotty Employment History, Can I Get Hired?

For the last three or four years, my employment has been very spotty. I work in an industrial town where the only jobs are factory/warehouse work. Honestly these jobs SUCK. For the past several years I've been bouncing around from job to job. I've literally not kept a job for more than a month in at least two years.

I know that's bad, but it's why I want to change careers so badly. I want to do something more than just stand at a machine and press a button all day. I know that probably comes off as being lazy, but really, it's less about laziness and more just frustration about not being able to work at something worthwhile that I enjoy.

If I could explain that to a recruiter, do you think I could get hired? Or will they just see my history and write me off?

I've literally not kept a job for more than a month in at least two years.

I know that probably comes off as being lazy, but really, it's less about laziness and more just frustration about not being able to work at something worthwhile that I enjoy.

If I could explain that to a recruiter, do you think I could get hired? Or will they just see my history and write me off?

Caleb, I'm hoping you are very young and just naturally immature. Because if you are not, you certainly are naive, or really good at fooling yourself. You must also have someone who is willing to provide you with room and board and all the necessities that drive most people to work.

You might get hired by a trucking company with that record, but I honestly doubt it will happen. Trucking takes a great deal of Commitment. I don't know if you are aware of the staggering statistics of people who give this career a try and never even make it last for one single year. It's something like 95%!

Trucking ain't easy, and you haven't lasted for a month at menial factory tasks. That's gonna be one tough sell. Why should anyone think you're gonna get a whole new attitude and approach to life and responsibility just because they put you into a super stressful environment like driving a 70+ feet long 40 ton truck that bends in the middle? You can easily kill people in one of these rigs and/or do some serious property damage.

I'm not even trying to shame you, but you need to drink down a big old glass of reality man. You can try this career if you like, but definitely go for the Paid CDL Training Programs. That way you know if you're going to be able to get hired before laying out thousands of your benefactor's money on truck driving school. Those programs will make the decision of giving you a job before you start their training program. They're going to require you to commit to them and sign a contract that binds you to work for them for a certain length of time. Typically that will be approximately one year.

If you do it that way you will be required to pay them the money back if you quit or fail. I just don't think you've got any other options, and personally I think you're going to be crazy lucky to have one of them sponsor you like that. But it might work.

Just so you know, those Company Sponsored Programs are really the best way to go about this for most people. The reason I say your options are limited is because of your job history. It's gonna be like the baseball coach, whose team is down by one point in the championship game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, deciding to put a batter in who has always struck out everytime he's at home plate. A smart coach would never do that.

I wish the best for you, but I'm hoping you'll see the value of a little foresight on your part and some willingness to build yourself some sort of credibility. As it is now you don't have a chance of a recruiter believing you. They might hire you, but it's not because you convinced them of anything.

Spotty work history is something an employer is going to see and think that this person cannot be realizable and shows no commitment. These are two major criteria must-haves for our industry. If they cannot trust you with a load that must be delivered on a set schedule, why would they bother spending the thousands of dollars just to get you to the point of actually driving? You would be a major risk, thus finding a carrier that will grant you an opportunity will be difficult to find.