Past Employment And Getting On With A Paid CDL Company

Hi All,

I signed up for my husband to get some advice. We're new to the trucking industry and need help. My husband hasn't worked since February 2020. He's tried several career paths in the past that have become a dead end. We were hoping that trucking would not only be a way for my husband to have a career and earn income for our family, but to finally find a job/career that fits his personality.

My husband has obtained his CDL permit and had applied with Prime and TDI (this is a truck driving school and not a company). Prime had been communicating with him and requesting information, but communications with the recruiter have stopped. With TDI, we'd have to get financing for the school. We both have credit issues from the past (although we've made significant progress in recent years), and were denied the loan. We were going to have my mom do the financing. She sent in the application, but have not heard back from the recruiter.

Since we were having issues, my husband contacted Stevenson. A recruiter called him today and asked about his employment history. Because he's been unemployed for 17 months in the last 3 years (and they're cut off is 15 months), they did not want to move forward. In thinking back to the applications we sent in for Prime and TDI, we weren't as accurate with employment dates, and were trying to guess from memory. Now that we're going through this, I can see where accuracy is a key.

At this point, we need to go through a company paid program. As I've said, my husband has put time, effort, and money into school for other career paths that promised work, but never came. We need to know guaranteed that he will have work after school. My husband is extremely frustrated, angry, and depressed at the thought of going down another dead end route. Yes, his work history is inconsistent, but not due to his efforts. He is an extremely hardworker who tries but has had little success in progressing any career. We just don't know what to do.

I'd appreciate any guidance/feedback on how to navigate the employment history and what companies are willing to work with someone who has had inconsistencies in their work history. We are based out of New Orleans.

Don't get discouraged. I went though the same thing for having too many jobs in three years. I would get bored with a job and move on to the next highest bidder. I had about 6 jobs in three years.

At this point, you want to avoid paying for school because having a CDL doesn't guarantee you a job. The issues he has getting hired won't go away because he has a license.

The issues he's facing is a government regulation. Companies have to verify that you've been in the country and you haven't been out getting radicalized to commit some acts of terror in an 80K lb vehicle. On a private level, companies want to verify that you're responsible and not a job hopper, especially if they're providing the training.

What has your husband been doing when he's not working? That's an important point as well, but all isn't lost. If they all say no, he has an easy remedy. Work a job, the same job, for about a year or so. It can be any job, but I recommend staying away from driving jobs (taxi, deliveries etc) because you want to do everything you can to keep your license clean, but if that's all he wants to do, just emphasize keeping his license clean. Uber for a year counts as having a job for a year.

Start by applying here Apply For Paid CDL Training

This link will send an application to the majority of companies that provide company sponsored training.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have and keep us posted.

I was in the same situation as you way back in 2014. Unemployed for 1–1/2 years and applied to Prime. They rejected me too. I signed on with Roehl and have been driving since.

Use the following link here to fill out applications to various companies who will provide A CDL school in exchange for working for a predetermined timeframe...usually a year. In Roehl’s case it was mileage based 120k....which took about a year.

Here’s the link:Paid CDL Training ProgramsApply For Paid CDL Training

I’d apply to every company and see what happens. Pay no attention to internet reviews. I’m sure someone will approve him.

You can give Roehl a call, although right now they do not show hiring for their school out if NOLA.

Good Luck and don’t give up!

Here's the thing.

First off...

Documentable employment history (3 years for non-previous drivers / 10 years for drivers) is a FEDERAL REQUIREMENT. So there's really no way of getting around it. For people who cannot PROVE EMPLOYMENT via W-2's and references - affidavits from witnesses as to what you were DOING during those periods. This is mainly a security thing (like you weren't in Syria in an ISIS training camp), but it REALLY IS MANDATORY that this info is provided. Some people (for example) have taken time to care for a sick/dying relative - and have this documented by affidavits.

They want to know WHAT YOU WERE DOING - if you didn't have a regular job. If you were doing stuff like odd jobs/handyman - affidavits from people you did work for, etc.

Second...

If you CANNOT GET A HIRE FROM A STARTER COMPANY (due to lack of verifiable employment history) - I (and most of us here) WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST PAYING TO GO TO A PRIVATE CDL SCHOOL (STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST).

Private CDL Schools CAN NOT GUARANTEE YOU A JOB UPON COMPLETION. Their purpose is to TAKE YOUR MONEY AND TEACH YOU ENOUGH TO GET YOUR CDL. If they can help you get a job - all the better - but NONE CAN GUARANTEE YOU ONE. And due to your difficulty getting on with a company that will TRAIN AND HIRE YOU (because basically, if you get through orientation and initial training - YOU HAVE A JOB ALREADY) - if you SPEND THE MONEY (take out a LOAN) to go to a private school, but STILL CANNOT GET A JOB - then YOU OWE THE MONEY FOR THE CDL SCHOOL LOAN BUT STILL ARE UNEMPLOYED (or at least not, driving a truck).

I'm SHOUTING (ALL CAPS) because THIS IS IMPORTANT.

Applied to Prime & TDI...

As you pointed out - TDI is a private school. TDI - WILL GLADLY TAKE YOUR $$ - their purpose in life is to get you your CDL, and they will do this (assuming you have the basic coordination to learn how to handle a truck and pass a skills test). ANY PRIVATE SCHOOL THAT GUARANTEES YOU A JOB (absent a WRITTEN OFFER FROM A COMPANY - called a "Pre-Hire Letter") is just FLAT OUT LYING. And even a pre-hire isn't a guarantee - it is merely an offer to come to orientation (absent any other issues that might arise - like say, EMPLOYMENT HISTORY).

This year - with COVID-19 is going to be a very weird one to document, with so many people out of work due to shut-downs - documentable history is going to be hard to obtain.

So again - to reiterate - I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND GETTING A LOAN FOR A PRIVATE CDL SCHOOL. If your work history or other issues are preventing you from getting on with a company that will train you - those same issues will prevent you from getting on with a company that takes "recent graduates".

DON'T GET ROPED INTO A LOAN YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO PAY FOR, BECAUSE YOU STILL CAN'T GET A HIRE.

Rick

If he has been out of work since February, but had a steady job before that then you should just be able to sign a statement saying that you were looking for work but unable to find any due to the pandemic. Anyone that knows him can sign that one, my aunt did for mine. The other thing to look for is the other companies that offer training. Prime is a tough one to get into, there are more than a few others that might be more willing to work with you. I wholeheartedly agree with Rick tho, DO NOT PAY FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL. There are more than enough companies that will pay for your schooling and guarantee you a job afterwards.

Before filling out an application, sit down with paper and pen and list out the work history. This way you can go over it, add where needed without hitting a submit button and then remembering something.

Look at it as a timeline. Go back 3 years for non driving jobs, 10 for any driving jobs and account for everyday, no gaps in the dates. This is very critical. For any time frames of unemployment get affidavits from friends/family that attest to the reason for unemployment.

Apply through this site and see who shows interest. Employment gaps are much easier to overcome than several other incidents.

We wish ya’ll the best

Thanks for the replies everyone. I didn't realize how difficult this was going to be to get in. I now know to stay away from Youtube trucking company opinions. My next step is to ensure I have accurate dates and backup before applying. Also, does anyone know of any LA companies?

As far as work history, for Schneider I just wrote out the essential story of how I had to take care of my dad for 5 years until he died a year ago from Parkinson's; then my too-briefly successful forays into the job market since, until I went to private CDL school. The recruiter was fine with that. No affidavits needed, no death certificate, no copy of my POA or anything. I didn't know it's a federal requirement to ask, nor the reason stated above. Makes more sense now though, as it does seem a strangely ubiquitous fixation. Covenant informed me (after giving me a pre-hire letter upon my request to help me get accepted to the private school) that my lack of employment dis-qualified me from working for them... But on the other hand, after school I told them that this seemed an absurd reason to turn someone down, to keep me out, and the recruiter said, no problem, they'd since changed their policy. So there's some serious "wiggle room" there, obviously, and also the fact that we need to heed the sage preparedness advice given here on TT.

To get into school I got a full grant, which either had to do with my advanced age re-entering the workforce, or the pandemic (extra difficulty getting work and/or extra need for truckers as essential workers) or both, through the state work program. I accept the logic against the private route vs, company-sponsored, but would just add-- Either way, beware until you're actually at the company terminal , housed, well enough into training to have cleared ALL the hoops. I've come across ample examples of getting sent home on your own dime once you've already bused or driven a thousand miles to the training terminal, whether to school or orientation. (Some of the companies even savvily warn you in their orientation instructions that this might happen if you're not careful enough.) Stuff can turn up even after "last minute", so seems to me the best thing, as well as for what you need to know in advance (atlas knowledge or whatever, cuz they really vary in their emphases) is to find out how they do differ from other programs and clear everything possible ahead of time.

This is the type of info I was looking for. I was in the position of caring for a family member during invasive cancer treatments for a little over of 2 years.

As some may know, cancer treatments aren't cheep and I/my family was financially devastated after the treatments stopped from all the piling medical bills, insurance costs, medications, etc. I know that's a long time to be out of work, but that along with the Covid-19 pandemic, it left me in dire straights.

I've done "under the table jobs" for contractors and landscaper, and had trucking companies contact them to varify, but alas, they want W2 work for recently years and unfortunately, I can't provide that.

I have tried the school route, having received the WorkForce grant here in Indiana only to realize a few days before going to the school(TDI as OP stated) that I was on the hook for all the extra costs and the School could not put in writing that job placement was guaranteed at the completion of the course.

I know trucking companies show up towards the end of the course to "Find the best candidate", but they are only looking for the best of the best with the best history. Which is understandable.

So as many other people, I tried the 'company sponsored' training route. TMC, ROELH, Keller, KLLM(whom I'm currently dealing with), Prime, Knight, Maverick, Swift, etc. I would out in a app, a recruiter would call me, I'd explain my situation and they'd assure me that would NOT be an issue, just for communication with the recruiter to abruptly end and things go silent on their end. If i had a dollar for every time this has happened, I wouldn't need to go trucking.(Only kidding but you get the point)

In my area, which as been devastated by Covid-19 and the opioid epidemic, you have to drive 1-2 hrs away to get a job and the travel for gas(almost $4/gal here as of writing this) your basically working so you can get to work($15-18/hr) and pay your taxes.

Local places say they are hiring, but no new positions are being filled. I wanted to get into trucking so bad. I really did, but i don't think that is an option for me anymore.

I have always loved trucks. My dad's family owned the Nation's Largest Truck Salvage in the 60s, 70s, 80s. So i grew up around them. I can't count the number of weekends I'd spend in one of their yards climbing all over old Pete's, Kenworhts, etc.

Trucking was a common topic around our family dinner table and at family events get-togethers. All my uncles drove. One being a million safe mile driver for Schneider, having a plaque in there Green Bay, WI HQ and having retired as a regional training manager, and the other being a Owner OP would hauled coils of steel on a flatbed from Pittsburg to customers all over the country.

Even though, with my circumstance, I believe this is my last try to get into the industry. If this doesn't work, I'm going to go back to the warehouse/factory work and beg for a job and live in my car for a few months while i save money to relocate closer to where the job is. That is to say, I haven't only been applying for trucking jobs. On Indeed, SnagAJob, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter I've summited hundreds of apps this year alone with only a few call backs, then silence.

As far as work history, for Schneider I just wrote out the essential story of how I had to take care of my dad for 5 years until he died a year ago from Parkinson's; then my too-briefly successful forays into the job market since, until I went to private CDL school. The recruiter was fine with that. No affidavits needed, no death certificate, no copy of my POA or anything. I didn't know it's a federal requirement to ask, nor the reason stated above. Makes more sense now though, as it does seem a strangely ubiquitous fixation. Covenant informed me (after giving me a pre-hire letter upon my request to help me get accepted to the private school) that my lack of employment dis-qualified me from working for them... But on the other hand, after school I told them that this seemed an absurd reason to turn someone down, to keep me out, and the recruiter said, no problem, they'd since changed their policy. So there's some serious "wiggle room" there, obviously, and also the fact that we need to heed the sage preparedness advice given here on TT.

To get into school I got a full grant, which either had to do with my advanced age re-entering the workforce, or the pandemic (extra difficulty getting work and/or extra need for truckers as essential workers) or both, through the state work program. I accept the logic against the private route vs, company-sponsored, but would just add-- Either way, beware until you're actually at the company terminal , housed, well enough into training to have cleared ALL the hoops. I've come across ample examples of getting sent home on your own dime once you've already bused or driven a thousand miles to the training terminal, whether to school or orientation. (Some of the companies even savvily warn you in their orientation instructions that this might happen if you're not careful enough.) Stuff can turn up even after "last minute", so seems to me the best thing, as well as for what you need to know in advance (atlas knowledge or whatever, cuz they really vary in their emphases) is to find out how they do differ from other programs and clear everything possible ahead of time.

Local places say they are hiring, but no new positions are being filled. I wanted to get into trucking so bad. I really did, but i don't think that is an option for me anymore. On Indeed, SnagAJob, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter I've summited hundreds of apps this year alone with only a few call backs, then silence.

Unfortunately, as you know, the economy has tanked. It is estimated that more than 1000 companies have closed their doors (mostly small companies with less than 100 - 200 trucks), including one that laid me off 2.5 weeks ago. There is an over abundance of drivers. When drivers with experience and good records struggle to get another driving job, you know the economy is bad.

All you can do is use this link and apply everywhere:

Apply For Paid CDL Training

If 3.5 weeks go by, apply again. Companies only keep applications for 30 days and then delete them.