Self Employed Job Verify

where should I begin :) So I have been self employed in the roofing industry for the last 16 years and let me tell u its been long over due for a change. The last few years have been VERY SLOW partly due to the area im in as well as the birth of my last two children. I have narrowed down to prime inc and knight trans but am hitting a brick wall with employment verification. little over four years ago the wife and I found out we were expecting our 2nd child, since my profession was slow I decided it was time to take care of babies as the wife was making a STEADY income and mine was hit or miss. Daddy day care begins only it was just me and the little one. 1 year 2 days later comes our third child. In a nut shell I basically dropped the business ins. No longer filed for business license and was only doing repairs on free time. Haven't filed taxes due to very little income in the last four years. Daycare was very expensive so that was out the question as it was cheaper to stay home with them. Well now middle child is getting ready to start school so it's off to start my trucking career that has been on my mind first years. Problem now is the lady at prime ( I'm guessing I'd front desk rep) acts as if she doesn't want to talk to me because I can't verify last three years employment. This really sucks. Had I known this the whole time I would have Sucked it up and kept everything current. Any advice on hiw to go about this. My thought were to go back and file taxes for last few years so I have something to show. the income was very little, 12-18k but I can file just didn't want to lose any extra as times were very hard. Would this work or would it throw up flags with the last few years showing a file date all the same on all three. It seems like one set back after another. My reason for wanting a career in trucking is my father has been in it for over 30 years so I have been in and around it. I love to travel (though I know there is little time for anything other than site seeing ) love to drive but mainly I'm 35 and ready for something I can do for years to come, stable career, benefits, and possibly to grow. Any info, experience with this particular issue or in si h t would be very much appreciated. This has been a very helpful resource for me the last few months and figured it was time to join and ask my questions. Thanks Brett for what u have put together :)

A. Meggs,

Of course the final arbiter of what is acceptable for verification purposes is the company in question (you mentioned Prime) but I found - as have others - that a notarized statement of facts about your previous self-employment will often satisfy the required documentation ... talk to the recruiter directly and ask what they want to see ... if you haven't done so, I found filling out the online application and then following up immediately with a call to a recruiter for said company is the most efficient way to get all of the required info into the recruiter's hand ... this allows a real-time review of all of your information and allows you to clarify points and offer explanations PLUS allows the recruiter to ask for additional information when an area needs further clarification or documentation ... don't sweat it too much as they are really looking to see if you a responsible person and not a lazy-no-account ... I think being Mr. Mom and and working on the side qualifies as responsible - at least in MY eyes (but then, who am I, eh??)

Jopa

Than you jopa for the reply. I've read many of your post and found alot of them very helpful. I have already filled out the app for both knight and prime last week (Thursday I believe) but took all the ladies :) (three beautiful girls and the wife) for a weekend much needed getaway this weekend and hadn't heard anything from either so gave prime a call on monday. That's when I talked to the lady who answered the phone and she was very short and blunt about the verification saying if I had no proof of tax papers or ins info of being in business she couldn't do anything. My thoughts were it sucks to know I fell back to be mr. Mom since wife had stable income and nay have messed myself up in the process. Just couldn't justify paying few thousand a year for insurance anymore if there wasn't enough income to worry bout it. Anyways I did ask the woman if there was anyway I could provide something else but the answers were still " I can't do anything to help u" :( been researching for months now and somehow I missed this step. Guess I didn't think it would be such a strict step even though I understand why. I read a post you were replying to about the young man taking care of his grandfather (major respect to him for that) and did take down the recruiters name and number u provided. Just haven't had time to follow through yet with taking mother to have mri's and follow ups with the doc. I will Def get on that first thing. Was actually at the mri when I decided to sign up and ask away. This has been a career that's been weighing heavy on me lately and hope everything works out. Was really leaning toward knight but have recently been g I ng more the way of prime because of the pay they gave for lightweight and seems majority of the truckers there seem happy. Wife and i have discussed the lw and I'm ready to take the sacrifice of space concidring the average of 500 more per month. That which we plan to put away for the college we hope and pray our little ones will be attending. Anyway, sorry for the long rant but seems since the convoy with lady at prime my spirits have been down but hoping for the best.

Well an update on what's going on. Jopa, took your advice and talked to recruiter at prime, asked about a notorized letter stating that I was still basically self employed (although the last few years were cash repairs because of time at home with the little ones) and actually wasn't just sitting on my tush, she says send it in and I will see what I can do but don't think it's going to work. Keeping my fingers crossed but still not feeling lucky. Did however ask if she thought any other companies would be able to use that as verifiable employment as I was also considering knight transportation. Possibly she says. Any experience from you guys on this matter. Two days ago I was absolutely excited about filling out the apps and talking to someone and now it seems to be A big pain. No matter what I will continue on this path but thinking there has to be a way through this. seems more and more people are getting hired that aren't doing the job, lazy, could care less if they have one or not and then you have individuals such as myself that have worked hard their whole life and try to start a career (and I mean career as I am not looking for a JOB or just another paycheck but something I see myself doing for years to come and doing very well) just to get pushed away. Anyhow if anyone has some thoughts or has been down this same road could give some advice trust me I am all ears. BTW wouldn't you know the woman who seemed to care less during my first call that I thought was a directory at front desk WAS MY RECRUITER :( Go figure, just my luck........

I'm self employed - by my own corporation.

I put down Richard Stern Consulting, Inc. - as my employer - and have 10 years of W-2'a, 1120S's and 1040's to back it up.

They're all up in my cloud account - so I can click and email to whomever requires them.

Also have letters of reference from 2 of my oldest clients (34 years and 30 years), both of which I went to high school with (the latter being both a client AND my accountant) - which serve as both personal AND professional references.

You are going to have to prove SOMEHOW - what you've been doing the last 10 years. Aside from "stable work history", what they are really looking for is DRIVING JOBS (as required by FMCSA), which is kinda bassackwards, since you'll be coming in as a student with NO CDL.

I didn't file for 17 years - they caught up with me finally. I've been legit/on-the-books for the last 20 years. Pain in the butt - but it is, what it is...

Rick

I was told this week (at School) that if you are showing self-employed for 3 months or more you will need to show a 1099, tax return, invoices and payments from your company, etc. The Feds are no longer allowing the trucking companies to accept 'notes' or 'statements', notarized or not, to prove self-employment.

And Werner confirmed it with me today that I'll need to show the 1099's I earned last year as well as proof that I've been working this year.

That's what I figured. Looks like I'll be off to the accountants office first thing to file last three years. Just hope that works as its going to cost me more money but as rick said, it is what it is :) also wondered how I could go about with under the table pay as I have been working a part time job since the little lady's cane to be. Wish now I had taken the 1099 when offered but guess trying to cut corners is going to cost me more than I thought. Was on the books up till few years ago as stated in first post and was hoping to get things back in order with the business once middle child started school but things have gotten so slow around here that I decided to venture elsewhere, just hoping I can get it all worked out. Figured I couldn't go wrong with trucking considering the shortage of drivers and the almost 0 unemployment rate. Thank u all for the advice, it is much appreciated

I don't know if this will work for you but I have a lot of employment gaps and I just put looking for work and I got hired... I worked for swift last year for 2 months of the year and in my app for crst this year in March I put looking for work...

A. Meggs,

Here's the thing ... a particular "strategy" may or may not work the first or second (or third) time - HOWEVER, the fact that you are NOT accepting defeat and going back time and time again works a big PLUS in your favor ... don't be afraid of going over someone's head - ask to speak to the next level above whomever you are working with ... that recruiter will still get the commission if you can get accepted so it is to their benefit that you are working so hard to prove your point ... out of the 60 to 100 applicants who start at the orientation at prime each cycle, maybe 10 are still driving six months later ... if you are showing the kind of backbone you are and NOT accepting the "I don't think so ... " they are offering, you have already shown more gumption than 90 percent of the others trying it out for the first time ... don't lose heart, if not Prime then you'll make it somewhere else, I guarantee it (although I know what it is like to sort of set your sights on a particular company program - and Prime is a good place to begin your journey) ... in other words, you ARE HEADED for success ... you just have to work a little harder to get there ... AND once you DO get your own truck, keep that same attitude of accomplishing what you set out to do ... problem solving is a much more appropriate skill than shifting or backing ... you'll see what I mean ... good luck (although, I will tell you I am a Christian and I really don't believe in luck - it's more of a polite thing to say, if you now what I mean)

Jopa

P.S. Unless things have changed, I believe they are only required to verify 3 years of employment if you are not currently a driver as opposed to ten if you are ... I could be wrong but I don't think so ... my dad used to always say, "I thought I was wrong but i was mistaken ..."

Hello again to everyone, so as of now I am waiting to hear back from knight and prime but in the meantime cr england us tearing my door down (from the more than average very negative reviews I'm not so sure it's a good thing) also have a broth er who works nuclear shutdowns half the year who is getting every possible number and name he can to squeeze me in so I could possibly FILL the employment void in the meantime while making money. As some may think this is better money (it actually is alot better but have heard of guys waiting for weeks, sometimes months for another shutdown to go to) I am only getting older and still prefer the stable work of trucking. My previous line of work was also full throttle for month or two then wait .......and maybe it gets busy so not trying to go that route again but to occupy my time I am game. Question is if any if u have experience with cre abd have any insight to their program. The trucking truth review shows 3 year contract, to me that's a long time to be miserable if it is like most I've read. Also lost of reviews being away for SEVERAL months before hometime. Any thoughts Would be greatly appreciated as I can't seem to find anything good on them. As bad as I want to start driving I also don't want or need myself and family to suffer from a bad decision. Recruiter at prime said if what I have sent doesn't work out I could work "on the books" somewhere for 2-4 months and it would greatly in prove my chances. For those of u who don't know the situation read above :) long story sorry. Again thanks in advance for any info and thanks again for what's already been shared. Everyone stay safe and watch for all these crazy spring break drivers. They drive me nilutd on four wheels, can only imagine way u all deal with during this season.