Question. what are the odds of one getting hired on if he has unverifiable employment gaps (was working on my own doing landscaping, light maintenance/ carpentry work, flea market work, all cash work, and periods of taking care of my sick mom). While my verifiable work references are good just the other gaps may be tough to prove. have a good driving record, no criminal/no drugs, and currently in truck driving school. What is the realities of getting hired on by anyone? Friends have told me probably 0-1% of getting hired by anyone. I absolutely love driving and I think I would love the solitude lifestyle. I repeat my verifiable though spotty work history is good, no problem stuff. Going back with a ten year history may be a challenge. I would love to hear from recruiters.

 

Usually a couple of letters from people that know you vouching for your self employment/time off will cover it.

 

I hope so. I also drove a cab on and off but as much as it is regulated, a cab office is very very disorganized. dispatchers didnt even know my name when some other drivers thought something might have happened to me and wanted to call the cops to do a check(I drove night shift). I can get letters (Thank god for good workmanshipgod for good workmanship...lol), can you imagine going back to someone who you did bad work for and ask them for a favoe? The flea marker stuff obviously much much harder to get info. The promotor guy no longer does it so I don't know if I can find him.

 

Try to get 2 or 3 notorized letters from friends or acquaintances to say what you were doing during those times when you can not otherwise verify your employment history.

Just so you know, most companies are only going to be trying to verify the last 3 years of employment as, I assume, you are looking at your very first truck driving job.

Most will still ask for a 10 year employment history, but like I said, most will only want to verify the last 3 years, so your letters will only need to cover any periods of self or unemployment during the last 3.

 

I had similar issues and I found that it was not an obstacle to getting hired. If you have not driven commercially before, then you will probably only need to go back 3 to 5 years. It's 10 years if you have driven commercially. I had to get letters from friends, one for each period of unemployment, or maybe it was one for each calendar year. Either way, I typed the letters with the right dates and had someone sign them (only one each) in front of a notary public and then the notary stamps and signs it to make the 1st signature official. The trucking companies have to cover themselves per DOT regs. Some are more vigilant about it than others. You may need to do the same for periods of self-employment, or get a letter from your accountant or provide tax returns to prove that. It's a hassle but it can be done, I did it. You just need to talk to companies you want to drive for and see what they need. Do your research and get your ducks in a row BEFORE you go to orientation because its a lot easier to do that B.S. while you are home. If you get there and don't have all the documentation they need you either have someone at home do it or get sent home! Good Luck.

 

ok cool, I can do the letters/notaries. hey XTOOLGUY and actually all who replied, who do you drive for? any companies that you know of that are more flexible on the work history verifications and which are strict and less likely to accept notarized letters?

 

When i was at orientation for Schneider there were a few people they had trouble verifying thier employment so they told them to submit W2's.

 

unfortunately the w2 thing is going to be a ittle bit of a challenge since I was paid mostly CASH (hint hint) and working on my own. the notary letter sis do-able, and like i said i do have past mainstream work history (though on and off) that could vouch for my character and work ethic. Challenge is that there are several unverifiable gaps where I was working on my own. The letters is do-able though. would love to hear from a recruiter or other people that went or are in a similar situation. Thank you all for your help and advice.