No Company Will Hire A R.S.O.

Howdy Folks.

Just wanted to give you'all a progress report.

After I'd worked for the paving company for about a year, I told the owner of the company that I would like to get into hauling freight. He was supportive of my career goals and gave me his "blessing."

Since I didn't have semi-tractor/trailer experience, I wasn't sure how my job hunt was going to go. After a few rejections, I found a food service company that needed a shuttle driver ("drop & hook") hauling double reefers to their different hubs in CA.

My criminal background came up in the initial interview and I was transparent about it. When the hiring manager found out that it didn't involve something like theft or drunken driving, he said that it wasn't something that would prevent me from getting the job and he hired me!

As I mentioned, I'm still on parole and my PO approved the new job, even though it caused me to travel out of the county on a daily basis.

I've been working at Saladinos for a couple of months. It's still considered "local" work (hourly) but I do get about 1000 miles a week of freeway & city driving experience.

My goal is to eventually haul flatbed either OTR , or Regionally. In the meantime, I'm getting valuable experience even though I'm "limited" to local driving.

I hope this encourages someone.

Thanks for all your support.

Jeff V.

Congrats on your progress Jeff.

Jeff, that’s a great story of perseverance. Stay the course and your goals will become reality. Well done!

Jeff, that is fantastic news. Thanks for coming back and updating us. Keep up the good work.

I know this topic can be very Taboo to discuss. I am also a RSO, and I can confirm that reentering society after prison with this label can be very challenging. The label itself is very broad and can be anthing from the most heinous crime to having sex with a girl who is 17 and you were 19. Every state has different laws, it is very complex to navigate and understand.

Anyways, that being said, I have been contemplating getting my CDL. I know the hiring process will be difficult, but I wondered if it was even possible. And after reading this thread I have found a lot of valuble information. So I wanted to take a moment and say thans to everyone for being transparent and non-judgemntal during this discussion. The reality is that we all want the present/future version of ourselve to be better than who we were in the past.

So thanks for all the insight, knowledge, and compassion shared here.

So over a decade ago, I became an RSO, After years of being unable to obtain employment I have gotten my CDL Permit and I am now looking for what jobs I can take. I CANget my TSA and hazmat , they have already said I am ok. I am still on Parole, with another 4 years to go, and Parole backs and supports my new job and early termination of my parole, IF I can show I am stable. I plan on moving out of the USA after parole, as I understand I will NEVER be allowed to move past this one event of my life.

So now I am wondering where do I start... looking for work here in the USA. I will be getting my tanker and hazmat, but I am worried that this will always hold me back. I have paid my debt to society but society seems unwilling ever to let me have a house or a job.

I was told I should start in propane, and then move into fuel. That it is harder to go from fright to hazmat because of a lack of hazmat experience? Should I attempt to start hazmat this way? Also, I am willing to work for minimum wage my first year, is this a good idea?

I thank the original poster for their bravery in even asking their question.

Howdy Folks.

Just wanted to give you'all a progress report.

After I'd worked for the paving company for about a year, I told the owner of the company that I would like to get into hauling freight. He was supportive of my career goals and gave me his "blessing."

Since I didn't have semi-tractor/trailer experience, I wasn't sure how my job hunt was going to go. After a few rejections, I found a food service company that needed a shuttle driver ("drop & hook") hauling double reefers to their different hubs in CA.

My criminal background came up in the initial interview and I was transparent about it. When the hiring manager found out that it didn't involve something like theft or drunken driving, he said that it wasn't something that would prevent me from getting the job and he hired me!

As I mentioned, I'm still on parole and my PO approved the new job, even though it caused me to travel out of the county on a daily basis.

I've been working at Saladinos for a couple of months. It's still considered "local" work (hourly) but I do get about 1000 miles a week of freeway & city driving experience.

My goal is to eventually haul flatbed either OTR , or Regionally. In the meantime, I'm getting valuable experience even though I'm "limited" to local driving.

I hope this encourages someone.

Thanks for all your support.

Jeff V.

Congrats, like you I am still on parole and they support my CDL. Have you had a problem with load or maintaining employment?

Good luck moving forward, but as far as leaving the U.S. as an RSO, that will be a bigger issue than getting your CDL.....A LOT of foreign countries will not even allow such entry, period.

I was told I should start in propane, and then move into fuel. That it is harder to go from fright to hazmat because of a lack of hazmat experience? Should I attempt to start hazmat this way? Also, I am willing to work for minimum wage my first year, is this a good idea?

I thank the original poster for their bravery in even asking their question.

Howdy!

We never recommend going into tankers hauling any kind of liquid because you don't have the basics down and you throw that sloshing around into the mix, and it's an accident waiting to happen. I understand propane is a tanker on a chassis attached to the truck. I've seen plenty of them out there, but it's still liquid that moves a truck around.

It would be far better for you to do dry van or reefer , get your year or two experience and then look at doing propane or fuel. Most of those companies require 2 or more years experience driving.

I don't understand why you think you have to move out of the USA because of your RSO incident. My company laid off 3/4 of their employees back in May, including me, and at the end of May the last of the employees got let go and the doors were shut. I have been looking for local work because I really don't want to go back over the road again, 10 years was long enough.

What I am seeing on indeed.com, glassdoor.com and my Idaho unemployment website, Idahoworks.com, is that there are a lot of companies with regional or local jobs that will put this statement in their description of the job: "People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply".

Use our link to apply everywhere. If you get turned down by all of them, then go to the above websites and look there. Also look at Craigslist.com. As long as you have not reoffended, do as your parole officer says to do, you stand as good a chance as anyone out here.

Apply For Truck Driving Jobs

Good luck to you.

I was told I should start in propane, and then move into fuel. That it is harder to go from fright to hazmat because of a lack of hazmat experience? Should I attempt to start hazmat this way? Also, I am willing to work for minimum wage my first year, is this a good idea?

I thank the original poster for their bravery in even asking their question.

Howdy!

We never recommend going into tankers hauling any kind of liquid because you don't have the basics down and you throw that sloshing around into the mix, and it's an accident waiting to happen. I understand propane is a tanker on a chassis attached to the truck. I've seen plenty of them out there, but it's still liquid that moves a truck around.

It would be far better for you to do dry van or reefer , get your year or two experience and then look at doing propane or fuel. Most of those companies require 2 or more years experience driving.

I don't understand why you think you have to move out of the USA because of your RSO incident. My company laid off 3/4 of their employees back in May, including me, and at the end of May the last of the employees got let go and the doors were shut. I have been looking for local work because I really don't want to go back over the road again, 10 years was long enough.

What I am seeing on indeed.com, glassdoor.com and my Idaho unemployment website, Idahoworks.com, is that there are a lot of companies with regional or local jobs that will put this statement in their description of the job: "People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply".

Use our link to apply everywhere. If you get turned down by all of them, then go to the above websites and look there. Also look at Craigslist.com. As long as you have not reoffended, do as your parole officer says to do, you stand as good a chance as anyone out here.

Apply For Truck Driving Jobs

Good luck to you.

Thank you, I will follow this. Right now I am looking at a company that is local and has a short runs so I will be trying them.