Struggling To Get Started.

So I have been studying the trucking industry for several months, trying to decide on how to enter the industry. I could pay for a truck driving school myself and apply to many different companies that hire rookies, but I instead decided on going to a trucking company that has their own school, and here is why: I received a life sentence when I was 18. Now if you were to look up my criminal record it would tell you that I was charged with many felonies and dozens of misdemeanors, and I was convicted of 2 felonies and a few misdemeanors and received a 19 month prison sentence. I say it was a life sentence, because here I am 20 years after the fact and people still judge me by a few paragraphs on a sheet of paper that tells them I am a bad person. Apparently people can't change after they are 18? Anyway, for this reason I decided that I wanted a trucking company that knew all of this about me and would still be willing to take a "risk" on me. So a few weeks ago after researching various companies and options, I decided to apply to Prime. No particular reason sticks out as to why other than that is what I felt in my gut would be a good fit for me. So after applying I was contacted by a recruiter who asks for proof of employment for the past three years, since I own part of a small construction company and have been self employed for the past 10 years. Now, my company has been struggling to survive for the past few years, and it is on the verge of bankruptcy. The company's taxes are a huge mess, and we haven't even gotten the taxes filed for 2012 yet and here we are approaching 2013's tax time. Now since the company hasn't filed its taxes for 2012 yet, obviously my personal taxes cannot be filed yet, leaving me with no real way to prove that I have been self employed for 2012. I have not even filed my personal taxes since 2008, since I haven't even been making enough to survive since then. But I did get a printout from the irs office showing my reported earnings for 2010 and 2011. I don't know if the recruiter doesn't know how to make heads or tales out of it, or if it doesn't look right to them because the unfiled returns or what, but I cannot get an answer from the recruiter one way or the other as to if I can start with prime. Geez, and I thought the ancient criminal history was going to be tough to get by! I can't even get past the work history! I have been working in Oklahoma since the tornadoes there in June, and just came back up to Minnesota for Thanksgiving. I am taking a trip back down to Oklahoma later this week to finish up there and get my check. I am taking all of my records and paperwork with me so I can stop into the Prime offices on my way back. Maybe some face to face time and a briefcase full of paperwork will get me started with them soon! Let's hope so anyway...

James, you definitely have a tough situation. Talk to the recruiter and ask them if you can give them a few references that can talk to the recruiter and confirm your work history. I know that if you've been self employed and can't prove it, that sometimes the recruiter will appreciate talking to a few people that can confirm that you've been self employed. Just a thought..

James, in some cases just a letter from a friend stating that you have been an independent contractor doing "disaster clean-up" work or whatever, will suffice if you get it notarized. I helped a friend who had a terrible work history situation lay out a few documents like that and it worked like a charm for him.

If you can get a start somewhere in the industry, do your best to put in one full year of safe driving before you quit or move on to another company. I don't care how tough it is, this will help you immensely in getting that "life" sentence removed as far as trucking companies are concerned. Once you've proven your work ethics in a real life scenario they begin to overlook some of those old criminal activities.

Having a felony is not a life sentence. I should know. 6 years in a Maximum Penitentiary in Arkansas. I have been driving now for 16 years and have only found it an issue a very few times. The issue is the time since then. Almost no companies will touch you unless its been at least ten years. There are a few that might consider less time but the norm is ten years. If the companies you look at do have a time limit then is a rarity they will lower that time limit any.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Daniel B., I did give the recruiter 3 references. I talked to each of them and not one of them has received a call from anyone at Prime.

Old School, that is a great idea to get my references write a letter and the contractor I subbed from in Oklahoma to write one as well. I will be making some calls tomorrow to try and get this done.

Guyjax, its good to know that there are guys out there that have been able to escape the shadow of the past. We may have made some mistakes in the past, but that certainly does not define who we are now. I thought I had gotten past it when it was "removed" from my public record after 15 years. I applied to a large company that processes soybeans 3 years ago. Their application asked if I had been convicted of a felony in the past 7 years. Of course I said no. They hired me pending a background check. Guess what happened when they received the background check? Yup, my history apparently disqualifies me from the highly sensitive task of unloading soybeans from rail cars and pushing them in a crusher. What was I going to do? Steal a rail car somehow? I can laugh about it now, but it was a kick in the sack when they told me that they wouldn't hire me after already telling me I had the job. I am sure that I can overcome my misdeeds of 1994 and find someone who will take a chance on me. Its just a long uphill battle.