Employment History? What To Include?

For the last several years I have been unemployed more than employ. I have had some jobs that I knew would be a FT short term project through temporary agencies. Some I may not remember. At other times I have been employed under the table. My question is should the “under the table jobs” be included while filling out applications? I also run a small IT service provider company where I pick up work online and am 1099 at the end of the year and have been doing this since 2010.

Welcome to the "under the table" club. Here was my experience with Prime & Stevens Transport:

They want a SOLID 36 months of work history. If there is a phone number available, give it to them because they WILL call to verify. If you were collecting unemployment make note of it if you were receiving benefits. If no benefits at the time make note of that. If you want to include that under the table time, get people who can verify THAT to put it in writing and notarize their signature. They were really thorough and will check everything you put down. I think they are required to by Federal regulations. One note about Stevens Transport. The founder thinks if someone is unemployed for more than a year in the last three than that someone doesn't have the "right stuff" and maybe was enjoying that couch and soap operas a little too much and is not Stevens material. I was just under the wire with 11 months myself so they offered me a spot in their training. But it was close and they DO NOT make exceptions.

Jopa

Man, Jopa to the rescue! You nailed it. Thanks a ton for that!

Indeed the Feds and the trucking companies themselves really want to make sure they know what you've been doing at all times. It would be quite awful to suddenly get a phone call and find out one of your drivers really spent a year in prison instead of working under the table like they said. So they will want proof of some sort to verify everything. They're not big on the honor system.

And Stevens isn't the only one that doesn't like to see long stretches of unemployment. A lot of companies have some sort of policy in place about that. Prime I believe doesn't like to see more than a year without working at anytime in the past three years also. Each company has their own rules and they can adjust them at anytime. Each company will also have different ways they'll allow you to verify self-employment, unemployment without benefits, or working under the table. So some of it you'll just have to work through with the different companies you'll be applying to. Just be up front and honest with them about everything. Give them the opportunity to work through it with you. Remember, there's always a solid demand for drivers. Companies would love to bring you in. But they won't tolerate anyone intentionally misleading them. The first time they sense you intentionally tried to cover up anything the application goes straight into the garbage.

I can vouch for them checking on employment: two of my prospects for employment after school called to say they could not reach the employer who I worked for from 2003 to 2012, no surprise to me the company doesn't answer the phone and won't return calls, heck they might even be out of business. What the recruiters required was W-2's going back through 2009, they have to have the proof, as Jopa and Brett have indicated.

I'd suggest and recommend being as completely and utterly honest with them.

The under the table stuff may be hardest to prove. The employers may not want to openly admit he worked me without taking taxes out or 1099 me at the end of the tax year. I know of at least one that will not take the time to get it any letter notarized. The 1099 work I have done is two large companies that have contractors, like myself, throughout the US and Canada, no one really know anyone personally, they will only be able to verified that i was a 1099 contractor between dates.

Sound like I really need to start calling some recruiters and see how what there policies are and what is acceptable forms of verications of employment.

TYhanks for the input guys!