Getting Discouraged After Doing Everything To Turn My Life Around After A Felony 10 Years Ago.

Hi guys I'm new here, been reading the forums here for quite some time though. Back in 2006 I was arrested on a robbery charge and did some time for it. Before anyone judges I just wanna say that its not how it sounds. I hung out with some undesirable people because I had a bad attitude and I was at the gas station with one such someone and before I even knew what was going on he was holding up the clerk. He took off, I stayed there and when the police arrived I told them what I had seen but nothing about who it was hoping that they wouldn't find out I had come in with him. Well luck has it he was already in custody and they got me as an accomplice. Everyone who knows me knows that I take full responsibility for the actions that led up to me going to prison. But damn. Its been 10 years since my conviction and I have busted my ass to get to where I am now. I am proud of the person not that I became but the person that I discovered was in me all along. I want nothing more than to provide my family with things they deserve and I want my daughter to grow up knowing I did all I could for her. But here I am out of school with a class A CDL in my hand and do you think I can get a job? Nope. As soon as that felony gets dropped the interview is done. If its not the felony alone, its because they need 10 years from my release from prison. I just got a call a hour ago from the owner of Stevens Transport and the dude told me it was a go, that I was going to Texas next week for training and leaving with my own truck. Then his secretary gets on the phone and asks about my felony, which was clearly on my application. i run it down to her and she says they need 10 years from release. Why the **** did you call me then?????!!! You got my whole family stoked just to crush everyone and it was a heavy blow for me. I keep reading on trucker blogs that there are companies out there willing to give people a second shot. Well I'd love to see it. God knows I persevere but damn. Thanks for letting me vent on here. Guess I just hoping for a little advice from anyone.

First off welcome to the site.... Don't give up you are bound to find at least one company to hire you... Not sure which companies you tried but check out all the companies here Company-Sponsored Training ... Now I know you said you got your cdl already but one those companies might give you a shot... Check out Apply For Truck Driving Jobs just type in your zip code and Search for companies around and apply to as many companies as you want with one application..

David, the biggest thing is to apply like mad everywhere you can and take whatever opportunity comes up. Do like Scott said and rifle off an application to every company on our list. Then check places like Craigslist because a lot of smaller companies advertise there and they'll often give a person an opportunity where the major companies won't.

You're in the middle of the slowest time of the year for trucking but it will be picking up in a month or two. That's gonna work against you a bit but it certainly isn't a show stopper.

Almost everyone runs into hurdles trying to get their trucking career underway. It might be the DOT Physical, it might be a tough time finding a job that keeps them home near the family, it might be a poor driving record. Everyone has things to overcome. Don't get down about it. Just fight harder. Keep on putting in applications and keep making phone calls. That felony by itself isn't going to keep you from having a career in trucking. You can get past that but there's no way to know when that first opportunity will come. You just have to keep digging until you find the right opportunity.

I forgot to say this but we have a moderator here by the name oldschool... He helped a guy get a job in trucking while still on probation or parole.. If my memory serves me right... Not really sure what happens it was a while ago..

Try waste management its almost a prerequisite here to have a felony if you want to work for them

Thanks for the supportive words guys. I feel good about things because at least I'm getting calls you know? This is what I've wanted to do since I was a kid and I use to have my grandfather tell me stories about the trucking industry. He was a retired truck driver. It just took me a while to realize how important the little things are in life and unfortunately most would say it was too little too late. Thankfully there are some people left out there like you guys that don't believe I should be condemned for life for what i on my record. Hell aside from that I don't even have a damn speeding ticket on my record! I'm definitely not giving up.

David, I understand the frustration you're going through. Keep your head held high, and you will find a drivers seat. You've just got a bigger challenge than some of the other folks to get past, but it can be done. I recommend that you start flooding everybody you can with applications, but I would also try to time those applications to hit at the right time. Around the end of April and beginning of May the hiring will really start getting turned up. You can Apply For Truck Driving Jobs at that link and send apps to a bunch of different companies while only filling out the one application.

There are some companies that have less strict requirements on the time since the final adjudication of your case. I worked at Western Express for the first sixteen months of my career and we definitely had some folks with felonies in their past. You don't have to worry that they are not going to be a good place to work, and please forget about trusting any type of on-line reviews of trucking companies. Take it from me, I loved working over there - I made decent money, got some good training in flat-bed securement, and stayed busy all the time. They weren't the highest paying company around, but there were plenty of times when I was running all I could legally do - they kept me real busy. I would still be there had I not received a much more lucrative offer.

Remember this David: someone will give you the chance to prove yourself, when that happens stick with them and be a loyal employee. Do what ever it takes to stick with them for one year of safe driving. Once you have done that, it will make a world of difference when you start looking around for another place of employment. Don't leave your first trucking job without having another one lined up, but getting in that first year with no accidents will be a firm foundation for you to build off of. You'll be surprised how after you have proven yourself that little problem of that felony will diminish greatly. There are going to be a few places that will never consider you, but just keep moving forward and realize that it is their loss.

Thanks Old School. That definitely raised my spirits. I got a call back from Werner tonight and that may be a go. I'm definitely not the type of person who wants to be picky here. I will gladly bust my ass for anyone who is willing to give me a chance here. What I want to stop though is the recruiters that keep calling me telling me how great I can have it only to then say "so do you have any felony or misdemeanor convictions on your record?" Considering I have put my crime and a lengthy explanation of the events of it on every app I can only assume they Dont even read the applications. That is irritating to say the least .