What company to go with?

[tbogle]

My brother has been looking to go to school to drive for a few years now. Unfortunately something happen and it got pushed back and make a long story short, he just got out of jail after being in for three months and he has a battery misdemeanor charge. He called Werner and they told him they couldnt take him and he is wanting to know if anybody knows of who he should call or do or if he even has a chance of driving a truck now? He doesnt care on what he does for right now but eventually he wants into flatbed. He had a permit for a cdl but while in jail it expired. He will be 22 years old in September. We appreciate any help we could get and hopefully someone has some good news for him.

[dieselpower]

he might have a hard time finding a driving job. my brother had a simple battery charge and swift and some other ones told him to try back in 5 years. that was back in 2000 when he applied. are you telling the truth about your brother being locked up for 3 months on a battery charge because my brother had the same charge and was released the next day on a 2 thousand dollar bond and served 1 year on probation with a 500 dollar fine. Maybe the law is different in your home state than in mine.

[matcat]

If he is hot headed enough to get into fights, who is to say a shipper or receiver, or another truck driver isn't going to piss him off and he does something stupid? Just sayin...

Hard for me to imagine it, I have never been in a fight in my life, the word is much more powerful then the fist.

[Phreddo]

The problem is that it's an employer's market right now, so they can be as picky as they want.
Just totally pulling this one out of thin air, but maybe a job related to trucking, like dock work or something just to get in with a company for starters.

[thbogle]

For one, i am not lying about anything. He took a plea deal, and with it he got 90 days in jail, has a fine and then this charge. The first charge was sexual assualt (which as now been dropped) and it was one of them he said she said and it went on for over a year and he just took the plea deal to get it done with. He was getting into debt, been kicked out of the Navy and he couldnt do anything with this over his head. so he settled for this. There is no reason for me to lie about any of it. I am on here to get an honest opinion about what to do and if i was to lie about whats going on then the help I would be getting wouldnt really help, right? anyway, how they got it down to this kind of charge, i have no idea. He has never been in a fight with anyone so no I dont have to worry about him getting mad at someone. My husband is a driver too and my brother went out on the road with him a few years ago and he has heard a lot about what goes on out there. So he kinda knows what to expect. i dont know how much more to tell you guys without going into a long story so hopefully with this information someone can help.

Sorry after i posted this, i realized i was logged into my husband account. but the information doesnt change.

[jburd]

Good luck to your brother.
As has already been mentioned,the employers can be pickier now about new employees.

[tbogle]

what do you guys mean that they can be pickier? How, i mean are they wanting older people? People with more experience? Does this mean that he wouldnt even be able to get into one of these companies that train, like werner or swift?

[Phreddo]

Last I checked, Schneider has put a freeze on hiring non-experienced drivers for training.
Times are tough all around, but yeah, companies that traditionally hire newbies are scaling that back.
So now they can pick and choose the best drivers and leave the "riskier" drivers to the "lesser" companies.
and FYI, "risk" is usually decided by some actuarial table used by the carriers' insurers.

Felony? no thanks
DUI? keep walking
job hopper? pass
bad credit? sorry

We're not saying "give up," we're just saying that it's going to take more time and patience to make this happen.

It may help to not take the attitude on "settling" on driving. Trucking companies don't want to invest time and money to train a groom a driver who's just passing thru waiting for something better. He may just have to gut it up and work for a crappy company at substandard wages to get in a year of experience. That would go a long way towards building a better driving resume.

[SickRick]

Last I checked, Schneider has put a freeze on hiring non-experienced drivers for training.
Times are tough all around, but yeah, companies that traditionally hire newbies are scaling that back.
So now they can pick and choose the best drivers and leave the "riskier" drivers to the "lesser" companies.
and FYI, "risk" is usually decided by some actuarial table used by the carriers' insurers.

Felony? no thanks
DUI? keep walking
job hopper? pass
bad credit? sorry

We're not saying "give up," we're just saying that it's going to take more time and patience to make this happen.

It may help to not take the attitude on "settling" on driving. Trucking companies don't want to invest time and money to train a groom a driver who's just passing thru waiting for something better. He may just have to gut it up and work for a crappy company at substandard wages to get in a year of experience. That would go a long way towards building a better driving resume.

Phreddo...

Why BAD CREDIT as a criteria?

Are folks with credit issues considered a higher risk for "inventory shrinkage" problems? Or is it the "potential stress" of having bill collectors on their butts?

I'm getting ready to do a bankruptcy - mainly around my mortgage and an RV purchase that I could no longer afford to make payments on (voluntary repo before I was even late on a payment). These two debts have me at close to $900K in debt, and the only logical choice is to bankrupt them out (along with a paltry-in-comparison $50K in credit card debt).

I understand that credit reports are pulled as part of a USIS/DAC and that insurance companies usually pull them (in judging whether or not to extend a payment plan for premiums) - but was told that they really aren't given that much weight in hiring in the industry.

Sigh...

At this point, I may just have to go with Plan A (which would now be Plan C), and purchase a Truck right off the bat after I graduate school (don't ask, but the DP and "reasonable financing" is already in place), shagging freight off the freight boards for 6 months to a year, then getting on with LandStar or another company as an O/O Leased To. It's looking like the BEST WAY for a newb to get in at this point - is to come with their OWN TRUCK.

This was my "Plan A" - which I quickly dismissed under the advice of folks on this and other boards - opting to go company driver for a year or two (Plan B) before deciding whether or not to purchase a truck (avoiding "fleece deals" at all costs).

Guess it's time to start shopping INSURANCE (the most expensive recurring part of the equation for a newb) and looking at fright sources (brokers and load boards) to see how those are running...

Rick

[matcat]

Phreddo...

Why BAD CREDIT as a criteria?

Are folks with credit issues considered a higher risk for "inventory shrinkage" problems? Or is it the "potential stress" of having bill collectors on their butts?

I'm getting ready to do a bankruptcy - mainly around my mortgage and an RV purchase that I could no longer afford to make payments on (voluntary repo before I was even late on a payment). These two debts have me at close to $900K in debt, and the only logical choice is to bankrupt them out (along with a paltry-in-comparison $50K in credit card debt).

I understand that credit reports are pulled as part of a USIS/DAC and that insurance companies usually pull them (in judging whether or not to extend a payment plan for premiums) - but was told that they really aren't given that much weight in hiring in the industry.

Sigh...

At this point, I may just have to go with Plan A (which would now be Plan C), and purchase a Truck right off the bat after I graduate school (don't ask, but the DP and "reasonable financing" is already in place), shagging freight off the freight boards for 6 months to a year, then getting on with LandStar or another company as an O/O Leased To. It's looking like the BEST WAY for a newb to get in at this point - is to come with their OWN TRUCK.

This was my "Plan A" - which I quickly dismissed under the advice of folks on this and other boards - opting to go company driver for a year or two (Plan B) before deciding whether or not to purchase a truck (avoiding "fleece deals" at all costs).

Guess it's time to start shopping INSURANCE (the most expensive recurring part of the equation for a newb) and looking at fright sources (brokers and load boards) to see how those are running...

Rick

Good luck finding an insurance company to insure you with no experience! Not to mention even some brokers won't even give you the freight either. To buy a truck as a newbie and run under your own authority is almost just as tough as it is getting in with a company now a days! Even if you do find someone to insure you, it is probably only going to be a 300 mile radius or so.

[tbogle]

Thanks everyone for the input. He has now been considering going to the college around here and just taking the driving course here. Would that help at all or at least make it a little easier to get a job since the company wouldnt have to invest as much into him?

[Ford390pwr]

Thanks everyone for the input. He has now been considering going to the college around here and just taking the driving course here. Would that help at all or at least make it a little easier to get a job since the company wouldnt have to invest as much into him?

If your brother pays for his own schooling he may be out the cost of tuition and still have a very hard time getting employed. Every one of the training carriers have an abundance of applications. With a misdemeanor battery he can forget about Central Refrigerated, they will not even consider him. C.R. England is more lenient regarding misdemeanors, but with jail time being served they will be very hesitant. Swift will conduct a background interview over the phone, then they will pull a complete criminal history and decide on a case by case basis.

I have not looked at any of the carriers that accept recent graduates because I can not pay for my own school. Many people on here have said that the carriers can be pickier in the economy. All of the above mentioned carriers have tightened up criteria regarding tickets, accidents, felonies and misdemeanors just over the last month. With hundreds of applicants, they can ignore all apps with criminal charges and only look at apps with no criminal history.

In my experience over the last two months of searching I did not experience any inquiry into my credit history. This is not to say that the carriers did not look at my credit, many employers do, but they never had any questions for me regarding my current credit status.

Before your brother pays for schooling, he should make sure that he can get hired by some carrier.

[FunkRider]

Let me tell you this. I'm squeaky clean on my driving history, criminal record, partway through a fast card application process and went to a top driving school. I can't even get a bite as to finding a job as a newbie. I paid the $4030 for driving school out of my pocket. I borrowed some of the money and sold some of my spare car parts to get the money including a spare transmission for my car. Now that I can't find a job guess which part of my car is acting up?

I got excited today when I saw a replied email from a company only to open it and read to try again in the summer.

[chris1]

Why BAD CREDIT as a criteria?

Are folks with credit issues considered a higher risk for "inventory shrinkage" problems? Or is it the "potential stress" of having bill collectors on their butts?

I'm getting ready to do a bankruptcy - mainly around my mortgage and an RV purchase that I could no longer afford to make payments on (voluntary repo before I was even late on a payment). These two debts have me at close to $900K in debt, and the only logical choice is to bankrupt them out (along with a paltry-in-comparison $50K in credit card debt).

I understand that credit reports are pulled as part of a USIS/DAC and that insurance companies usually pull them (in judging whether or not to extend a payment plan for premiums) - but was told that they really aren't given that much weight in hiring in the industry.

[/QUOTE]
When the garnishments come the drivers tend to disappear and go to work elsewhere untill they are found again. That's why we pull credit reports. Theft is a secondary concern.

[Ford390pwr]

I got excited today when I saw a replied email from a company only to open it and read to try again in the summer.

So what carriers have you applied to?

[FunkRider]

It's shorter to list the ones I haven't applied to around here.

Challenger.

I've talked to a few smaller companies around here and they all say the same thing "we do not have a new driver program and only hire experienced drivers at this time".

[SickRick]

Why BAD CREDIT as a criteria?


When the garnishments come the drivers tend to disappear and go to work elsewhere untill they are found again. That's why we pull credit reports. Theft is a secondary concern.

So a bankruptcy with complete discharge (Chapter 7) puts me in the clear - as all my debts are DISCHARGED and all my creditors are GONE.

There's NO WAY I would even attempt to move forward into a new career with the kind of bad mojo my current debt situation causes. With the amount of debt my house has run up - a chapter 7 discharge is really my only option. I'll walk away in 90 days, clean as a newborn...

Rick

[matcat]

your credit is not really an issue for getting hired anyway, when I got hired by swift I believe my credit rating was something like 350.

[jburd]

Matcat.......my credit score sucks almost as bad as yours.....maybe they looking for potential lease/fleece/purchase people..

No probs with Swifty getting hired dur ot it though.

[Matcron33]

you might want to tell your brother. that he should consider a different field of work. and going to school for something other then trucking. reason. rite now. it's very hard for highly experienced drivers to get a job driving a truck. and newbie drivers. have got to be clean and perfect in order to get into trucking now.. reason: american is moving into gobalization. which means very strict security laws. alot of people are going to be left behind in america.

how employment works now in trucking.

1. highly desired drivers/cream of the top drivers

2. military people. g.i's are very highly desired due to the disaplin training. and how chain of command works.

3. college educated people. college kids are coming into the job market and taking what jobs are left. that means trucking jobs to.

4. people who have worked the same job for 15 years. and have a very clean past. and have strong work ethics.

5. experienced driver that may have had a couple of past problems like a few too many jobs. and or a couple of old misdemeanor convictions.

6. new student drivers with a clean history. and mostly stupid to the ways of trucking and money.

any one that doesn't meet the list above. will have next to no chance in driving a truck. there are not enough jobs to go around in any industry. so getting a job other then a fast food resturant. is hard....