I cant find a job at 21 with a misdemenor a few years ago.

Hello. I am a long time lurker, rare poster.

I graduated from DMACC transportation institute with a 4.0 GPA on September 9th of this year. I was told by both trucking companies, and people at the school that I would be able to find a job easily once I graduated. However, once I did get through school, the jobs just were not there for me.

I have tried at over a hundred carriers, from Schneider to JB hunt, to local companies. What can I do? Most companies have a problem with my misdemeanor being less than 3 years old. Right now I'm really sick of being rejected.

 

Harassment class D

Is this a viable option for a new driver? Is this a safe thing for a new driver to do without experience, and wouldn't that open me up to ending my career due to an accident much more easily than OTR work?

 

Well thanks for the encouragement. I have a possible job driving a straight truck hauling fertilizer if their safety department will let them hire me. The job only lasts 3 months, but it's driving a freightliner with a 10 speed transmission. If nothing else I can show that I can hold down a job, and come into the OTR world with smooth shifting and good habits as opposed to a completely green student.

If this doesn't work out though, I think I will slow down my job search drastically for a few months and then start applying to some of the companies I tried first. My thinking is that I turn 22 on November 2nd, and the age might help, and with the economy being slow, many companies may be waiting to hire the less desirable people until the new year/quarter starts.

In the meantime, I have started buying newspapers and putting great big X marks across all the trucking jobs I don't qualify for in the classifieds, then calling all the companies I do qualify for. While most reject me for one reason or another, I have met a few very nice recruiters that have taken time to give me advice and encouragement.

A recruiter for MCT said that while his company couldn't hire me, he would try and troubleshoot why I am not getting hired. After asking for a copy of my resume, he spent over an hour telling me how to better answer questions and sell myself to other companies. I found that to be an amazing bit of support. The recruiter said that my resume looked very professional, my driving record is excellent, and my communication skills are better than many in the industry, because of that, it's the companies, not me, that is keeping me from getting hired.

So, along I plod, sure it's discouraging to be given a "no" over and over. Yes, it's depressing having everyone reject you, but I really am beginning to see this as a good thing as I have worked that much harder to get into the industry and can't be called lazy.

Thanks for the advice guys.