Want a job? Then follow this piece of information and you will be well on your way. Most people find looking for work a struggle, hard work and at most times very time consuming. The reason for this is you have no clue in how to go about searching for the right job or where it is to find it. The first part of your journey is learning the difference between getting your driver’s license and second, landing a job with a good Carrier. Two entirely different lessons to be learned and if used properly you will always be groomed for success.
I earned my AZ license in the 1990’s (you know I used the term “earned) because most importantly you have to earn it, not have it given to you. It’s an attitude. Most Ministry examiners give you an hour to show them how much “they don’t know”. A ten minute walk around your truck, not a minute longer, and tell them everything you don’t know in a pre-trip inspection of a truck you’ve never driven before. As long as you keep your truck in a semi-safe manner and obey the rules of the road for the same amount of time, here’s your license, and thank you for shopping at K-Mart.
So far so good right? What a joke? The joke is they don’t even care if you have been trained at Trucker-r-Us Academy located at I.M.T.A. (In My Trunk Academy) or not, all they are looking for is the sound of $$’s for the hour’s appointment. They’ll leave it up to the driving public to see how dangerous he or she really is and depending on where you’ve been trained it will tell you how many doors are opened to you or in most cases “closed”. If you bring this attitude with you for your job interview or your road test “YOU WILL FAIL”.
Do you want to know how to find work? No matter what the economy, no matter how few jobs are out there or how little experience you present, just follow my five “A”s. This is how you get work with the Carrier of your choice. The five “A”s, nothing magical, nothing hard to learn, easy to use. Do you know why most drivers don’t apply this it’s because they have never been shown how to use this. Most schools don’t know the five “A”s so how can they teach this? They take your money alright but they are under no obligation to guarantee you a successful road test result at the Ministry examination.
Are you getting the picture yet? Most graduates from “Trucker-r-Us” Academy pay lots of money and show you the door. I know of only a few schools who, really care honestly about their students and work with them until they reach the finish line. This is called “research” but that’s another topic. The Ministry is just now looking into fining these violating schools that operate under false pretenses but good luck trying to enforce the wrong doings you will have already spent your money.
In order to land a job of your choosing you need to use the five “A”s and take advantage taking the time to figure out what kind of job you really want. The last thing you want happening is “what do I do now after I get my license”? This is when the new graduate goes by the seat of his pants and starts applying for work. He sends out dozens of resumes usually by e-mail and keeps his fingers crossed. This is a losing game.
The five “A”s stand for appearance, aptitude, attitude, ability to learn and ambassadorship. Appearance is self explanatory but if you look like you are going to the beach on the day of your interview you may want to re-think your wardrobe. Aptitude is your understanding in how a question is to be answered. Attitude both good and bad is your indicator ahead of time how your interview will go. This can include anything from leaving your cell phone in your car to having to borrow a pen for the application or tests presented to you.
The ability to learn and ambassadorship are the two most important skills you could bring with you to an interview. As long as you are willing to say “I don’t know” or “I am not sure” your employer has an opportunity to help find a solution but if you think you know it all and don’t want the help well you know the rest. This as attitude written all over it doesn’t. Then my favorite job killer “ambassadorship” how are you going to respect my company to our customers?
I’ve only started opening the door to the science of finding the right choice of career. You need a target, a game plan and the ability to notice what is working and what isn’t. Until next time…….
