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Welcome to Part III - Drivers - How to Narrow Your Job Search...
6. Consult with your wife, husband or significant other.(for ease of reading we will refer to this person as your wife) This is a step that is often overlooked. You're wife will remember all the issues you complained about or liked at your last job. Sometimes we only tend to remember the good things or bad things about a company we worked for. Your Wife is a great sounding board because believe it or not she listens to you and wants to see you happy. If your happy, she's happy. It's not just about the money, it's easy to get wrapped up in the money aspect of a job. Trust me, the a few pennies more per mile will lose its appeal when you are stuck out over the week-end, not getting the miles, or have a dispatcher that doesn't care or is too busy all the time. FBC(Federal Blog Commission) Warning. Too much interaction/conversation with your wife can lead to problems. As you all know, a wife is, pound for pound, the most dangerous animal in the world. Tread carefully here. I learned this the hard way when I recently asked my significant other her opinion and ended up in a relationship counseling session.
5. Online Driver Discussion boards. Check these out! These can be a good source of real information. I think every driver should belong to a few of them. Like anything, there are good ones and bad ones, and some of the people who post on boards are just disgruntled and unhappy. So use caution here also and don't believe everything you read. I have gotten a lot of good information from these boards, and the better ones have members who have their profiles published also, so you can see who your talking to, I find that for the most part, if someone is going to take the time to write and discuss companies etc. on these boards, they are generally sincere.
4. Respect. This is a common and rather generic term that is thrown around a lot these days. Why? I don't know. I think respect is a given. Perhaps what these trucking companies mean is that they are honest about things. I think Honesty is the best quality a company can have when it communicates with its drivers. Its just that simple. This is a key aspect to look for in any potential employer. When your following these steps, always keep this in mind.
This seems like a lot of work, doesn't it? Yes it does! But, please remember the hours/days of orientation, setting up your truck, paperwork, drug tests and spending a few months at a company you don't like, when you make a knee-jerk decision to work somewhere. There is a lot of time and money you are investing in a new job, make it count. A few hours of research now will save you tons of headaches later. I originally tried to do this in 3 parts, but this is an important decision and there is a lot to cover. Stay tuned, Part IV this weekend!
What about a career change? Have you thought about switching to pulling a reefer, van, flatbed, or tanker? How about a being a car hauler or driving for an Oil Field Services company? Intermodal? You ask, we deliver. 18 Wheels of Justice investigates and compares apples to apples and breaks it all down for you... Debuts next week! "Drivers and Operators: Choices within your Driving Career - The Inside Scoop"...Next week will be the long awaited debut of “Ask 18 Wheels of Justice” on our website. We provide opinions, answers and solutions to all things trucking. If we don't know, we will find the answer! A sincere thank you to all of you who submitted questions, please keep them coming.
© 2012 Michael H. Komadina
18 Wheels of Justice™
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