If You Had Trouble Finding Work This Year What Will Change Next Year?

There are many people looking for work in the transportation industry and many companies looking to hire you, however many people still can’t find jobs. Any seasoned recruiter when he or she hears that a person has been looking for work for a long time and has a commercial license their ears perk up saying whoa, what’s wrong with this person? The truth is that anyone with a license and decent record should not be out of work in the transportation industry unless they want to be. The people that are out of work with a commercial license many times have something that needs to be addressed. That doesn’t make you a bad person, it just may be a glitch you have to fix unless you have many infractions on the license. So what will you do next year or next month for that matter to make the situation better?

For instance if you went to apply for a position and you didn’t have the experience, do you have that now, do you have a plan to get it, have you figured out where you need to go to get it? As a consultant I speak to many new drivers in school or potential owner operators. Many say they want to go and work here or they have heard it is good to work over there, but many don’t have a plan to get there. They’re hoping it will all work out in their favour because the industry is looking for many people. Well I have news for you, even though there is a driver shortage, even though many positions are available it doesn’t mean it will be a cake walk into the great job. You may need more experience, maybe your record is still not as squeaky clean as it should be? Those things can be fixed with time and a plan. But what I see much of the time is people get to the door, find it is not quite as open as they thought it should be and turn and run the other way, never to be found again. I had one driver who went all the way through to the final stage of hiring only to be found he had a medical position that does not allow him to run in the US. When turned down he disappeared and when I followed up with him he said he is planning on finding work somewhere else. He may not have been able to cross the border but he could have found a carrier working within Canada. He just didn’t take the time to reevaluate his options. I see this time and time again.

If this is similar to your situation then periodically you should be reevaluating your resume and your goals. If you don’t have the experience needed right now how many of you have asked if there are other positions available maybe in the warehouse, or in the office. It may get you into the carrier in another role and then when you have proved yourself it will help you in the future. Don’t turn at the first sign of trouble, another question may be the one that gets you the job.

About the Author
Bruce Outridge has been in the transportation industry for over 30 years and helps new drivers have successful careers through career guidance and business advice. he is the author of the books Driven to Drive and Running by the Mile. To learn more about Bruce and his work visit his website at www.outridgeenterprises.ca