How many of you would like to be a Rockstar, we all would to a point? When I talk about being a Rockstar I am not talking about trashing a truck, gutting hotel rooms, or wearing sun glasses at night. I am talking about your personal worth in the industry. Remember in 2010 when CSA came into light the focus of that was the 200,000 jobs that may be lost in the industry and how many of those were drivers with bad licenses or records? That is not a Rockstar. Everyone wants to be like a Rockstar, look at the Stones, Aerosmith, and the many others. We all want what they have to a point or when we were younger we wanted to be like them. A Rockstar in transportation is the same thing, everyone either wants you or wants to be like you. What if just your name alone was enough to set the recruiting bells ringing off the hook? What if you had the choice of company to work for, the type of run that you want, and the equipment that you wanted to drive? Don’t believe that could happen, it happens in sports, it happens in management, it happens in other industries so why not in transportation? How do you become a Rockstar though, do you learn an instrument, do you become God like and wear sunglasses all the time, what is the secret? The secret is you! 

To become a Rockstar in transportation you need to develop your brand so that you are so valuable every one wants you for their team. That means making sure your license is clean, taking care of your equipment as though you own it or as I call it “owning your position,” being dependable, and having great customer service. Where do you start? The best place to start is where you are right now, the company that you are with. Are you reliable to them, do they know who you are and when they are looking for a quality person for a load does your name come top of mind? Do you have good time management or are you late part of the time making you unreliable. Are you presentable to your customers, do you walk in to a receiver dressed properly have all the paperwork in good order and have a friendly demeanour so they want to deal with you? If your company had to let a driver go tomorrow would your name be on that list or would you be so valuable that your supervisor would fight to keep you? If you’re not sure how to answer those questions then you’re not ready to be a Rockstar. It all comes down to the basics, would your company care if you left tomorrow or would they be on the phone with you to get you back? I talk with recruiters all the time and many of them have drivers in their database that if given the chance they would hire in a minute no questions asked, they wouldn’t have to look up your safety record, they wouldn’t have to check your criminal record, and your truck would automatically be the star of the show. If that is you then you are a Rockstar and you probably have your pick of the companies to run for. Maybe you are already with a quality carrier and are happy doing what you’re doing, if not the industry is your oyster.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a transportation consultant and author of the books Running By The Mile and Driven to Drive. For more information or to order the books please visit his website at www.outridge.ca