Ice Road trucking e-book preview 2

This entry is part 2 of 13 in the series Ice Road Trucking e-book previews

Ice Road Trucking e-book preview 2 is where we take a look at starting a new job from the side of the employer, as well as the employee.

“Everything on your resume was a lie, I like that, welcome to the Sales Department.”

̴ Unknown

Trusting your instinct can be tough to do in these situations. Trucking companies and truck drivers both have some great sales abilities. This means that a deal by virtual handshake or phone call can be like internet or blind dating and can easily go south when you meet in person.

I always made a habit of asking a series of questions of which I already know the answers in order to build a level of trust with people. It’s the best way to find out if someone is full of crap or not.

I’d already done this during the preliminary talks we’d on the phone. I was pretty certain he was on the level with me about everything and I always allow for that certain amount of salesmanship to make something sound a little better than it is. (This is a realistic expectation.)

I always felt I was a good judge of character having been in sales and service related industries in my younger years, although people can sometimes fool you. Meeting people and building business relationships allows you to develop a skill set that will help you throughout your life no matter what industry you work in.

There are other things you can do when you don’t quite have the same trust in your instinct. Word of mouth by a reputable source or trusted friend is another way to solidify the integrity of an employer. It was nice to hear the driver I met on the plane say good things about my new employer.

Ice Road Trucking e-book preview 2. It seems we are off the mark when it comes to hiring and firing people. Very few use the probationary period for what is was intended for.

I always found it interesting how employers review our resumes, driver’s abstracts, criminal background history, work history and personal references, but as employees most of us fail in our due diligence to check out prospective employers.

I think every employee should research the company they’re considering employment with. I’ve done this on a few occasions by using negative keywords along with the company or owner’s name. If you find a negative forum post or bad review about an individual or the company itself, you have to take it with a grain of salt.

You should never judge someone, or something solely by the opinion of another. If all that you find is one negative post or review after another, then you should take it as a sign. These are usually the companies that have a yearly subscription for running their ads.

Another thing that gets me is the probationary period. Three months is pretty standard for a company to determine whether or not you’re worth keeping. As an employee, I used the probationary period to determine whether or not the company will actually be worth my 110%.

Fortunately, Bruce and I hit it off instantly when we met. There was a mutual respect that we were, “Who we said we were”. The trucking companies are notorious for not disclosing the truth about the condition of their equipment and the actual pay. On the other hand, drivers lie about their experience to employers all the time. Like the quote to start the chapter suggests, it makes you wonder sometimes if they should be applying to the sales department.

Ice road trucking e-book preview 2. My truck for the season was a 2001 Kenworth w900

Most of these employers will cover your flights to Yellowknife along with your return flight if you stay the duration of the season. Even though this is a small investment financially, it still represents a commitment to you as a driver, while the employers receive no commitment from the drivers in return other than their word that they’ll be there.

I want to share this quote with you from J. Paul Getty,

“The employer usually gets the employee they deserve.”

I sometimes think it’s the other way around,

“The employee usually gets the company they deserve”.