Drive with Pride—Professionalism in Trucking
At NTB, we believe being a truck driver is more than a job—it’s a career. As a trucking professional, here are a few tips to help you find satisfaction in your choice of employment.
Create Your Professional Style
Style can be expanded to all aspects of your personality, from the way you speak to how you dress, and how you interact with others. Make sure you represent your ideal self as a professional truck driver! Some would even call this a personal brand.
With current societal restrictions amidst concern over virus spreading, it’s important to be innovative in interactions with other people. Remembering names of the people you meet and using them in greeting is more important now than ever. Inflection in your voice to demonstrate a confident and friendly personality can go a long way in replacing the usual handshake and smile we are so used to using. If you can think of a clever catch phrase people will begin to know you by, even better!
Organize and personalize the inside of your truck. Keeping things neat and tidy, even when other people aren’t often seeing it, will make you feel good about the space you occupy on a daily basis.
Set performance goals. Shoot for a pristine safety record. Make sure any notes or logs you keep at hand are legible and complete. Be professional in how you communicate with your boss, the client, and others you interact with while on the job. Set yourself up for a professional appearance—take pride in your clothing and your personal hygiene.
Continue Your Education
Many careers have continuing education goals and sometimes requirements. While you may not need to get continuing education credits to remain a truck driver, there are many ways you can keep the job interesting by learning different things.
There are two ways you can think about inspections—as a stressful system set up to make you look bad or as an opportunity to learn. Flip the script on how you think about inspections so that instead of allowing the scrutiny you may face to cause anxiety and worry, use it as an educational tool. You will learn how to deal with people, as each inspector will be different in how they conduct their tests. Early in a career as a driver, you’ll learn very quickly what inspectors are looking for and how it relates to safety for yourself, others on the road, and society in general.
Learn new things about the transportation industry, such as how to get the best fuel economy, the history and future of trucking, and truck mechanics you may not think you’ll need, but that could come in handy someday.
Finding a mentor or two who can help you navigate the life of a truck driver is invaluable when you have questions or concerns that aren’t easily answered with a Google search. At NTB, one of the first people you will encounter on a regular basis will be your training coach. He or she may be a good first mentor who not only knows the industry, but knows NTB well.
Summary
Tenacity along with a good dose of flexibility are important in any career. Learning how to both push for what you know is right while also keeping an open mind comes with experience. Use these attributes to further your career with NTB.
Interested in a truck driving career? apply to drive with NTB.
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