For many young professionals with a taste for driving and a more practical than academic set of skills, a career as a haulier may seem like a dream come true. Not only is it a job which allows them to travel all over the country and potentially meet new people, but it also positions them within a rapidly growing and highly lucrative industry, in which to make a name for themselves.
However, as with most other things in life, some of these young men and women end up discovering that the haulage life is not for them, for a number of different reasons. Usually, these will be the type of people who simply hopped on the financially appealing bandwagon, without bothering to check whether or not their personality type was right for a career in the sector.
Those seeking to make a career in this field should compare and contrast their own personality to the ideal profile of a haulier, as described below, to make sure this career path will be a good fit for them or not.
The Ideal Haulier
In any field, the figure of the ‘ideal’ something or another is invariably Utopian – an unrealistic standard set merely to serve as a guideline to know what to aim for. Yet there is also invariably an element of truth to this stereotype; it congregates the personal, mental and physical traits desirable from someone in that particular line of work, and can also serve as a measuring stick for people seeking to make a living out of whatever that specific career entails.
Haulage is no different. While the definition of the ‘perfect’ haulier is almost impossible to create, those looking to start out in the industry should ideally possess one or more character traits important to the nature of their duties.
For instance, it is important that a haulage professional be prepared to deal with long, lonesome hours on the road. It is not common for companies in this sector to work on a ‘buddy’ system, so a driver will invariably spend most of his or her time on their own. Being prepared to face this type of situation without breaking down mentally is essential for anyone looking to be successful in the field.
Patience is another virtue professionals in this industry should possess. Patience not only to deal with difficult customers, but also with the myriad other things that can and will go wrong – flat tyres, mislabelled loads, clerical errors, and so forth. Someone who is constantly on the verge of ‘blowing their top’ will not make for a good haulier.
Finally, and on the subject of customers, it is important to be courteous and polite to even the most difficult of them – so anti-social grouches and sarcasm specialists need not apply!
One or more of these traits is therefore essential if one is to be successful in the haulage field. It is not necessary, however, to possess all of them at once; if that were the case, very few people would work in the industry.