Practicing Responsible Behavior

Irresponsible behavior can cost you an opportunity for the job you really want. A bad driving record can affect your employability as an HVACR tech. Whether installation or service, it is common for HVACR Technicians to drive company trucks. The company pays dearly for insurance to cover these trucks and drivers. The first thing many employers do when considering a new tech is to turn their name into the insurance company for an investigation. The insurance company looks up your driving record for the past seven years. Too many problems and the insurance company will refuse to insure you. Obviously you won’t get the job if the insurance company won’t insure you. I know a local contractor who has had a particularly frustrating experience with this. They hired three people who the insurance company would not insure. Particularly troublesome are DUI/DWI and multiple speeding tickets – especially if the speed amounts are 20 mph or more over the limit. Before you complain that this is unfair, remember these are actions you can control. It is logical for the insurance company to avoid obvious risks. As for the HVACR Company, they really must be insured. Further, the behavior and driving record of their employees can affect their rates – which are already quite high.

While we are discussing controllable behaviors, you should know that many companies require drug testing these days. Again, this goes back to avoiding risk. So even though a number of areas are making some recreational drug use effectively legal, this can keep you from being hired. A local company told me that they have a six week hiring process. At the beginning of the interviews they inform the job applicants that they will have to take a drug test if they make it through all the interviews. Half of the people who clear the interview process fail the drug test. This means they could not stay clean for six weeks even though they were warned up front. So do yourself a favor: don’t use recreational drugs; if you drink, don’t drive; slow down when you drive; and follow the rules of the road. You will most definitely will be expected to do these things AFTER you get a job, so you might as well start practicing now.