Career Success in LTL: Insights from Industry Veterans

Best Practice #1—Experience the action in operations

Whether you have an analytics, sales or engineering background and have set your sights on an office job, you need to get to the docks to see to see what happens when packages are unloaded from trucks or come into the terminal. Touch the packages and see the palettes so you know what it looks like for mixed commodities coming into the dock.

Experiencing the operations side of an LTL business is essential for those just starting out and even those who’ve spent years in the industry already. Don’t rely on someone inhouse to be a go-between. For example, Brigance, who studied software development in college and knew nothing about LTL when she started out, said:

“I value the time I spent in the operational area because you have to understand how people will use something [software] you put out there. If you don’t understand what they are dealing with, you don’t know how you can help.”

In turn, Kniple who has an MBA and spent 36 years with UPS before joining Worldwide Express, started out in operations—first sorting packages, then supervising, then driving a truck before he moved into engineering and eventually pricing and revenue management. “Even if you didn’t spend time in operations, go spent time on the dock. You need to understand that LTL is everything in-between truckload and small package,” he said.

Best Practice #2—Take time before looking toward the next move

Sometimes, those in LTL take a position they see as a quick steppingstone to the next roll. But that’s not the best approach to truly understand an organization and establish a trusted reputation. Dig into the role you have and understand everything about it—be the best at the job you have.

“Do you have one foot out the door and one eye on the horizon all the time?” asked Kniple. “You’ve got to be focused when you’re in a role.”

Brigance has spent her entire 20-year career working for four subsidiaries of ArcBest, with roles in IT, managed transportation and 3PL. She recommends spending time in a role to get comfortable, understand your skillsets and where you can provide value to the organization. “You don’t want to move to another role every six months,” she said.

Once you’ve mastered the role you’re in for at least one to two years, think about career planning and how you’ll change roles and enrich your experience. Also, think about what type of role you really like. Are you someone who likes to sit at a screen and write code? Or do you prefer talking to people and selling? Both roles are very valuable to an organization, so figure out what you’re passionate about and build your career around that.

Best Practice #3—Don’t wait for opportunities to come knocking

Over the course of your career, what you like to do can change. That comes from taking initiative and being curious about other areas of the LTL organization. Kniple noted he spent a lot of time in the break room at lunch, getting to know people from other departments.

“Network and talk to different people and hear about what they do. You just might find your passion,” he said.

Volunteer to help on a project that interests you if your skills aren’t yet a direct match. Talk to the people who are successful in that area. This can be career transforming—find something that sparks your interest and takes the industry forward.

Best Practice #4—Take advantage of in-office interactions

It’s especially important for those just starting their LTL career to interact in person with colleagues. Now that we’re in the post-COVID world and full-time remote working is declining, tap into the irreplaceable synergy that comes from office meetings and in-person learnings.

“Starting out, you need to be in the office building relationships and networking, which isn’t easy to do if you’re remote,” said Brigance. “It takes a lot more work than if you’re in the break room and start chatting.”

She referred to these as “casual collisions” that help you build a network on informal discussions. This also helps you get to know your colleagues and how people work.

Kniple noted that it’s difficult to influence or shape a project from afar as you build responsibility in an organization. Also, if someone believes in you, take the chance. “I said yes to just about everything and ended up with 18 different jobs across the years.”