I've been working as an electric and I/C road tech at the same company for about twelve years now, and for a bunch of reasons I feel that a change of scenery is over due. I don't want to stop wrenching, but I think its time to do it for some one else, and possibly on some altogether different type of machinery. I'm a highly skilled and adaptable tech, maybe not the best ever but definitely a top ten percenter in a big company. To me all machines are just machines, and I haven't yet found one that I can't handle If I have access to the right information.

I've had offers in the past, and turned them down because they came from lift truck companies that I felt weren't all that reputable, or the job would have required long distance travel, which for me is a deal breaker no mater what it pays. But that was then, and at that time I felt like I had a long and prosperous road to travel with this employer and wasn't seriously looking to make a change, now things are a lot different.

Something happened recently that made me want to quit right on the spot. It was the latest big rusty link on a growing chain of discontent with my employer that been growing for several years. If not for the seriously bad state of the economy I may actually have turned in my resignation that day, and I am not the kind of guy that makes irrational decisions in the heat of anger.

So I'm sticking with the miserable job for now because a miserable but stable job better than no job, but I am going to start shopping my resume around in earnest this year. There are a few lift truck companies that I want to target, and a couple that know I should probably avoid but I will talk to them this time anyway. I'm also planning to contact some heavy equipment and Ag equipment dealers since their machinery is similar. Before I worked in the fork lift business I worked with stationary industrial machinery, and I will consider it again, but most of companies that service that type of stuff require frequent long distance travel, which is no good for a guy with young kids at home. I also have a friend that runs a successful auto repair shop who keeps suggesting that I come work for him, I'd hate to give up the roadie life, but then again it never rains or freezes inside the shop and a two post lift is a lot easier on the back & knees than wood blocks and rail-road jacks.

So, as I begin this process (at the worst possible time/economic conditions), I would like to solicit the advice and wisdom of the wise old elders of the forklift repair world that lurk in this forum. Are there any secrets to spotting the best companies to work for and getting them to recognize just how much of an asset you can be to them?

The things that matter most to me in my career and in my relationship with my employer are stability, proper compensation, respect and honesty. I've gone above and beyond the call of duty for every one that I've ever worked for and I do every single job with quality and pride, and I won't do it any other way. I treat every single customer like I am XYZ Lift co.*(*not a real company) and they are my most important client. I hope to find a company that recognizes the value of a worker like me. Its a shame that XYZ lift has found every possible excuse (since before the recession)to treat me like just another grease monkey, this is the type of employer that I don't want to be with.

I fully understand the dire condition that the forklift industry is in these days, and I don't want seem insensitive to the unemployed tech's who would love to have any job right now, but something in my career needs to change, and that won't happen if I don't make it happen. Like Steve Forbert sang "you can't win if you do not play"