The ride along. Do IA firms count this as experience or training? In this video, I'm going to tell you what a ride along is, why you definitely want to do at least one, and step by step, how to do one. Starting now. This is Adjustor TV. Hey, it's Matt here with Adjustor TV, and for the best tips and tools for you to think on the first call list as a cat property independent adjuster, subscribe now. Click on the bell notification and you'll be on your way. And thanks to Bryant from YouTube who says, nothing like down to earth educated audio slash video from an experienced adjuster to shorten the drive from Washington back to Texas. These tips and strategies from you are entertaining and extremely beneficial. As a new adjuster for seven months now, and getting my first taste of cat this past November, I've realized with the 32 claims close in Seattle that it just ran in 14 business days that I ran the business, it didn't run me. Thanks Matt for taking time out of your day to educate the adjuster noobs. Anytime, Bryant, and thanks for watching. Okay, so what is a ride along? The simple definition is that you, the newbie, tag along with the working adjuster in the field as they work their claims. Now why would you want to do this? If you spend any amount of time trying to get more information about this field, you may have heard about something called a ride along. You probably also heard that you must do a ride along because the eye firms want to see that you have some experience. You just want to clarify that right now, you don't get experience doing a ride along. That's not what it's for, and it's also not really training. So what were they talking about then? A ride along where you actually do work is a mentorship and it's quite different than the kind of ride along that we're talking about in this video. Okay, Matt, so what is a ride along? A ride along is basically a job shadow. You're not riding estimates and you're not interacting with insures. Now why do you want to do this? You do a ride along so you can see a working adjuster in action and decide if this career is right for you. It's pretty simple. It's not to get hands on training and again, it's not to get experience that you can take to an eye-affirm. So when you approach somebody to ask them if you can ride along with them, you have to set very clear expectations with them right out of the gate as to what you want to get out of this and how to conduct it so that you get the most benefit and you don't get in that adjuster's way while they're trying to earn a living. Like sense? So how do you do a ride along? Number one, first you have to find somebody willing to let you tag along on the way on their next deployment. You'd network on social media and you can find people who may be open to letting you ride along with them in groups like the IA Path community as well as the Adjuster TV Private Facebook group or they'll learn to adjust Facebook group or even Jeremy Reddig's claims adjuster's success network on Facebook. And there are dozens of other IA-centered groups on Facebook as well in addition to LinkedIn. But I warn you to spend some time in the group before posting up that you're looking for a ride along opportunity. Get a feel for the kind of people in that group because you want to be sure that A, you don't get slammed by a bunch of salty no-dolls and internet lawyers and B, that the person you ride along with knows what they're doing and not everybody does. You can also talk to the person who got you interested in this job. Tell them you're definitely interested and then ask if you can tag along on their next deployment. If they don't want to do it, then ask them if they have a buddy who might be willing. And you can even reach out to IA firms and ask them if they know anybody who likes to take adjusters on ride alongs. And don't be shy if they say no, they don't say thanks and just hang up. Sometimes you just got to be creative and reach out to people. Okay, number two. So what are the expectations you need to have when you go on a ride along? You have to be prepared to travel to any place in the country. This is a major part of what we do as cat IAs. If you post up on social media that you're looking for somebody to ride along with in the Nashville Tennessee area, you're going to get crickets. You have to be willing to drive from Dallas to Seattle because that's what we do. And if you don't want to do that, then you know, maybe this isn't for you. And by the way, if you're from Dallas or Seattle, give us a thumbs up in the comments. And you also have to be prepared to go on short notice. You have to be ready to go when the work is there and not at your convenience. This again is very much a big part of the cat IA lifestyle. You can be planning a big birthday party next weekend for your wife, but if you, as an IA, get the call to go work the Tuesday before you're gone. Does this have to move the party up or take your first special dinner when you get home? That is the lifestyle. And again, if you want to do a ride along on your own schedule, when it's convenient for you, then maybe this isn't for you. And you got to understand that you can't just go for a ride along right at the moment you decide you want to. If it's not storm season and maybe there wasn't a hurricane, all the working adjusters are taking time off. You'll have to wait until there's work. And you have to be prepared to pay for your own expenses, including hotel, food, and travel expenses. You're going to do this at your own expense. The adjuster, unless you're related to them, isn't going to let you sleep on their floor or in the other bed in their hotel room. And I certainly wouldn't, which, you know, be weird. If you have to, say about 500 bucks, so you can pay for fuel and hotels while you're doing your ride along. Remember, IAs have to pay our own expenses, and this will give you a little taste of having to spend money to make money. Number three, understand that a ride along will likely not carry much weight with the IA firms. I've seen a lot of resumes with floor ride alongs blah, blah, blah has all of the experience that the adjuster has. But doing a ride along will provide you with an important window into our world, which if you ask me is a lot more valuable as a first step into building this career, right? So how do you do a ride along? First, do not, under any circumstances, ask to be paid to ride along with an adjuster. If you help them in some way, and they want to pay you something, it's on them. This experience is to help you decide if you want to get into this career, and that's it. And personally, what offer to assist for working adjuster by carrying and setting up their ladder and doing anything else that they need extra hands for. Printing things out, collating things, I mean, just mean you'll work that if it takes some 15 minutes to do it out of their day, and you can do it for them, then you're going to be, this is how you'll be helping them out the most. Do not offer to ride estimates for adjusters, because then they'll have to take extra time to show you how they want it done, and that's not the purpose of the ride along. Keep it short. Two to four days is probably more than enough to know if this is right for you. In fact, you could probably do this over a long weekend, and not miss much, or any work for your regular day job that you haven't quit yet. And absolutely dress the part. Cackies and a solid, non-pastel colored golf shirt and no tennis shoes. Leather hiking shoes or boots are a great option that work well on ropes. I wouldn't normally suggest buying a new gear before deciding if this is right for you, but picking up a paracugra pause might not be a bad idea for safety's sake. Question of the day, are you an experienced adjuster who'd be willing to let a curious newbie tag along for a couple of days with you? Give us a yes or no in the comments below. And for much more information about being a cat independent adjuster, head on over to adjustertv.com. And if you got value from this video, you can help me create more videos just like this by hitting the round subscribe button. Wondering what to watch next? Check out these videos. And as always, thank you so much for watching and have a great storm. Okay, joke of the day. What time did the man go to the dentist? Who's herty?