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Security Jobs: How to sell yourself to Employers
Anyone who has applied for a security job recently will know that the competition is stiff. Although your SIA Licence is the best qualification you can have to work in the security industry, selling yourself to a complete stranger can be a daunting prospect. It’s not just about having ‘the gift of the gab’ either, over enthusiasm doesn’t necessarily work in your favour.
For example, have you ever walked away from an interview thinking if only I had or hadn’t said that? It’s nothing to worry about; even the most confident high flyers are occasionally found scratching their heads in frustration. What we’re talking about here is successful marketing, and there are a few tactics you can use when applying for jobs, it’s all about setting yourself a few objectives.
Research is important. Let’s say you’ve just completed your Security Guard Training and you’re applying for a job at the British Museum. Go there, take a walk around and check out where the security guards are positioned, chat to them even, observe how they behave. This will give you an insight into what will be expected of you during the interview and if you are successful.
One of the most common questions in interviews is, ‘What do you think you can offer to this role?’ it’s a textbook interview question. Know your skills inside out, read through all your training manuals and know your business skills to the letter, but take care not to read them off as a list as if you’ve learned them parrot fashion, inject some passion. What the interviewer is doing here is opening a dialogue; they’re checking how well you communicate.
It’s useful to have a few key words in your armoury too; learn the key points of your job like secure atmosphere, conflict management, health and safety and don’t forget to drop in honesty and reliability into the conversation, and always use examples to explain. For example you say ‘I’m reliable’, the interviewer wants to know how. Try, ‘last time the trains were cancelled I had to take three busses and walk half a mile, but I got to work’, that response, as well as proving your reliability also shows initiative.
In this scenario the HR manager is likely to talk about the millions of people who visit the museum and then pop another textbook question in the pot; ‘how do you feel about working in a large team and dealing with lots of people?’, be ready with an example. Talk about football teams, churches, club memberships, the thousands of friends you have on FaceBook, anything that proves you enjoy making connections.
Another well worn question will be, ‘Why did you decide to train as a Security Guard?’ Here you can fire on all cylinders, teamwork, the safety of assets, long term prospects. You might want to drop in that the security industry is the biggest growth industry in the UK and that’s why you were attracted. That comment is sure to impress the judges.
Now be ready for the all time favourite. ‘You might be expected to cover an extra shift at short notice. How would you feel about that?’ Here’s where you need a big smile followed by the confident reply that relates directly back to your reliability, and the answer is ‘absolutely no problem, I appreciate that difficulties happen from time to time and I can be relied on to fill the gaps when necessary and support my team.’
A lot of what we’ve discussed here might seem like common sense, but even the most confident people crumble in interviews doing your homework and preparing in advance is the best advice you can get. Remember if you’ve got to the interview stage there is a reason you’ve been singled out, but don’t be too over confident. Two other things to remember, never, ever, be late for an interview, and don’t be too early, ten minutes is the recommended amount of enthusiasm.
It’s not easy, but do try to be relaxed, selling yourself to employers is really all about getting them to like you; they’ll be spending a lot of time with you in the future. Qualifications count too, your expert security guard training and your SIA Licence and other training courses like First Aid and Handcuff training speaks volumes, they are guaranteed to impress.
