Getting a Job As a Bodyguard Or Close Protection Officer

How to get that job as a bodyguard

Imagine yourself as a personnel manager for a busy security company, you are looking for someone to fill a position in the RST of a job that is ongoing – (posts like this are very rarely advertised, these vacancies are normally filled from CV’s that are ‘on file’) how do you get yourself on file? You as personnel manager get anything from 1-10 CV’s a week how do you decide who to put on file? Well it’s pretty easy really as most of the CV’s that you receive do not come with a covering letter you discard those straight away no matter how good the CV looks. It’s rude just to send a CV without introducing yourself and shows you up as a rude amateur.

Most of the CVs that do come with a covering letter are appalling, they are poorly handwritten sometimes on a page torn from a wire bound notebook, they misspell your name, even if the qualifications and experience look okay, very often the letters have a slightly facetious tone and the punctuation is poor. Do these CV’s stay ‘on file’? No, and mostly you won’t even bother to send a rejection letter, the CV ends up (quite rightly) in the bin. So how do you get yourself ‘on file’ and not in the bin

The Covering Letter.

Keep the covering letter short and completely to the point, do not mention too much in this letter that you have already stated in the CV, if you write it by hand ensure that it is neat and legible, and use good quality paper, blue ink is better than black and a fountain pen better than ball-point. Remember that the person who you are writing this letter to knows NOTHING about you except what is written in the letter and the CV, always write the letter to a name e.g. Mr. Smith, if you do not know the name – find out. As a last resort you can send it to a title e.g. Personnel Manager but always try to obtain a name.

An example of a covering letter might go as follows:

Dear Mr. Smith,

I understand from an advertisement that your company has in Yellow Pages that you undertake Close Protection work. I have recently completed a contract overseas (I have recently completed a comprehensive course in Close Protection with) and am now actively seeking another (my first) assignment. I have enclosed a CV which outlines the experience etc, etc. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

The Resume or CV.

The chances are that you will be applying for more than one job so it is worth having a standard CV prepared. A CV should follow a fairly standard layout, it should only be as long as you need to tell the prospective employer what they want to know. If possible keep the CV down to one side of one sheet of A4. Only send off a CV when you are satisfied that its clean and fresh appearance. If it’s badly “dog-eared” or poorly photocopied, it will look like a hand-me-down from a previous (unsuccessful) application and this is not the impression you want to create.

There are two types of CV -”Job Description” and “Skills Profile” – the job description CV is the most common, in the CV all your jobs are listed with your present job first, your last job second etc.

This type of CV is not suitable if you are just entering the CP world as the jobs that you list such as builder, shelf-stacker, milkman, have no direct bearing, far better is the “Skills Profile” CV. First you give a very bare boned listing of your jobs so far – then you list the various skills that you have learned in those jobs. Let’s suppose you have been working in an office for 5 years – initially this looks to have no bearing on the job that you are now applying for, however if you elaborate on the skills side of this job you may end up with something much more interesting and valid e.g.;

1. responsible for advertising budgets

2. lead a team of four

3. Responsible for Training

The chief advantage of the “Skills Profile CV” is that your skills stand out at a glance

Personal Details.

Your CV should also give brief details of your education, degrees, as well as your marital status and number of dependents – you should list any hobbies you have as this does give the employer a feel for the personality of the applicant.

Special Situations.

Not everybody has sailed through life from one job to another – what if you have been unemployed, bankrupt or sacked? If you have had a long time off work give a reason in your CV, you do not have to worry about the odd month or three but you must account for longer periods. The employer may think you have been to prison if there is an unexplained gap in your work history of 18 months! A small line such as – May ’2003 to Oct 2003, traveling in Australia. Or you might write something like Dec. ’2005 – Feb, 2006 time spent looking for work and attending Bodyguard training courses With xyz company and completing First Aid course with the Red Cross. Do not exaggerate any claims in your CV, you may have to back up these claims in your interview. Never go into too much detail if you have been sacked or left previous employment – just a line like “left because job required skills I didn’t have”, “Felt I was unsuited to this kind of work”, “Company reorganization eliminated position”.

Photos.

Always include a professionally taken photograph on the CV, top right works best, next to your personal details. You can have the 3/4 length photos printed out a stick roll of labels and careful stick one on each CV; or much easier, just have a digital picture you can print directly with the CV.

Following Up.

Keep a list of company and contacts names and when you’ve sent the CV to them – follow up every CV with a phone call..

“Hello, my name is_____ I sent you a CV a few days ago and I was wondering if it reached you okay – Do I have the skills you are looking for, I am in your area next week – can I come along for an interview. So as you can put a face to the name”

All of this helps; there is though a fine line between keeping your name on employers lips and becoming a pain in the **** by pestering them too much. Use your contact list, if you gain some work experience or complete a relevant course – drop them a line like the example below

Dear Mr. Smith,

you will recall that in October I sent you my CV, and you said that you would keep me in mind for any work you may have. I have just completed a comprehensive First Aid Course as well as elementary Russian and would hope that you would update my file. I hope that with these new skills added to my CV you may find a suitable opening for me in the future.

Yours etc.

Specific Jobs.

If you hear of a specific job, then tailor your CV (without lying) to that job. This is easier if you have had your CV prepared on a word processor. We have enclosed a sample CV – do not just copy it. We have included it just for you to get an idea of layout. Remember that you will get rejections, this is fickle industry, but if you keep going hard at it and don’t let a few rejections get you down then you can make it in this industry, just keep sending out the CV and following up.

To summarize.

1. Always send a covering letter.

2. The CV should be skills related.

3. Include a photo.

4. Address it to a name.

5. Use the best quality paper and envelopes you can afford.

6. Always follow up!

By: James J Brown

About the Author: