4 Skills You Need for a Successful Career in Security in Tennessee
While we would all love to live in a world that does not need security, we do not. Security measures are a core part of every element of our day-to-day lives: from the lock on your front door to the keycard you need to swipe to access the office to the innumerable passwords you have for banking, shopping, and browsing online.
Fortunately, there are opportunities galore for those interested in pursuing a career in security. Whether you want to provide advanced network intrusion protection or give business owners and the public the sense of relief that comes from on-site physical security, you should have no difficulty finding a career.
Here are the four essential skills you need to work in the security sector.
Communication in Security
Communicating effectively is perhaps one of the most important skills you can have as a security professional. On any given day, you will need to be able to work in tandem with business owners and fellow security guards, keeping up to date with the situation on-site and any developing security risks. This is reasonably easy, as you will typically build trust and familiarity with these individuals as you go along.
More problematic is communicating with the public. As part of your responsibilities, you must clearly instruct and advise a broad range of people, including those actively trying to provoke, undermine, or circumvent you. Your ability to ensure that your directives and requests are obeyed will set you apart from lesser security personnel, so developing this skill can accelerate your career by establishing you as reliable, professional, and competent.
Ethics of Providing Security Services
An unappreciated skill, but an essential one, is the ability to act ethically. As a security guard, you will frequently find yourself in situations requiring you to deliberate your behavior. Critical ethical issues that you will encounter include.
Discrimination
You cannot, and should not, pre-judge people on any aspect of their nature: race, gender, sexuality, or religion. Doing so is not only morally reprehensible but is also a surefire way to find yourself on the wrong end of a lawsuit or developing a reputation for profiling people, neither of which will be good for your career.
Use of force
Another speedy way of ending your security career is through the excessive use of force. You are permitted to protect yourself against physical threats and prevent an individual from escaping (if the situation has fulfilled the requirements of a citizen's arrest). However, doing so excessively will land you with an assault charge and difficulty in finding employment.
Accountability
After an incident, you may need to provide a report to your employer or law enforcement personnel. It would be best to take full accountability for your action truthfully and openly. Anything less, and you are simply not doing your job correctly.
Privacy
There may come a time when you have access to private information. This could be elevator footage, an individual's contact details, or other personal data. You must only use this information to protect and safeguard the business, people, and property you are hired to provide security. Sharing it or using it for your purposes is massively unethical, and if you are found to have done so, it will ruin your career.
Security Risk Assessment
There are two key elements to risk assessment that you should practice: pre-existing and live. Pre-existing risk assessment is where potential flaws in a business's security might be exploited. So it could be that the owner leaves the back door open to increase airflow. Still, there is no one watching this door, for example. The most common type of risk you will likely find will be gaps in the security camera coverage, so being aware of these will allow you to patrol more effectively.
On the other hand, live security threats can be more challenging to assess. This is because they depend on your observational skills and your ability to determine if there is an issue before it develops accurately. This can include seeing someone drinking heavily and becoming belligerent or if a shopper appears to be acting strangely (and is, therefore, potentially looking to shoplift or rob).
Early identification here can help you (and the business you are hired to safeguard). You will be able to place yourself in a position to react quickly to any escalation of the risk and take preventive measures (like getting support from your fellow guards or informing bar staff to cut someone off, for example).
Security Technology
While the role of a physical security professional is, by definition, more physical than technology-based, you will need to be able to use various tools effectively. These include radios, security cameras, access control systems, and metal detectors. If any of these tools fail or you misuse them, the entire security of the premises could be jeopardized. So take the time to develop an affinity for this business side.
Of course, most of your skill set will be technology-centric if you work in network or system security. If so, you must continually work to maintain your skills. A degree in cyber security is excellent. Still, it is also outdated rapidly as the technological landscape and the range of threats evolve at a breakneck pace.
Next Steps
This is by no means an exhaustive list. The skills you need to be a genuinely successful security professional vary depending on what type of security you provide, for whom, and in what location. Contact the Alliance Training and Testing team. We have over one hundred years of combined experience, giving us the knowledge, skills, and expertise to supercharge your career.