security+contractor+skills

OVERSEAS SECURITY CONTRACTOR SKILLS YOU NEED ON YOUR RESUME

AT A MINIMUM, THIS IS WHAT SECURITY CONTRACTORS SHOULD KNOW AND HAVE ON THEIR RESUME

The following are the unspoken things security contractors are expected to know and have on their resumes. It will show HR you won’t be lost when you get to the job site, or get sent home on the next flight for incompetence.

Think of it as if you were applying to be a chef. You would never see “must know how to cook” in the job description. Knowing how to cook is the baseline; anything else is cheddar.

KNOW HOW TO DO YOUR JOB BEFORE YOU START YOUR JOB
The worst thing that could ever happen to you is to get sent back home because you didn’t know what you were doing. I have personally witnessed this with my own eyes several times on the lower-rung overseas security jobs I was on when I first started out overseas.

DON’T BE THAT GUY
There is nothing more frustrating than working on a security job with people who got the job because they were former this or that, but had no idea how to do the job. Don’t be that guy. Everyone hates that guy and will sabotage, stab you in the back, and talk smack about you to whoever is in charge every chance they get.

EXECUTIVE PROTECTION (EP) TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE
In this guide, I am referring to the Secret Service or bodyguard style of personal protection, not the PSD-style classes where you dress like you are on the cover of a Call of Duty: Black Ops case.

OTHER TITLES INCLUDE

Personal Protection Specialist (PPS), Personal Security Detail (PSD), Close Protection (CP), Bodyguard, and Executive Protection Specialist (or just EP). Any course with these titles will do just fine.

WHY DO YOU NEED EP TRAINING IF YOU ARE APPLYING FOR A GUARD POSITION?
IT SHOWS YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR JOB

Every security mission or operation can be understood if you have a general knowledge of Executive Protection.

AND CAN DO YOUR JOB WITHOUT DIRECTION

Many of the guys in supervisor positions come from EP or the military, and they will be running things as if everyone already knows the fundamentals of security operations.

ALL TOP-TIER OVERSEAS SECURITY CONTRACTOR JOBS ARE EP (PSD, PPS) CENTRIC

You will eventually need EP/PSD knowledge and proof of training, so you might as well do it sooner rather than later. It also looks better on your resume if your EP training was taken three or four years ago, as opposed to a month before you applied.

EVERY EXTRA ON YOUR RESUME GETS IT CLOSER TO THE TOP OF THE PILE

And even if they don’t care about having an Executive Protection course on your resume, it will make your resume look even better—and you want to stand out, right? Also, when you do get an overseas security job, you should, at a minimum, know how to be on or run a security operation anyway.

NO NEED TO BREAK THE BANK

I would stay away from overly expensive in-person or long, drawn-out online classes. You primarily want a piece of paper for your resume. Afterward, you can study on your own to absorb the more in-depth knowledge you will use at work.

WEAPON PROFICIENCY
You will 100% be expected to have proficiency with the M4-style rifle and 9mm handgun.

For most of these security contractor contracts, you are required to successfully pass an initial qualification at a stateside range.

YOU MUST BE ABLE TO SHOOT:
Out to distances of 15 and 25 yards

Standing

Kneeling

Prone

Scoring at a minimum of 70% of the max score.

COURSES OF FIRE
Google phrases like “Army M4 course of fire” and “Army 9mm pistol course of fire” for some examples you can use for practice.

If you have trouble passing, go to your local range, find an instructor, and hire them to help you improve.

The courses of fire can vary, so be great at all of these positions, including loading, unloading, and general manipulation and handling. You must be able to shoot under stress. You won’t be qualifying in combat, but you will be qualifying with 80 guys watching you and waiting for their turn.

IF YOU FAIL THE PRE-DEPLOYMENT QUALIFICATIONS COURSE, YOU WILL BE FIRED BEFORE YOU EVEN START WORKING
Some companies offer a single chance to pass; others will let you go up to three times. But after that, you’re gone if you can’t qualify. This is one of the times I’ve seen sad people leaving for the airport after failing.

FORMER COPS, READ THIS
From my experience, ex-cops have a real issue qualifying for overseas work because they are not used to quals where the instructors couldn’t care less if you pass or fail. For the company, you are cattle, and they just run you through. So, if you pass or not, one of the next guys will. Enjoy your flight home.

WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC SECURITY SYSTEMS (IESS)
An Integrated Electronic Security System (IESS) combines access control, video surveillance, and intrusion detection into a single system. In layman’s terms, all the stuff in the main security operations room.

YOU SHOULD PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW WHAT IESS IS
This is truly Security 101 stuff. If you don’t have experience or knowledge of this, then look for a job in a security monitoring room and/or read the manual linked below or YouTube it. You must know enough to have the ability to just sit down in a security monitoring room and work with no direction outside of where you will be sitting.

IESS SUBSYSTEMS INCLUDE:
CCTV cameras

Access control systems

Intrusion detection systems

Perimeter security systems

Alarm monitoring systems

INNER WORKINGS OF IESS:

Purpose of ESS

Names of the systems

Roles of the subsystems

IESS STUDY COURSE
Below is a link to an IESS Course written specifically for military installations and DoD facilities, written using natural language.

-IESS MANUAL

CPR AND FIRST AID CERTIFIED
I was tempted to put this under the required licenses because some contracts will require it, but fewer do these days, so I’ll leave it here for now under “not a deal killer” for your resume.

AMERICAN RED CROSS OR THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
These are the only certifications considered legitimate. The $4.99 CPR and First Aid online classes are not recognized by Private Military Companies, and most businesses in general.

WHY SECURITY CONTRACTORS NEED CPR & FIRST AID CERTIFICATION:
It should go without saying that you should know how to perform CPR and basic first aid if you are in the business of protecting people.

The class barely takes one weekend, and if you look around, you can find classes for free. Ensure you stay up to date with keeping them valid.

ADDITIONAL MEDICAL CERTIFICATIONS
And while you’re already there taking the CPR class, go ahead and get the AED, infant, and every other one with a certification card to make your resume stand out.

KNOW HOW TO DRIVE A MANUAL CAR
In much of the developing world or bombed world, manual cars and trucks are still very much the norm.

Most senior people in HR are middle-aged, so they never bother to ask anyone because they assume they know how to.

I’ve been on contracts a few times when people showed up and did not know how to drive a manual transmission. They had to spend every evening in an old manual pickup driving around in circles until they learned.

If you don’t know how to drive a manual car, call one of your uncles to show you how. Alamo and Budget are the last rental companies that still have stick shifts.

PASSPORT
Yes, you will need a passport to go overseas and work, duh. Just like the manual transmission, it pains me to say this.

I saw a guy show up for his pre-deployment qualification stateside and say, “I thought the company was going to get my passport for me.”

The wild part is that despite being a grown man, he dared to get angry when told, “No, you were expected to have a passport for a job in another country. How could you not know that, dummy?”

Later, I heard from the guy who drove him to the airport that he was still angry at the company for not telling him beforehand. Sigh…

PASSPORT VALIDITY
Specifically, a passport with a minimum validity covering the entire length of your employment contract, plus an additional six months.

If you haven’t applied for your passport yet, ensure you request one with extra pages. Employment visas for overseas security contractor jobs can sometimes take up several pages.

DRIVER’S LICENSE AND (OPTIONALLY) INTERNATIONAL DRIVER’S PERMIT
DRIVERS LICENSE
You will need a valid driver’s license with a minimum of six months of validity. If your license is suspended, you will not be eligible for employment on many security contracts. If you grew up in New York City and never bothered with getting a driver’s license, you’d better learn fast and go take your driver’s test.

INTERNATIONAL DRIVER’S LICENSE
This is more of an extra for your resume that shows HR this isn’t your first rodeo overseas, even if it is.

You can get the IDP from any AAA location

Make sure to bring a passport photo, or you will have to pay a jacked-up price for one from AAA

The IDP is only valid for 12 months from the date issued

So wait until right before you fly out for the job to get one

You can go ahead and put an IDP on your resume

GET ON IT!

Now you know what you gotta do, so go do it.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments below. I check it every day.

Good luck!

SOME OVERSEAS SECURITY CONTRACTOR JOBS CURRENTLY RECRUITING

Comments

No comments yet. Why don’t you start the discussion?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *