Finding Security Work

S2019

Hi

I've got my sia badge but can't seem to get any work. I mainly apply through Indeed(same jobs posted everyday) and other similar sites. I thought it would be easy to find work because I have good communication skills and I wouldn't have any problems working at nights or whenever needed.

Could anyone who's recently or currently doing security work, particularly in Manchester offer some advice on getting some static work. Do you find security work mainly through word of mouth? I don't know where to look now. I've even tried facebook.

Thank you :beer:

MovingForwards

Have you spoken directly with any security firms?

Have you proactively spoken with any security guards to ask them who they are employed by?

Are you actually registered with any agencies or just looking at adverts? Again it pays to be proactive, register with agencies, email / phone them every week to say hello, ask if any suitable roles have popped up or are due to pop up.

Brynsam

Have you ever had any security work, or is it that you've got your badge but no experience?

S2019

Thank you for the replies guys

No, I don't have any security experience. I've applied to most big security firms and registered with them. Not to be rude or anything but I have friends who can barely speak English doing corporate security jobs. I'm not looking for a fancy office job, I thought me being extra flexible with time and wouldnt mind taking jobs that required me to stand outside the cold would increase my odds but I don't get any replies.

Doshwaster

I would avoid Indeed and go directly to specialist agencies. A 10 second Google found this

https://www.agencycentral.co.uk/agencysearch/security/countysearch/england/manchester.htm

Ring agencies - or pop in if possible - and you'll have a better chance than just applying online.

As with a lot of agency work, getting your first job can be tough but once you get a reputation for being reliable then more work will come your way. In a city as big as Manchester with so many big venues and events then I'd be amazed if you couldn't find something quickly if you are persistent enough.

dharm999

Try the smaller to medium size companies in the area, as they will be more flexible on who they will employ. Security companies are crying out for guards, and anyone half decent, and in a lot of cases simply hopeless, find regular work. Have you got someone to check your CV? Are you unemployed at the moment, as a lot of security companies would take on long term unemployed people on a trial basis, while they continued getting benefits, and then employ the people who were good.

The other option is event work, try the large event security companies, they always need staff. Go along to the large stadiums and arenas and speak to the guards, and find out what the companies they work for are like, and ask them how to apply.

Good luck

theoretica

The easier a vacancy is to find and apply for (eg Indeed) the more other people will apply. So worth looking on company specific pages and talking to people, as others have suggested.

dharm999

Gomer

I don't know who said you would earn £20/hr but that's was never ever going to happen, well not for a guarding job. Maybe as a manager, eventually, but not straight away. I don't understand why you needed weeks of study and had to write essays, that's not part of the training for a guarding or cctv licence, did you do a NVQ? That would explain all the study and essays, and if you were told they were necessary to get your licence, then you were lied to.

Like any other sector, it has good and bad companies, and size of the company is no indication of how good they are to work for.

To the OP, if you are literate, are presentable, have a decent standard of written English, and you know your way around a PC, then with a bit of hard work, then you can go far, in the right company. The key is finding the company that works for you. Good luck with your job hunt

gomer

Yes i did NVQ for both CCTV & Guarding. Both a complete waste of time. We were indeed lied to (by the jobcentre & the college). If i knew then what i know now i would not have done it. Working in security has been the most unpleasant experience i have ever had in employment.

dharm999

gomer wrote: »

Yes i did NVQ for both CCTV & Guarding. Both a complete waste of time. We were indeed lied to (by the jobcentre & the college). If i knew then what i know now i would not have done it. Working in security has been the most unpleasant experience i have ever had in employment.

Sorry it didn't work out for you. You shouldn't have been told that you needed NVQs, you don't. If you wanted to get in to Security management then it would help, but you would do them at the time, not as part of the process to get a licence. Your experience isn't typical. It can be a horrible industry to work in, but it can also provide a career, as unlikely as that sounds.

gomer

To be honest I'm glad of the experience because it strengthened my resolve to never ever work in security again, as pessimistic as that might sound. It's public sector for me in future. I'm sure there are cushy security jobs about, just that i never found anything remotely cushy myself. Sadly it was none of the things i was lead to believe & my experience was that you get treated rather poorly in security in general. Certainly didn't offer career prospects for me & god only knows what you have to do to get decent work if some of the cra@p i had to put up with is anything to go by lol