If you are interested in venturing into the security guard field, then follow these steps to ace your interview. Just like any other job interview, you’ll want to impress your interviewer. Here are our top tips for interviewing for a security guard job.
In our experience, candidates come into security guard job interviews without doing any due diligence on the company they are applying to work with. This doesn’t mean simply looking at their website. You’ll want to research beyond the ‘about us’ page, and look into some of the company executives and their backgrounds, so you can see the caliber of management you’ll be working under. It is also recommended to search for recent press and news articles highlighting the company. If you can reference the company CEO and their philosophy, or turn the conversation to a recent news piece of interest, it will really impress the person who is conducting your interview. If you can get a feel for the company leaders prior to your interview, you’ll have a better idea of what the company is looking for in an employee. Remember, not all security companies are the same. Each is unique, and has a different approach to security management. Make sure you spend the time researching and getting to know the company you are applying to, before you step foot into their building.
Insider Tip: You should also determine if the company you are considering joining has an online social media presence. If the firm has a Twitter or Facebook account, review their posts to see what matters to them, how they present their brand, and how they interact with the general public. This will give you another way to get a feel for the firm and what they might expect from a security guard in their employment. The more you know about the security firm, the more your confidence will rise before stepping into the interview room.
No matter how much you think you know about the company, you are going to want to practice going through the interview with someone you trust. Have that person pretend to be the manager you will be interviewing with. Have them ask as many questions as possible that you think is going to come up in the real interview. You should practice different answers to the same question and then have the person conducting the mock interview give you feedback about how each one of those answers is received. By doing this, you will do more than simply practice, you will be game planning the way you will want to answer your interview questions. You will also sound quite a bit more confident during the real interview. When you are asked a question, especially one that you might have come up with on your own, you won’t be hemming and hawing and trying to think of the perfect answer.
Even if you are asked a question to an answer that you didn’t plan for, you will be able to think on your feet better because you practiced coming up with answers. All of this will give off an air of confidence that will be attractive to the person who is interviewing you.
It should come as no surprise that when you are going into an interview for a security job the person talking to you is going to want to know what kind of experience you have. This means more than simply telling the person where you worked before you decided to come and apply for the current job.
If you have any certifications or education in the field, make sure you mention them in a way that will make it clear you have these accolades but they are not the sole focus of what you know and what you do. You want the person who is interviewing you to know your character, and know how you will respond in a confrontational situation that requires your security guard expertise.
Insider Tip: Don’t have any higher education or security certifications? We recommend these school programs to better prepare you for a career in security.
Interview confidence comes in more than one form. There is the ability to answer a question as soon as it’s asked, and there is also the ability to show that you really are someone who is well trained and well suited for the job. Never show anxiety or desperation to get the job you are applying for. Rather, express sincere interest, but a confidence that you are exploring other options as well, and looking for the right fit.
Never show up late to an interview. Conversely, never show up so early that people wonder why you are there, or even worse, that you disrupt their schedule because they feel they need to come out and deal with you. Showing up a few minutes early demonstrates a level of confidence and understanding as to why it’s important to be punctual and professional as a security guard.
Pro Tip: Leave early and plan to arrive 30-minutes before your interview. This will allow for the variables of traffic, an accident, or other delays that may be unplanned. Once you arrive, simply sit in your vehicle, relax, and review the questions and answers from your mock interview. At around 10-minutes prior to your interview, go into the building, greet the attendant, and proceed to the waiting area. Relax, smile, make eye contact with those passing by. Greet your interviewer with a confident smile and hearty handshake. Good luck!
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