A Guide to Hiring a Security Guard: What Your Company Needs to Know

Hiring a security guard is an important decision for any company or business. With so many different options out there, it can be difficult to find the right person. Oftentimes, hiring someone without experience will lead to problems down the line that could have been avoided with more research beforehand.

There are many aspects to consider when looking for the right person, and it can be difficult to know what type of skills or experience you need. In this blog post, we will go over the different types of individuals that make great security guards and how you should hire them. We will discuss personality traits, types of necessary experience, and other assets that are worth noting.

Personality Traits:

Something to consider when looking for a good security guard is their personality type. Good candidates are usually analytical thinkers, and maintain their cool even when put in difficult situations. They can be extroverted or introverted people depending on the type of work needed from them.

For a security guard who is not interacting with many customers, it's okay to consider someone more on the introverted side because they will have less social interaction, and be comfortable with solitude. However, if the security guard will be interacting with many customers, we recommend hiring someone more extroverted to deal better with these interactions.

Good security guards are also good listeners and have an excellent memory. These skills would help them in interviewing people or remembering, for example, what they saw the day of an incident.

Security guards need to also be good at multitasking. They have a lot of responsibilities that they are juggling at once, such as interacting with customers or patrolling an area. 

Necessary Experience:

Consider security guards with some experience. Previous knowledge or skills are very valuable. Top-notch experience could be with the military, the police force, private security company, etc.

Usually, a candidate with many years of experience or multiple long-term positions in security or law enforcement will be more reliable and effective as a member of your workforce. A minimum of two-years experience is a useful requirement to set when filtering for potential employees.

Pay attention to their resume though, and ask for referrals if you need, sometimes jumping between many different jobs can be a red flag. You want to hire someone who you can count on.

If they are not currently employed in law enforcement or guarding already and want to get started as a civilian in this field then there are security courses that they can take. The certification training is a course that covers how to patrol, what to do in emergency situations and so on.  You can find those courses here, and they can be a great solution if someone has the personality you're looking for but needs more experience. This training is required in many states. Be sure to check your local state requirements. 

Useful Skills:

Certain certifications or qualifications can show you that the candidate you're considering is a high caliber security guard. These include :

- Holding an active license as a guard in your state, another state or country.

- Having a private investigator's license.

- Being certified to use firearms or tasers.

-CPR or PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Certifications.

The more skills and qualifications the security guard has, the better they will be able to do their job. You want someone who can handle themselves when it comes down to  it. Depending on the exact position you're looking to fill, technological aptitude or some amount of computer knowledge may be useful.

At the end of the day, hiring a security guard is a big decision and has a lot of factors. You want to hire someone who is not only qualified for the job, but also matches up with your company's culture. Hiring a security guard can be a difficult, time-consuming task. With so many applicants to consider, it's understandable why you might want to hire the first person that is available. The problem with this approach is that not all guards are created equally and hiring the wrong one could cause serious problems in your company or business. 

We highly encourage you to do some additional research into the type of person who will fit best with your company. Take your time, and if it doesn't feel right, don't force it.

As always, if you're looking for training or more security information, have a look here for more.