6 Qualities You Need to Be a Reliable Security Officer

Employment and Wages’ report, the Investigation and Security Services is the leading industry in employment. The demand for security services is high in nearly all fields, both commercial and residential.

Therefore, a security-related career increases your chances of securing a job and offers you an opportunity to protect other people. However, you need to have the right traits to prosper in this profession. Here are the qualities you need to be a great security officer.

1. Honesty
Your employer needs to trust you with their property. Therefore, you should be honest and ensure you give accurate reports at all times, and consult your employer in the case of a difficult situation. Your employer should not discover things you have hidden from them, whether intentionally or not.

If you feel you may forget to inform them of a sensitive matter, have a notebook to write them down. Every evening, go through the notebook to ensure you have informed your employer or supervisor everything they need to know.

2. Customer Service
As a security officer, you deal with different types of people daily. Hence, you should cultivate excellent interpersonal and customer service skills to serve clients satisfactorily. Fortunately, security firms take their officers through training programs to enhance these skills.

You will learn how to welcome visitors warmly, inform them about security requirements, conduct security screening, and respond to different scenarios. This will help you handle clients appropriately, encourage cooperation, and address any security concerns.

3. Decision-Making Skills
The one crucial part of being a security officer is making delicate decisions within a short period. Therefore, you need to learn how to analyze situations, weigh the available options, and make the best call.

For example, if you are a security officer in a commercial building, and the smoke detectors go off, you need to quickly determine if there is a threat and what to do next. You will also learn effective ways to make sound decisions within a short time during your training.

4. Attentiveness
When you are a security officer, a few minutes of distraction can cause a significant security challenge. Therefore, you need to be attentive in your workplace at all times. If you have to leave for a short time, ensure your colleague stands in for you.

You should respond to any suspicious activities on time because ignoring them could mean putting lives at risk. If you are not attentive, you might miss important details or lose critical evidence if anything happens. For example, if you are in charge of entry points, frisk everyone, and take further measures on people with suspicious or illegal items.

The security officer training helps improve your observation skills where you will learn how to analyze your surroundings using all your senses. With these skills, you can spot even a slight difference in your environment and figure out if it could pose a security concern.

5. Preparedness
You may run into a situation that needs a quick response, and so you should be prepared at all times while at work. Walk around with the right clothing and communication gear. You should always be ready to respond to emergencies appropriately.

6. Teamwork
Most of the tasks that you will do as a security officer require the input of different people. For example, you need to cooperate with security officers in other departments to offer effective security services.

Moreover, in case of a potential threat, you will have to work with different professions, such as firefighters, medics, investigators, and attorneys, to address security issues. You will also need to learn how to give and follow orders.

Employers in different fields need reliable security officers on their premises. Therefore, these qualities can help you secure a job and have a successful security-related career.