Once you complete your bodyguard training getting your first bodyguard Job will obviously be high on your list of priorities. However there are a couple of things you need to do immediately after your training. First you need to apply for and receive your licence before applying for any positions. Getting a licence from the SIA ( Security Industry Authority) in the UK should in theory take less than 4 weeks but many wait 8 weeks and some close protection officers have waited 12 weeks before their licence arrives! You should bear this delay in mind if you are considering giving up your regular job whilst waiting for close protection security your licence. It could well be many months between finishing your expensive bodyguard training and earning from your first bodyguard job.
The best advice for finding that first job is to initially avoid the internet. Start with the paid advertisements in your local telephone directory, look under “Security” as well as “Detective Agencies” and see who offers “Bodyguards” or “Close Protection” as a service. When approaching local companies interviews can be arranged easily and quickly, they will let potential employers put a face to a name and because they know that you can be called upon to work at very short notice this can have a very positive effect on your job prospects. When you initially call, tell them you are local and ask if you can send them a CV/Resume most companies will say yes. During this call ask who you should send the CV to. It would be nice to get a name so that you can personalise that CV cover letter, but chances are you will just be told to send it to “Personnel” or Human Resources”
Send the CV out, wait a couple of days and then follow up with a call, ask if they got the CV, tell them you would like to come along for an interview. At this point they might say that they are not recruiting at present, but insist as strongly as you dare that you would like to pop in and let them meet you. Its important that you do get a face to face meeting as this will increase your chances of getting a call when they do get a contract in. Start doing the exact same process moving further and further away from home, keep a diary and schedule a call to everyone who has your CV every four weeks or so and gently remind them that you are there and looking for work. Some companies will be more receptive to your repeated calls, but if you feel that you are annoying a potential employer then maybe increase the interval between calls to couple of months or so. Some newly trained bodyguards find that securing that first bodyguard job is the hardest part of their career and plenty give up before they do. The harder you work at it the luckier you will get! Once you have the experience of that first bodyguard job added to your CV the second job will be easier, and the third easier than that.