50 CP'S NEEDED IMMEDIATELY. £75k PA 2 on 2 off, PERMANENT POSITIONS

shakespeare

Ok, thought that would get your attention, you are obviously looking for work or are looking around to see what the market is like at the moment.

That job doesn't offer doesn't exist, but here are some thoughts I threw together should you find one like it. It's aimed at new(ish) CP's trying to get a start in the UK and Europe, but some points apply generally everywhere.


Unfortunately there are not many “Full time breaks” available to a Close Protection operator. “Full time employment” may consist of a renewable contract every 6 or 12 months if you are lucky and services can be terminated with 1 months notice period by either side. The norm is that a job may last only a few weeks or even days.


As a self-employed CP we must act like exactly as our self-employed title suggests
i.e. Businessman/woman. As a self-employed business you have to market your services in order to secure and remain in work. As a CP you only have yourself to market, and unfortunately if you cannot market yourself then the inevitable long periods of no work will result in giving up CP altogether. Marketing yourself is not just about writing a Cv every time a contract is completed and you are searching for another one. You are only as good as your last job.


Once on a short contract the opportunity must be made to network, and to network you must be a team player, disciplined, hard working, a non whiner, a non back stabber, get along with others for long periods of time etc.


People leave and start jobs frequently on the Circuit as families come and go during the year. The more people you know and get on with, the better your chances of survival.


The reason some people stay in work and are called frequently by firms is due to a few things:

• Other operators generally like you and are quite happy to work alongside you for long periods of time. When a Director, OM or TL on a job asks “Do you know of a good op. that you've worked with who could cover some shifts?” to one of the team, if he / she remembers you and thinks you were professional and excellent to work with they will say: “Yes, I worked with this guy/girl on my last job, you'll like him/her because.....etc. etc. I'll give them a call to see if they're available....” you may get the call. If, on the other hand you were “dross” on a job, of course you will not get a call, ever.
• When asked to do something which is a pain in the arse when you've just finished a 16hr day, are completely knackered from only having 3hrs sleep the night before, you don't whine and just say “OK, no probs.” This gets noticed.
• You are called at 0200hrs, the job is 150 miles away, you have had 1 hrs sleep, the caller asks “A guy has just let me down, if we don't have someone here in a few hours we are in deep sh*t, can you help us out? Are you available to start at 0500hrs for 2 weeks?” You have plans with the family the next day, its your sons/daughters birthday and your wife is expecting you to be there, your suits are at the dry cleaners, the Car's MOT runs out in 2 days and is booked in, you've just finished a 6 week contract without a day off....
  Believe me, by taking those jobs at the sacrifice of your own personal life and commitments is always remembered and favours are returned.

Nobody will call you to let you know of a potential job that they themselves are on if they don't like you. Harsh, but true. Networking starts as soon as you start a job, make new friends, keep in touch, find out who is recruiting and who isn't, what might be coming up next month, which families are coming to town this year, which companies are recruiting for each family, who pays on time, who mucks their ops. around.....the list goes on.


Marketing is 24/7. Use all your time to secure work. Repeatedly call companies and stay in touch with friends from previous jobs. I still remain in touch with CP's from many years ago, good friends will always try to help you out with work and watch your back. This works both ways.


Another point to remember is that the CP team member you “annoy” on one job could be your TL on the next job. On the other hand, never hand out sh*t to people when you are on the way up, or you will collect it on the way back down.


Many people state: “I'm a CP, I don't do RST.” Absolutely fine if you like to remain unemployed for long lengths of time between jobs. I've had the pleasure to have worked with some of the top operators in this industry, one job they might be sitting in a corridor, the next as Ops Manager of a few teams, the next a personal one on one CP, the next in a corridor, the next as a Psd team member in Bagnasty, the next as Country Manager in Nigeria or somewhere....I think you get my drift? There is no permanent rank in CP. You must be diverse, take the good and bad jobs, the less jobs you turn down, then the more you will be called. Not working is not earning.


Use your time on the “boring” jobs where you have a lot of time on your hands for continuous professional development. Studying towards a Instructors qualification such as PTLL, extra medical skills etc. will not only pass the time, but make you more attractive to potential employers as you gain more and more experience over the years. Booking on a course once a year, every year is a good way to increase your skills and knowledge. As self employed the courses are offset against your tax bill. Some ops. will jump on a Surveillance course, some a instructors course, others will brush up on firearms quals, EOD, etc etc....the list is endless, but marketing yourself and remaining professional is endless too.


As the years pass your CV will start to fill out, your employment history starts to look impressive, your qualifications listed are developing into a long list of knowledge and experience. You will have met a great number of quality operators and made some very good friends (you will lose good friends too in different theatres). Even so, you still have to market yourself to stay ahead of the game, but it gets easier and easier as time goes by. You will have some “Gucci” jobs and some crap ones, you will be mucked about by some employers, others will look after you. You will have good times and bad times, but mostly the good times outweigh the bad times.


This is not a game for the faint hearted, but determination, professionalism, a friendly face and most importantly a good sense of humour will help enormously.

Other contributions in this thread to help others are more than welcome.


I wish you all the best in your search.


Regards


Shakes

S.Hopkins

Excellent advice there...thanks for posting.

felbber

Thanks for advice.

arduous

so true shakes.

storm007

Great Advice Thankyou.


Daz

Kelv

Exactly the sort of insight someone needs when starting out.

Thank you!

Yours aye,

Kelv.

Scab

The only way you could have gotten more views so far is with the subject line "Free Sex!" or such like. Cracking post Shakespear very much capturing the need for some humility and resourcefulness in this job.

Roadhog

ow, ow, ow, ow....... read the subject line and spilled me tea. Cracking post Shakespeare.

lenny

good advise thanks ,lenny out----..