Experience....

[stevie8266]

Just a quick question...I have had my security guard badge for over a year and have recently gained my door supervisors badge....Now i am applying for more than 10 jobs a week and everyone turns me down as i have no experience...How can someone gain experience if no one will give you a chance in the first place...I am getting very frustrated at the minute...Many thanks in advance for your advice....

[pacman88]

yep i feel youre pain mate.

try going to places and meeting face to face with them, sometimes its better and gives them a quick first impression of you.

[Mike123]

It's the same for everyone mate, something will eventually come up... even if it's part time, just do it for a few months so it's at least something to put on your CV which will count as experience.

I'm surprised that you even hear anything back, some websites show how many people have applied for certain vacancies and they all seem to be up to 50's within 24 hours around here in the Midlands, and out of those 50+ people, there are always going to be a fair few who have been in the industry for a long time and have all the experience, so it's easier for the employer to just take them on.

I would suggest looking for work with smaller firms, most of them won't advertise work through all the main job sites, they will have a vacancies section on there own website's, so if you find your local companies, just go on there websites and have a look, drop them an email, give them a call, etc.

Good luck.

[Mike123]

I just realised that you're fairly local

It's hard to get work around here at the moment, all the companies seem to be undercutting each other and offering £6.08 per hour, 70 hours per week jobs, just keep trying and something will come up.

if you're looking for retail work, drop me a message and i mite be able to help.

[stevie8266]

Thanks for your replies guys...Mike im looking towards doing night work and i thought there would be loads of firms out there that would be looking for night workers but i guess everyone wants to work nights....It just gets frustrating as i have been for lots of interviews and have applied for loads of jobs but still nothing...Makes me laugh when i see these security guards that cant speak english or the security guards who are 60 years old and are 30 stone and they couldnt catch a cold let alone a shoplifter.....

[outofmind12]

Thanks for your replies guys...Mike im looking towards doing night work and i thought there would be loads of firms out there that would be looking for night workers but i guess everyone wants to work nights....It just gets frustrating as i have been for lots of interviews and have applied for loads of jobs but still nothing...Makes me laugh when i see these security guards that cant speak english or the security guards who are 60 years old and are 30 stone and they couldnt catch a cold let alone a shoplifter.....

and what are you?

i would bet your about 19 years old and about 9 stone soaking wet, with no experience or proven record of reliability or related references.

as for night shifts... not everyone wants to work nights, in fact most people would prefer to work in the day, so they can spend time with family. i dont know if you have ever worked nights before, but its hard. it messes your whole body up, takes a certain type of person with little family commitments.

good luck with your job search, somebody will give you a chance eventually, you just have to be in the right place at the right time, and if you havnt already... get some tips on improving your CV, do as much related training as you can, and most importantly pass your driving test / buy a car if you already passed your test. what static companies want is somebody who will go where they ask, when they ask, turn up on time, look smart and actually do the job they get paid to do.

[stevie8266]

Thanks for your replies guys...Mike im looking towards doing night work and i thought there would be loads of firms out there that would be looking for night workers but i guess everyone wants to work nights....It just gets frustrating as i have been for lots of interviews and have applied for loads of jobs but still nothing...Makes me laugh when i see these security guards that cant speak english or the security guards who are 60 years old and are 30 stone and they couldnt catch a cold let alone a shoplifter.....

and what are you?

i would bet your about 19 years old and about 9 stone soaking wet, with no experience or proven record of reliability or related references.

as for night shifts... not everyone wants to work nights, in fact most people would prefer to work in the day, so they can spend time with family. i dont know if you have ever worked nights before, but its hard. it messes your whole body up, takes a certain type of person with little family commitments.

good luck with your job search, somebody will give you a chance eventually, you just have to be in the right place at the right time, and if you havnt already... get some tips on improving your CV, do as much related training as you can, and most importantly pass your driving test / buy a car if you already passed your test. what static companies want is somebody who will go where they ask, when they ask, turn up on time, look smart and actually do the job they get paid to do.

Im 35 years old,10 stone and happily married with 3 kids,the youngest being 6 weeks old....I have a full driving license and only just recently gave up my car due to rediculouse insurance premiums....I was a chef for the last 17 years but decided i wanted to try a new career...The reason i want to work nights is that i dont need much sleep and whilst working nights i would have all day with the kids....At the moment i am unemployed but im still up at 5am walking my dog,then do the school run and spend all day cooking,cleaning and working out....I have increased my working out as i realise that i need to get bigger in order to work in this industry...

[Firebird_2]

Wrong reason to do nights if you ask me - When I'm on an night pattern I got about 2 hours with the family in a day, it's not just about being awake, it's about being alert.

I agree with you that there's a lot of useless guards out there, but unfortunately when the main aim a lot of the time is to pacify an insurance company, price generally comes before quality.

Thanks for your replies guys...Mike im looking towards doing night work and i thought there would be loads of firms out there that would be looking for night workers but i guess everyone wants to work nights....It just gets frustrating as i have been for lots of interviews and have applied for loads of jobs but still nothing...Makes me laugh when i see these security guards that cant speak english or the security guards who are 60 years old and are 30 stone and they couldnt catch a cold let alone a shoplifter.....

and what are you?

i would bet your about 19 years old and about 9 stone soaking wet, with no experience or proven record of reliability or related references.

as for night shifts... not everyone wants to work nights, in fact most people would prefer to work in the day, so they can spend time with family. i dont know if you have ever worked nights before, but its hard. it messes your whole body up, takes a certain type of person with little family commitments.

good luck with your job search, somebody will give you a chance eventually, you just have to be in the right place at the right time, and if you havnt already... get some tips on improving your CV, do as much related training as you can, and most importantly pass your driving test / buy a car if you already passed your test. what static companies want is somebody who will go where they ask, when they ask, turn up on time, look smart and actually do the job they get paid to do.

Im 35 years old,10 stone and happily married with 3 kids,the youngest being 6 weeks old....I have a full driving license and only just recently gave up my car due to rediculouse insurance premiums....I was a chef for the last 17 years but decided i wanted to try a new career...The reason i want to work nights is that i dont need much sleep and whilst working nights i would have all day with the kids....At the moment i am unemployed but im still up at 5am walking my dog,then do the school run and spend all day cooking,cleaning and working out....I have increased my working out as i realise that i need to get bigger in order to work in this industry...

[Mike123]

Night shifts are definitely not as easy as they look to an outsider, people think that all you have to do is sit around and do a patrol every couple of hours, it's nothing like that at all. You have to do regular patrols which are usually checked (check points, etc) and make check calls to control, then fill in all the daily logs, etc.. if you find yourself on a site which required 30 minute patrols and then you come back to fill in a log, you have just about 15 minutes to yourself before your next patrol.

There are plenty of jobs out there which will pay you to sit around and watch a TV all night long but those jobs are all taken lol, if you found a job like that, you wouldn't let it go either so i can understand why there are not many of those vacancies about.

I personally prefer to work nights because i have no commitments at the moment and you never get stuck in traffic while getting to and from work

[Purple]

Well, if anyone gives you grief you can always cook them ……..

As you may have noticed, sending off your CV all over the place, explaining to everyone that your primary talents lie in knowing sixteen ways to cook an egg isn’t going to get you very far. It doesn’t mean you can’t do the job, but it does make you look like an “unlikely candidate”.

So first you need to get them interested in you the “person” – then, if they ask, show them your CV.

This means going out on foot and talking to people, and (as you have found), getting to know people on places like this. If you were looking for work in the catering trade, I’m guessing one of the ways you’d go about it would be to turn up at restaurants and talk to people. Even if they say “Nothing going on here mate – but try this place up the road” it’s a result.

It’s a case of what you know – and who you know ….. so, if you lack experience, then start out with the “who”. Find these people, talk to them, and if you get on well with them, this hugely increases your chances of getting a job from them.

By simply sending off your CV by email etc – with no experience, you’re playing your weakest card

[stevie8266]

Many thanks for the replies.....

[outofmind12]

Im 35 years old,10 stone and happily married with 3 kids,the youngest being 6 weeks old....I have a full driving license and only just recently gave up my car due to rediculouse insurance premiums....I was a chef for the last 17 years but decided i wanted to try a new career...The reason i want to work nights is that i dont need much sleep and whilst working nights i would have all day with the kids....At the moment i am unemployed but im still up at 5am walking my dog,then do the school run and spend all day cooking,cleaning and working out....I have increased my working out as i realise that i need to get bigger in order to work in this industry...

well the driving license will be very useful... do you plan on getting a car again in the future? it will make life much easier as well as help you getting a job.

i dont drive yet, im taking lessons. when i was working static i would complete a 16 hour shift then have to get on the bus home. then 5 hours later i would have to wake up (assuming i got to sleep), shower, shave, get ready, go get the bus back for another shift... you literally have no life. a car would be a godsend unless your lucky enough to get a site close to your home, which is unlikely.

you have plenty going for you, your age, a work history, a driving license... i think it will just be a matter of time before you get some work.

but i will say it again... nights are hard, nights are s*it unless you intend on living the "night worker" lifestyle constantly...