How Guarding Prepared Me for a Career in Project Management

Seven years ago, I sat before a panel in downtown Seattle, Washington, interviewing for an assistant project manager role. After almost eight years in the guard force arena, I was eager for a new opportunity, but I paused when asked my now-favorite interview question: “How do you express confidence before you have competence?”

The potential role involved dispatching integrators to repair readers, cameras and other devices and I couldn’t explain a basic circuit, much less the difference between Weigand and SIA Open Supervised Device Protocol. I had no competence, but I could be confident because of the preparation my time as a guard provided. The experience in communication, learning opportunities and project management provided a firm foundation for a wide range of career opportunities.

• First, security guards interact with everyone, from the janitor to the CEO, and they have a mandate to enforce rules, law and policy equally. These broad interactions and the sometimes uncomfortable or confrontational discussions are excellent project management preparation. As a project manager, I may be meeting project stakeholders, leveraging a working relationship to overcome an obstacle and then delivering the news that a milestone is delayed. The conversational and relational tools I honed as a guard taking an accident report, interacting with protesters and providing first aid to a college student are used on a daily basis as a project manager.
• Second, in my experience, people are comfortable talking to security guards – and what an incredible learning opportunity! Fresh out of university I took a position as a security guard for a gas turbine plant. While there an integrator technician showed me how to calculate a camera field of view, diagnose card reader failures and bypass a PIR REX with a sheet of paper. He wanted someone to talk to and I wanted to learn (talk about a win-win!). This laid the foundation for skills I now use every day. The lesson is, take advantage of those opportunities! You may not use the knowledge now but you build a hunger for learning, which is a valuable commodity in any career.
• Finally, something I now realize is that a lot of my time as a guard was project management. The scale was different, but the principles were the same. Whether delegating patrol tasks amongst my security team on a college campus or reviewing camera statuses across 80+ buildings, I prioritized, coordinated, tracked and reported – all parts of project management. Take advantage of the opportunities presented, and lean into those skills when presenting yourself to a prospective employer.

Success in many roles does not come down to just your knowledge base. Treat people with respect regardless of position, seize opportunities for growth and manage the projects set before you no matter how small they seem. Whether you seek a career as a security guard, a project manager or something completely different, these principles will make you a valuable employee and highly sought after in an increasingly competitive job market.

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association.

This article originally appeared in RISE Together: A Newsletter for Emerging Security Leaders, presented by SIA’s RISE community.