Working as an Executive Protection Specialist
Working as an Executive Protection Specialist will lead you to be placed in various locations and assignments as well as being exposed to various clients. Some clients will treat you with the utmost respect and dignity and will listen to your direction and insight, while others will talk down to you and treat you as an object they own and control. The unfortunate reality is that many clients fall into the later category. With this said, remember that regardless of this unfortunate treatment you have to rise above the situation and always act in a professional manner. If your feelings become hurt easily then this is not the job for you!
Recently, one of my associates contacted me and wanted to share with me a situation that he had recently dealt with while on the road. My associate had been hired to protect an entertainer that is an up and coming rap artist. After a recent show the rapper, his posse, and countless guests were partying in a small private space at a nightclub. While the party was in full force, the local fire marshal came to the club and met with my friend. The fire marshal explained to my friend that if anyone else came into the private space that he would start to issue citations and “shut the place down.”
Types of Executive Protection Clients
My friend advised the fire marshal that he would comply and not allow anyone else to enter the room. Keeping true to his word, my associate was diligent in his task and ensured that no additional guests entered the party. About 45 minutes after meeting with the fire marshal, my associate was summoned to go speak with the “rapper.” When he arrived, the “rapper” began using loud and obscene language which was then followed by the threat to fire my associate for not letting “his people” into the party.
The moral of this story (which goes hand in hand with this post on particular clients) is to always ensure that you are comfortable working for those you are protecting, be confident that this is “the right fit” for you when it comes to Executive Protection operations. Many individuals entering into this field believe that they have to take the first job that is offered to them; however, this is the wrong attitude to have. Working a protection detail, in many cases, is similar to marriage. In short, in a marriage both parties must learn to respect one another and must understand the others’ needs and concerns.
If one member of the relationship fails to follows these guidelines, that marriage is doomed to fail. The same holds true when working with a client. I have known numerous cases where an executive protection specialist has “pissed” off the client for what ever reason and was terminated from employment. The executive protection specialist then faces what is labeled “blackballed” by the client who will pass on partly true and false information about the executive protection specialist , thus causing him or her a hard time in finding employment within the industry.
Think about this for a minute…before you are going to be hired by that musical pop-star or owner of a fortune 500 company to provide EP services for them, these individuals, their record labels or private investigators are in many cases going to put you thru the ringers by conducting a background check, financial check, and then will speak to references that include former co-workers, family, and friends.
So my question to you is this, why would you not look into the background of these individuals prior to accepting employment with them? Be leery and always check on who and what the individual(s) you are going to protect are about. Practice your due diligence, find out what others can tell you about a specific client, and join some of the executive protection based forums offered out there. Remember in the end, the final choice is yours and yours alone, but an educated individual who takes the time to learn about the client he or she is working for will have a much better chance to increase their longevity within the EP game.
Remember: As an executive protection specialist you are not only protecting a client but you are also protecting yourself. As a mentor to those entering this field I applaud you to heed to what I have shared with you in this post. I want you to be successful in this career if this is the path that you wish to follow. As someone who has had the opportunity to travel these roads alone and in many cases has had to find things out the hard way I want you to know both the positive and the negative sides of this business and how cut throat clients can sometimes be.
This article was written by Nathan Seabrook
Great article!!!
I guess it´s different working with an up and coming rapartist or with a world famous rapartist. Worked with one of the leading rapartists/tv-profiles and it was great, no hassle, no problems just trying to do my best!…
Thanks again and keep up the good work!!!
Peter S
I had same situation with my RAP/RnB star when we traveled to overseas. He had a tendency to push his lead EP person. I turned around and told him stop doing that. He did not like that and did it again. On the next stop, I was supposed to walk in front of him again. I pulled him aside and stated “Next time think about what are you going to do to your EP person, cause all of the sudden the shoe lasses might become undone”. That was it. He never did it again.
So true! I have been in this scenario almost exactly as stated. Usually during these types of events local LE is also paying close attention to how you handle yourselves. I have two “up and coming” Rap Artists I also associate with but I have been very upfront with them and quite candid. Simply put if it’s in Downtown Sacramento, it’s now a “no thanks” but since we have developed a relationship they do not take offense they just call their back-up plan companies w/ no hard feelings. No one gets offended and I don’t have to worry about ruining my good name in the Capital with LE. Once you get a bad name with local LE in any town they can make life hard on you, so as mentioned in the article think of YOUR reputation before giving that quick yes! We run backgrounds on ALL new Clients and it saves us headaches on down the road. That’s why it pays to have a licensed PI on your team too before giving the commitment; they can do some research!
Good information! In my experience, the most important interview you will be involved in, is the part of the “Client Advance”. While they are interviewing you…you should be conducting your own interview of them. As part of the client interview, you can address issues such as drugs, illegal activity, infidelity, client-training, mutual respect and of course, threat level. We all have an ever-changing daily threat level but If they are in need of protective services… it is absolutely necessary to determine why. Do they want the appearance of success that comes with a protective detail? Do they have an elevated level due to actual success and or notoriety? OR… do they have an active threat? Occationally, you will interview a prospective client that plays down an active threat due to illegal activity, some other personal failings or out of the fear of negative publicity. It is imparative that you do as complete an pre-detail threat assessment as possible. This will allow you to better protect the client in the future but as mentioned previously…and more importantly, this will help you protect yourself. Dead clients don’t pay. A thorough client advance is the first and most important part of deciding to take…or pass on a protective detail and will give you best chance at finding the elusive “good fit”.
Good article and very relevant to the field. I can attest the validity of this information. Nothing can make or break your career or integrity than working for a client that is not a good fit. To many people take any assignement to get in the biz, only to find the job was nothing like they expected.
I have turned down opportunities soley based on the reputation of the client and thier known activities and expectations.
Due diligence on your prospective client just as they will do for you.
Great article! am a recipient and protege to your PRICELESS advice. Thanks.
Excellent article! To a certain degree, anyone interviewing for a job has an opportunity to ask questions; and that’s the time to figure out if the job is the right fit for you PRIOR to saying “yes” to an offer.
Is it okay for someone to say something to the interviewer along the lines of “I’m not comfortable being around illegal drugs” as a way of making it clear that if the client’s lifestyle includes illegal drugs that you are not the right fit? Are there ways to finesse this situation to learn more about the client before accepting a job? What kinds of questions can/should one ask when the interviewer turns to me and says “do you have any questions for us?” Perhaps this could be the topic of another article…thank you!!
there is no written rule that you have to stay with someone.It goes both ways,if you don’t like them you leave and go somewhere else and work.On another note.
no matter who you work for you don’t break the law no matter who they are.Last but not least avoid trouble don’t work for rap artists there only trouble.
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