Bodyguard Careers

Bodyguard Careers is an informational site with the purpose of providing bodyguards with all the information and tools necessary to succeed in the executive protection industry.

Book of the Month

Book of the Month

Providing Protective Services
By Jim King

Providing Protective Services by Jim King a former director for the IBA and founder of IAPPA is a comprehensive guide that gives specific details on every aspect of the bodyguard profession. It includes chapters on analysis of a threat, advance work, protection driving, counter surveillance, site and conference security, bomb threats and devices, communications, and paramedicine. In addition, Providing Protective Services has an extensive reference section which includes a glossary, index, bibliography, resources, and checklists for advance security, building survey, known threat data sheet, executive profile, bomb threats and more. This book will help anyone who wants to succeed in the bodyguard field.

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True Bodyguard Stories #3 The Mysterious Mr. Larson

True Bodyguard Stories

This is not a story about glamour and protecting international superstars. This is a true suits.jpgstory about a team of bodyguards trying to survive in a tough industry. All people and places have been changed due to discretion and client security. But the core of the story is the absolute truth.

In 2004 I had started a North European-based Bodyguard Agency with some of my friends. We all had great ambitions for the new firm, since the team was comprised of former army special services and law enforcement agents with executive protection training and bodyguard experience. My partner Steen had  trained the year before at ESI Academy in the US and we felt that we had what it takes to make it in the industry.

Four months passed, and we had only had a handful of clients, mostly short-term assignments. More “bouncer” work than “bodyguard work” Steen used to call it. We took assignments like protecting women from physically abusive husbands or boyfriends.

Landing those Executive Protection contracts was challenging, because in Europe, there are more trained bodyguards than actual jobs. But we were optimistic. Finally, in December of 2004 we got the call we where waiting for. A lawyer (let’s call him Mr. Larson) said that he was going to Rotterdam in Holland and needed Close Personal Protection for the trip. He told me that he had a meeting and a deal that he needed to close with one of his clients there. Mr. Larson said that if he liked working with us, he would consider hiring us as full-time drivers and bodyguards. Steen and I went to meet with Mr. Larson and he seemed like a nice person and we were glad to finally get some serious protection work. [Read more…] about True Bodyguard Stories #3 The Mysterious Mr. Larson

Who NEEDS a Bodyguard?

Executive Protection Articles

Gone are the days when only pop princesses and Scientologist super-stars need to employ the services of bodyguards. Warren Buffet was recently a target in his own home, where a masked man with a “fake” gun came right to the Buffet’s front door (which Buffet opened, without looking out the peephole) and attempted to rob him.

Buffet isn’t “famous” in the usual entertainment mega-media way, but he is ranked as one of the top billionaires in the world.

As with Buffet, the exceedingly wealthy need well-trained protection. It doesn’t matter if they’re not a household name or recognizable face to the average person on the street. One can become the subject of kidnapping, robbery or assault for simply holding certain political views. Business executives with ties to environmental issues are taking precautions, and of course with random acts of terrorism occurring the world over, our top political leaders as well as other political movers and shakers need to be concerned.

In the bodyguard business, there are what we call “hard targets,” meaning someone the bad guys will have a difficult time getting to. There are also “soft targets,” those individuals who are more easily accessible, and therefore more vulnerable to stalking, assaults, kidnapping and even attempted murder. A perfect example of this is when Arthur Bremer (the man who wanted to become famous by shooting someone famous) chose to shoot George Wallace. His first choice was Richard Nixon–who proved to be a hard target. So he shot Wallace instead, since he was a soft target.

[Read more…] about Who NEEDS a Bodyguard?

True Bodyguard Stories:2

True Bodyguard Stories

Conflict in Sierra Leone

I have been a bodyguard for over 12 years in Nigeria. My VIPs are usually former Nigerian leaders, however one of the expectations of this kind of work in Nigeria– is that you can 8.jpgbe assigned to special duty anywhere in the world. Which is how I came to be in Sierra Leone in 1998, along with 16 other men. Our assignment: evacuate overthrown President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah from his villa, where he was held captive by the R.U.F. (Revolutionary United Front, led by Foday Sankoh.) After we were briefed by the CSO, we boarded aircraft and flew to Liberia, and when attempting to get to the Freetown airport, the R.U.F. fired on us. Amidst a good deal of shelling and gunfire, we were able finally to get to the President and evacuated him to neighboring Guinea, where he was in hiding for 3 months–and then reinstated as President.

In the end, we lost 2 bodyguards in that action, but the R.U.F. lost many more–including their leader.

Babangida Yakubu Thank you for sharing this story. It is a reminder to us all that in other parts of the world civil unrest and political climate can mean that being a “bodyguard” is more like being a “soldier,” and that the risks of the job vary widely, depending upon where you are in the world. –Harlan “Hucky” Austin

Advance Work First Line of Defense

Executive Protection Articles, Hucky Austin

By Hucky Austin

Kudos to Kid Rock’s bodyguard “Little Bear” for conducting advance work and finding a kid.jpghidden surveillance camera that was installed in Rock’s dressing room. The performer was in St. Paul, Minnesota at the Myth night club, where his personal security team discovered the illegal spyware.

As someone who has worked for years with entertainers, I cannot express enough how important it is to be diligent conducting advance work. It will not only protect the client, but help you to keep your job! I am not going to lie–it’s not exactly the most interesting or exciting aspect of working as a bodyguard, but it can make everything go smoothly.

I remember times when I’d have already put in a long day with a particular celebrity, who would then tell us he’d like to go to a local club after the concert. As exhausted as I might have been, it was important to never become lax in advance work. I’d run out ahead and figure out the best route, how to get the celebrity in through an unobtrusive entrance, find a safe “holding area” for him, locate the restrooms, all emergency exits, and anticipate and watch for any fans or paparazzi who had somehow managed to figure out where we were going, and followed. I’d take notes of where everything was and the security team would all be apprised of the venue floor plan.

You work with a lot of maps when you’re a bodyguard–when we traveled out of the state (or the country) we were constantly consulting maps. We may have flown in a private jet, but once landing in a city that is on the look-out for a celebrity’s arrival, life is anything but private, and we’d need to know exactly how to get from the airport to the hotel. [Read more…] about Advance Work First Line of Defense

Common Resume Mistakes

Career Advice

Using a general resume.

DON’T DO IT! You cannot successfully use the same resume to apply to several different jobs.

Your resume should be custom written for each job you are targeting. When you send out something generic, it shows apathy and lack of motivation. This is NOT the impression you want to send to your potential employers.

Irrelevant content.

For example, if you are applying for an accounting position, don’t list your lifeguard position you held back in 1989.

Spouses, children, hobbies, and your favorite movie genre are also irrelevant tidbits that should remain private.

Creative fonts.

Even if your choice looks easy to read on your screen, it may not be on someone else’s screen. [Read more…] about Common Resume Mistakes

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