SO YOU WANT TO BE AN INVESTIGATOR

[Investigator-manager]

From memory my last post in this section was written whilst sitting in a hotel in Dubai where I attempted to inspire investigators by telling them what an unbeliavable industry this is and just what can be achieved if you put your mind to it.

Since leaving Dubai I have travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Qatar, Bahrain and Dubai once again and returned only yesterday from Adelaide.  Whilst all this travel sounds sexy to some, those that have done it know that it is simply plain hard work and it gets scary when you see the cabin of a plane as your lounge room and when you wake up in a motel wondering what town or country you are in.  My wife must be the most understanding person I know to put up with me.

The point of this post is not to tell you about my travels, but to tell you what I continue to learn as I meet investigators around the world.

ASSI has branched out from delivering just investigator training into delivering training in logistics, security, risk management and now emergency response managment.

What you must understand is that everything that anyone does in their life is an investigation.

Working out what is for your dinner is an investigation, finding out what you partner spent at the shops is an investigation, knowing how to respond to an emergency situation is an investigation.

Many people look at an investigator as being a person that looks for missing persons or who conducts insurance investigations or catches cheating spouses out.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  An investigator is someone that can look at any situation or event and break it down to its simplest form and then work throught the event piece by piece until they understand it.  The same as you would in any general investigation.

I am travelling the world showing managers, investigators, CEO's in fact anyone that cares to listen, how to look at situations from an investigators point of view rather than the  tunnelled vision approach that so many people have.

I recently conducted Emergency Response Training in the Middle East for a number of major Petro Chemical plants.  Many said I was crazy as I have never worked in that industry and that I would be laughed away.

Nothing could be further from the truth, the approach I had was to look at an emergency as an investigation.  Before you know how to respond to an emergency situation you have to undersdtand what you have got or the environment that you are working in., then you have a look at your human and technical resources, then you look at what has happenned and what information you have, then you look at what you need to get etc etc.

As you can see, it is an investigation and you simply have to work through the process.

My point in putting this information forward is to try to get across that you should never limit yourself to one area.  Investigations encompasses so many areas and you are only limited by your imagination.

I have been told that I am so lucky to do what I do.  THere is actually no luck, it is simply a matter of looking at the big picture and looking for opportunities.  Most of all it is about taking risks and bel;ieving in yourself and what you can do.

To finish off, I need to reinforce the importance of communications.  In every country I have visited and every person I have spoken to the same issue is raised when talking about failures and it is always the same answer, it is the lack of clear communications.

If you are to suceed in this industry you need to be contactable at all times.  I dont mean you have to sit at your computer or have a phone to your ear whilst you are in bed but you need to be able to be contacted and respond to important inquiries as soon as they are received.

As I mentioned above, I have just returned from Adelaide where I ran a course for a military unit that is dependant on clear communications.  Whilst I cannot talk openly about the training due to the nature of their business I take my hat off to the people involved as they listened and applied the concepts I put forward which resulted in a final exercise we conducted being a total succees under very trying conditions.

ASSI is running the 2nd International Intelligence Course in April and May (Details on our website)and I would encourage anyone that is interested in learning more about getting ahead in this industry and communication more effectively to join us for what I have no doubt will be one of the best communication courses ever offered.

Adrian Francis
ASSI


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[PhilD]

Good on you mate. All the best in all your endeavours. The sandstorms are something else  and trust me you and your intestines get used to the menus

[shespys]

[protect]

Shespys,

I know one can easily become disillusioned with job prospects. Have you tried any other methods of selling yourself to prospective employers?
Have you tried doing a mock surveillance then as part of your portfolio showing prospective employers your video footage along with the notes you made and the running log.
Also as you are not available 24/7 have you sought out another newbie and joined forces thus between you the 24/7 availability is there.
As to the oversupply of new investigators in the Brisbane area part of the course dealt with developing a business plan and investigating a niche market.

I am not having a go at you here but I have only recently received my cert 3 but have been offered work on receipt of my licence, in order to achieve this I have cultivated a social network with a number of people over a long period of time. These prospective employers were able to get to know me over a long period and were helpful to me with answers regarding the industry whilst still studying.

I hope you are able to find work but don’t give up get out there and talk to people and most importantly sell yourself.

[Investigator-manager]

In answer to shespys post.  I am not saying that being positive is the key to success, however it is pretty close.  I am a true believer in positive thinking and the law of attraction.  What you put out is what you get back.  My post was saying that nothing is impossible but you have to be prepared to work and put in long hours.

So many people in society believe that life owes them  (this is not directed at shespys, just a general comment)  They feels that they should do a course, put out a few emails, make a few calls and then secure high paying work.  Ohh if only it was that easy.

We deliver the same training to 8 people on any particular course.  Out of those 8 persons, 5 might go on to be brilliant and highly paid investigators, 3 might return to their previous employ and two may try to get work but lose interest after a few months and then try something different.

The training is the same, so it is not the training but the person that will determine where and how far they will go.

One of the questions I get all the time is, "You havent given me enough information to answer this question on my training course"  My answer is always the same  "What are you training to be, an Investigator, therefore if you havent got enough information then find it.

They always come back to thank me as they get the satisfaction of getting their hands dirty instead of everything being given to them on a silver platter.

So in finishing all I want to try and get across is that this is a hard industry to get into.  You will only achive success if you are prepared to work hard and listen to people already in the industry.  You need to have basic training but then you need to be wiling to learn every day as I do.  The most important piece of advise is to NEVER GIVE UP.

Talk to people like Jockey, Big George, Porter, Shannon, Phild, Lesley, Alan from Two one, Magnum, Patrick etc etc etc the list goes on and on of top investigators who know exactly what I mean and who contribute to this forum.

They didnt give up and look at them now.

Adrian Francis
ASSI

[PhilD]

Great comments in this thread. There was a song out a few years back by the New Radicals called "you get what you give" and in this business it cannot be any more the truth. To move forward you need to make sacrifices in both personal and professional life that may give you other opportunities down the track. Whether it is moving location for that dream job or being available at short notice to help other investigators one day the returns do come your way.

Adrian I write this as a severe sandstorm has hit my location and has prevented me leaving the office (even the locals are not game to step outside)!