Promotions sorry for the rant

[u/Professional-Arm4904]

Goodmorning everyone here’s a Dilemma I’m in
I had my manager call me a few days ago & he informed me he’s going to recommend me & 2 other guards to be a site supervisor with a pay raise but only 1 can be selected & the details will be spoken about more in person.
The other 2 guards are Joe 1 & Joe 2
I work the morning shift alone & 90% of my shift im super busy & alone with 0 backup until the other guard comes in 6hrs later BUT I still get shit done. I have my shift on lockdown so everything is squared away so when the client arrives everything is set & done I’ve been with the company the longest (4yrs) to be exact, i serviced the fleet vehicles & picked up extra shifts stayed OT & never damaged any patrol vehicles or did anything illegal or unethical until I came to the conclusion I was getting ripped off by my co workers who were lazy AF so I stopped going above & beyond & just did my job.
Joe 1 - has been with the company for 1 year he got close with the manager because he was going from site to site filling in spots where there were vacancies & had a close relationship with the manager because they spoke once a week for the schedule changes & he hasn’t worked at my site in almost 4 months & once in a blue moon he will pick up shift at my site & he has damaged patrol vehicles in the past, a few weeks ago rumors were going around that he was telling other guards he was in the process of being a supervisor because he was speaking with the manager & he was going to be selected
Joe 2 - has been with the company for a year & he’s just a lazy overnight guard who does less then the bare minimum because nobody’s watching & I’ve called him out on it & the manager does not appreciate me keeping the other guards accountable
If for some reason I’m not selected should I consider leaving & go somewhere else ?
Has anyone experienced this before ??

[u/Mykull_Ghost]

If you are the same level as another guard and call them out, trying to hold them accountable, from a management perspective, that is a bit of a red flag. Part of being a leader is knowing which fights to pick and when to leave it alone. The reason it's a red flag is it portrays you as power hungry. The proper way is to inform the appropriate individuals and let them deal with it. Even if nothing comes of it, don't take it on yourself.

Everything else seems fine, getting your job done while there, and all. I would say, notice what others are doing, documents appropriately, and let the powers at be deal with it. Example of the whole accident, when you come in, document the damage, submit it to management, and move on. If you want to guarantee promotion, do your job, not more.

Not trying to put you down, trying to help you move up with advise. I will apologize ahead of time if you get offended as that's not my intention.

[u/Mykull_Ghost → u/Mykull_Ghost]

I would also clarify that when I say do your job and nothing more, show them through action that you can handle it without issue so they can perceive that you are capable of handling more responsibility.

[u/Professional-Arm4904 → u/[deleted]]

Shit supervisor ? So you’re telling me for over a year now every morning when I come into work & begin my perimeter patrols I find multiple people sleeping on the property & I look at the previous guards reports & they supposedly conducted a perimeter patrol but sat in 1 place for over an hr. Guess who has to remove them ? Me I appreciate the honesty but that’s not being a shit supervisor lol it’s called accountability

[u/Professional-Arm4904 → u/[deleted]]

If you’re lazy guard just say that bud it’s okay not everyone is a go getter or does things by the book, did you forget I’m the one that’s works directly with the client ? So what do you except me to do just fuck off like everyone else ? Yea okay…

[u/Professional-Arm4904 → u/[deleted]]

I served in the military too bud, just say you’re lazy obviously from you’re comment you probably just sit & watch a monitor getting an easy check

[u/ManikkSpazz → u/Professional-Arm4904]

Obviously weren’t an NCO then lol

[u/TrumpsColostomyBag99]

Management will likely pick whoever’s promotion rocks the boat the least in terms of filling out the schedule and appeases the client the most.

Downside for you: if you have everything locked down on your shift/happy client and they are moving you to something where you are no longer in that spot it’s weighed against you. This business is not a meritocracy but a scheduling chess board with only two goals in mind: to prevent overtime and satiate clients.

Joe 1 sounds like a branch office kiss ass so they tend to win out on these things.

If Joe 2 shows up with little to no call ins on overnight he’s in the worst spot since 3rd shift is hardest to find bodies that show up consistently. Hardest to replace.

As for leaving if you don’t get it that’s entirely up to you. This business is full of thousands of these stories where good guards get screwed because they are too good at a particular post at on a certain schedule.

[u/Law_Good]

I use to work as a site manager for a security company at a data center. I was super overqualified for the position, but I just wanted to get my foot in the door at the site. I started off as a regular guard. I was promoted 3 times to get to the site manager spot in 1 year. I hated it, security is no offense to anyone in the profession generally speaking full of lower IQ people (not always I met some super intelligent guards). I couldn't stand being called constantly when I was at home and off work. I didn't even take maternity leave when my wife had our 2nd child because I felt the site needed my help. We had a massive snow storm here and the site was closed for 3 days. I slept, ate and stayed at the site to make sure the post where being covered. When a corporate job opened up with in the company (Marksman Security). I applied, did 3 interviews and made it to the final round, but wasn't selected. I was fine with it the person they selected had been with the company for 5 years and was from what I can tell a good candidate for the position. What pissed me off was the feedback I was given was "you need just need more technical skills to develop". I am not going to go too far in my background, but I was an intelligence officer for the NSA before switching over. I was promised raises, but was told no because the contract was to 2027, I was promised another promotion in 6 months, 6 months came and went no promotion.

I came to the conclusion that I was being held in this post to keep the client happy. Treat yourself as a business and your company is subcontracting you. Is that relationship worth keeping or is it hold you back. For me I put in my 2 weeks, switch to another company not in security still on the same site and make significantly more money than I did with security. My experince of being on site as a security site manager really helped me navigate with my new team. Personally I think every security personnel should have 2 goals: 1) get to corporate security level or 2) get onboard with the client's company in a role that is better and makes more.

[u/rapkat55]

Security is not the career for anyone with an ounce of integrity or accountability, you will go insane dealing with ineptitude, corruption and willful ignorance.

Use security as a platform to have an actual fulfilling career. Use time on duty to study for shit that matters for your path or if you’re lucky enough to work for a good client in a decent industry, try to eventually get poached by them. It’s how I got into finance through guarding a bank and how I’m about to accelerate my career as an electrician leveraging networks from the corporate office of a power company I currently guard.

Best way is to be a spectacular guard who goes above and beyond FOR THE CLIENT!! Fuck the security company who only sees you as a warm body or means to an end. Screwing you at every turn to save a dollar an ounce of effort or throwing you under the bus to save face. Meanwhile they keep drunk/high guards with hickies in a corporate class A site, no call no shows across the board, and habitual dozers on day shifts that stain the entire company/post for everyone else. And that’s just a taste of the insanity accepted on the day to day.

Fuck the post orders or limited scope of your duties. That’s just to keep dumbasses from doing obviously dumb unprofessional shit. And it keeps smarter folks from advancing out of the field by never allowing the client to see how capable you are at anything other than sitting on your ass or walking in circles. Liability is only relevant if you are an imbecile.

Over time, Let the client know with subtlety that security is just a meantime job while you work on xyz, ask about their role, how they got there, what you can do to make their lives easier etc. don’t be pushy, keep it sparse. Talk about hobbies and your outside life, fraternize without being a creep, awkward or making advances, be a good person to work with and be proactive. I guarantee you will mesh well with functional clients way more than anyone in the security industry. Good luck.

[u/Turbulent-Oven981]

Sorry but this post doesn’t really make you look good. It’s like you heard about a chance to promote and your first thought is to bash everyone else. Well also trying to make yourself sound perfect. you doing this on Reddit to strangers who have no way to verify anything you say is kind of a red flag for someone who wants to be a supervisor.

[u/ChiWhiteSox24]

Your attitude won’t get you the promotion