So the job advert sounded ideal. A part-time contract investigator was sought locally for a PI firm and as I already act as a part-time contract investigator for a number of out-of-town firms, what could possibly go wrong this time?
It kind of played out in three short sentences.
Them: Are you ex-police?
Me: Well, no, but I have been doing this for 9 years now and...
Them: Not interested. Sorry.Oh, they tried to explain that this wasn't their own policy but it was the expectation of their clients that investigators working on their behalf were ex-police.
Naturally, it's all bollocks.
Since when do clients stipulate as to the backgrounds of investigators working on their particular files? I've never heard of such a thing and, certainly, while I have been asked (on the very odd occasion) if I was ex-police by a client, no-one has ever taken their case elsewhere because I wasn't.
This makes me simultaneously sad and angry because my skills and experience count for absolutely nothing, and never will, in this regard.
Again.
Things like this boil my blood. Some of the best and worst investigators I have ever encountered were police officers. In fact, I would go as far as saying that there is absolutely no correlation between previous law enforcement experience and a good investigator.
ReplyDeleteBeen a debt collector, chicken suit wearing purveyor of cheese filled frozen poultry snacks, jungle guide, bug catcher, cook, counsellor, airport worker and baker… and ultimately, in some cases simultaneously, a PI. Not a bad one in fact. Well I’m still in business.
ReplyDeleteThere must be more than three of us out there.
It is incredibly short sighted to stream investigators from one little pool whether it be frozen food purveyors, the Police or any selection of three letter acronyms. Variety is the spice of life and the secret to success.
Well, you would think so - so, ever the optimist, I'm going to fire off another application for a governmental investigatory position and see what happens.
DeleteHowever, ever the realist, I already know the outcome.