Jennifer Mellon is a private investigator who works with the company Trustify along with her partner Danny Boice. Trustify is a novel website which seeks to find the perfect private investigators for its clients, who are both average citizens and large scale businesses. We caught up with Jennifer Mellon recently to discuss the world of private investigators and about exactly what it is that they do. During the conversation we got to talking about what skills she believes that a private investigator should display if they wish to be successful in this job role, and here is what she had to say. If you want to be a private investigator, first check to see if you have the necessary skills.
Confidentiality
The term private is the most important aspect of this position and if you wish to be successful in being a private investigator, you must have great respect for confidentiality. Usually when you are first speaking with a client you will sign a confidentiality agreement and this is something which you must respect. Within this job you will be dealing with a great deal fo sensitive information and so you must be trustworthy enough to do so without speaking a word of it to anyone.
Informed
In the world of private investigation information is your friend and ally and you must know where to get it, how to keep it and when to share it. Most private investigators have contacts all over the place from security companies to court rooms, law enforcement to local shop owners. The key to being a great private investigator is knowing where to go for information and most importantly, how to obtain it.
Empathy
There are many cases which call for empathy from the PI, especially when dealing with issues such as child custody. In many of these situations you will dealing with individuals who are vulnerable and require help, so it is on you to handle it in the right way. Being empathetic is a key part of the job and in such situations you must work incredibly hard to ensure that you do the best job possible for the person in need, and that you understand what it means to them.
Relentless
Being a private investigator is about knocking on doors and having them slammed in your face, before moving to the next door and knocking again. People won’t simply hand information over and you may not always get the result that you are looking for when you chase up leads. This is why a PI must be relentless in what they do and stop at nothing, within reason of course, to get results. The life of a PI is not always an easy one which is why the men and women who do it must be prepared to keep on pushing until they get the results.
Would you like to one day be a private investigator like Jennifer Mellon?
