The Bunker Blog

Looking for a job in the field of Loss Prevention?  Believe it or not, there are some open positions out there.  Here are some resources that will help you find a job in loss prevention:

LPJobs.com – No doubt the most well known resource for loss prevention jobs is LPJobs.com. Here you can search by keyword, region, state, or even city.  If there is an opening in LP, it is probably listed here.

GetLossPreventionJobs.com –  Newer site, but they have some great tools on the site, including some advanced searches, jobs posting email updates, a resume template for quick application to jobs, etc. The site also is free for job seekers, and free for employers to post jobs.

The Usual Suspects – Career Builder, Monster, and Hot Jobs all post loss prevention jobs, too. Each has different pros and cons. None of them, however specialize in loss prevention, so search results may be less than with sites specifically designed for loss prevention.

There are also some other resources that can help you find a new job in loss prevention:

LinkedIn – Sign up, get recommended by a colleague, and start networking. Join a Loss Prevention group and take part in the discussions there. You can also use your Facebook or Myspace pages to advertise your job search.

Forums and Groups – Join loss prevention forums and groups and take part in the discussions there. Don’t be afraid to ask if anyone knows of any jobs in your area.  Here is a LP Group on Yahoo! to get you started, and there are several more out there. Just google “loss prevention group” or “loss prevention forum”.

Good luck with your job search. Hope this info helps.

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Recently, I was invited to take a look at LPCommunity.com, a new loss prevention website aimed at career development and training for loss prevention professionals. I wrote an article about it earlier this year. As I began to explore this site, I soon realized something: These guys are providing a valuable service that I wish I had 10 years ago when I jumped from specialty security to loss prevention. This site is a rare find in that it is very informative and entertaining, very easy to navigate, and it provides information that is valuable and pertinent to all levels of loss prevention, from the in-store agent to the VP.

There are other good Loss Prevention sites out there, but many of them offer information that is so high-level that they miss the bigger audience: the field agents, etc. Others appear to be more like an online advertisement for every new technology coming and going. Then there are those that, although well intentioned, are still using very old technologies, are hard to navigate, and honestly, have become more of an insult to the profession than anything else.

LPCommunity.com is different. It is easily navigated, looks great, and provides honest to goodness training in several formats including video, audio, and written. I have to say I’m impressed. So, I reached out to Barry McDonnell, founder and president of LPCommunity.com, and asked if he would be interested in answering a few questions for an interview here on Joe’s Bunker.  Barry graciously agreed, and below is the entire interview.

I encourage all loss prevention professionals to visit and join LPCommunity.com. You will definitely be impressed.

• Introduce us to your staff, including yourself. Who are the folks behind LP Community? What are their areas of expertise?

My name is Barry McDonnell, and I’m the President and founding father of LPCommunity. I’ve been in the world of Loss Prevention for almost 10 years, having started at the bottom of the barrel and worked my way up the ladder. My years have been spent at both big box & specialty retail stores, and now I find myself in a completely different arena, looking at the industry with a whole new perspective, which is both exciting and challenging. I do the majority of the work on the website, with help from a few very talented individuals, former employees and mentors, who help me with creative ideas and weekly topics. Our weekly pod cast wouldn’t be possible without my good friend, Mark Thomas, who has been in LP for over 20 years and has spent most of his career dealing with ORC.  Also, my nitpicky, English major wife makes great contributions in helping me with my writing & grammar throughout the site and on our newsletters. Matt Downey and Adam Little are the designers and engineers of the site, and we have many other colleagues that contribute ideas and help focus the direction of the site.

• What was your inspiration for LP Community? What do you see as the site’s mission?

I love Loss Prevention – the apprehensions, the interviews, and the business of LP.  When I was working with a certain specialty retailer, we had a challenge given to us during one of our meetings: If we were given the Loss Prevention VP title, how would we run things? It was a thrilling proposition and suddenly, we felt, the sky became the limit. After a day of thought, we returned and shared our laundry lists of what we could do with such power. After we all gave our presentations, the Director who assigned the challenge, Aristotle Ginarte, got up and gave us a little perspective on the situation; that no one created a business proposal, no budget was taken into account, no annual goals set, etc. Instantly I saw that I never truly addressed the challenge or question. It was a lesson I took with me as I began to form the ideas that became LPCommunity. I have been lucky enough to work under many such people who have given me valuable perspective not only in my career, but in life as well. James Neal, Chad McIntosh, Paul Paglia and many others along the way have inspired me and what I want to do with this website is create a place where wise & working perspectives and advice can be learned from those doing outstanding work within the industry – and taken advantage of by everyone in this field.

I look at the site as a career building site, but not your average bland site, filled with dry articles and flow charts – I want it to be dynamic, constantly changing, and the place people in the LP industry go to learn more about how to advance their careers, or move their careers to a different venue.

I want LPCommunity to be seen as definitive Loss Prevention website. I see it as a viable, growing, expanding resource where people can learn information from people working in the industry, w/ tools that are easily accessible, informative, and also, entertaining. I also intend for the site to remain free so anyone can find what they need to grow their LP career.

Just like any other industry, in LP there are politics and red tape that hold up progress along the way. I want to work through the politics, duck under the red tape and create a truly honest resource for people to learn from, where we can be the voice of the people in a medium and format that you just can’t get from YouTube alone, or anywhere else for that matter.

As I was doing my research on other LP sites, what I consistently found was shoddy workmanship. From glaringly ugly and outdated web design, to dry and unexciting articles, to outdated material, I was floored by the lack of choice in premium content for LP professionals.  And I have been working to change that option since! We use an almost entirely video-based format, which, as our attention spans grow smaller, is on the forefront of internet media and communication. We also have a pod cast that consists mainly of interviews with outstanding people in the industry, and we also often field calls from average LPCommunity website visitors to get their perspective on what’s happening on the site.  We also keep our site  regularly updated – at least four times a month. I would also like to take this time to compliment you on your site. Joesbunker.net is very clean, easy to navigate, updated, and full of interesting information. You have put together a fabulous website!

Well, as I mentioned, we do have a weekly pod cast with industry leader interviews, and lp topics discussed. We do plan to grow the pod cast even further. Eventually we’d like to integrate a forum of sorts as part of the site, where visitors can upload their own videos and pod casts, creating the definitive space where place where LP professionals can meet, share, and collaborate in ideas about their careers.

We have touched on ORC a little bit already, but it is definitely something I intend to return to again and again – ORC will be part of the LP industry for quite some time, it seems. We are actively pursuing information on how to best handle this type of theft and last week we presented a couple of new ways to fight it! We are also working with a few people to create a national e-mail chain, that would give you relevant information in your local area on ORC activity, and regional information on bigger cases. We hope to roll this new program out in the next few months.

We have the infer structure on the site to do this, and we will eventually expand to some sort of social forum, but right now we’re focusing on different ideas and tools for career building.

LPCommunity offers professionals a chance to see, hear, and learn from the advice and experience of industry professionals that they might not otherwise have access to. It’s a place to hear about ideas and solutions facing the problems that they are encountering on a daily basis, and it offers a new perspective on how to excel at what they are doing. It’s unlike anything else out there for LP professionals.

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Interestingly enough, I did a search on this topic, and came up with very little in the way of results. I found links to job searches, links to specific retailers’ job postings, but very little in the way of general qualifications. That’s a shame, because in my experience, loss prevention is possibly the most underestimated profession in the retail industry. LP professionals wear so many hats, it’s amazing we can even keep up with all the things we do in a day.

So, since I have hired and trained my share of loss prevention professionals in my career, and certainly will continue to do so; here is my list of qualifications for a good loss prevention professional:

Professionalism: The first thing that any good loss prevention professional must learn is professional demeanor. I’ve seen the full spectrum, from the worst to the best, and believe me, a professional demeanor goes a long way. I’ve seen LP officers who cursed at suspects, and who made an already tense situation worse by barking at or treating suspects like they weren’t even human. On the other hand, I’ve seen LP officers diffuse potentially violent situations simply by treating the suspect respectfully and professionally throughout the incident, from the approach to time when police arrive to take over the investigation.

Presence: I am not sure this can be taught, but any good loss prevention professional must have a leadership presence. Since the LP officer must take charge of situations that very easily can become violent at any given time, the LP officer must be recognized by everyone who witnesses or assists during the incident as the person in charge. It’s a natural ability to assess a situation, and then take the necessary steps to control it safely.

Partnership: Every good loss prevention professional must also be a salesperson. No, they are not selling merchandise. Instead, they are selling ideas that reduce loss and increase awareness. They are also selling themselves as the subject matter expert on all things loss prevention in their store, market, etc. To do this, LP professionals have to build partnerships. They must gain the trust and confidence of their team members and be known by all as a good partner, who works with the team to drive the business while reducing losses.

Decision Making: The lack of good decision making skills gets a lot of otherwise good LP people into trouble. Early in my career, some 11 years ago, I was told something that stuck with me through today. It never left me, and I still use it all the time. I was told, by a mentor, to always make good business decisions. Sounds simple enough, but when you apply it to loss prevention, it takes on some new meanings. For example, sometimes the better business decision is to let the shoplifter walk away without approaching them, even though it hurts one’s pride to do so. LP officers must have the ability to recognize which decision is best for the business (store, company, etc.), and make that decision, even though our emotions may be telling us something else.

Writing Skills: This is one of my pet peaves. Reports written by LP professionals are a direct reflection of the officer, their company, and the profession in general. These reports become part of the company’s records, and in most cases, also are entered into evidence in court. That means that they are read by people, including attorneys, judges, etc. Proper grammar and spelling are essential.  Not only that, but the report needs to answer some basic questions like, “Who?, What?, When? Where? How? and Why?”. I have read way too many reports written by loss prevention officers that instead appeared to be written by second graders.

Strong Math Skills: Anybody who has spent any time in loss prevention at all will tell you that LP professionals spend a lot of time pouring over financial reports, looking for evidence of fraud and theft. A loss prevention professional must have the ability to review these reports and identify discrepencies. Strong mathematical skills are necessary, and a keen eye for variances doesn’t hurt at all.

Attention To Detail: LP is a detail profession. From audits to exception reports, the LP professional must have the ability to pay close attention to detail, and to “get it right” each and every time. When it comes to what we do, there is usually little or no room for error. The LP professional must have the “eye” for details.

Multi-Tasking: Loss prevention professionals do much more than apprehend shoplifters. They are the “jack of all trades” in retail. LP professionals are often tasked with multiple projects at one time, and are expected to accomplish them all, on time, and correctly. The LP professional must not only be able to multi-task, but must be comfortable doing so. This is a high pressure job, regardless of what the outside impression may be. If the LP professional is not comfortable taking on at least three projects at a time, then LP is probably not the right profession for them.

Patience: Loss prevention professionals who have little or no patience are doomed to fail. It takes a great deal of patience to fully develop a case from its beginning to the point when the LP professional is ready to apprehend a suspect or interview an employee for theft. Impatience causes mistakes, and mistakes lead to liability for both the LP professional and their company. Patiently going through reports and watching video to determine the facts involved in a case makes the case stronger, and alleviates the margin of error. It also builds the confidence of the LP professional in the merits of the case, thereby making it easier to obtain an admission. I have witnessed the “hurry up” methods in action, and without fail, I have seen very preventable mistakes made.

People Skills: When it comes to apprehending shoplifters, a loss prevention professional doesn’t have a prayer without very good people skills. The ability to read people and convincingly speak to them is eseential. Also, every loss prevention professional will, at some point, become an interviewer. Whether it be gathering information from a shoplifting suspect, or interviewing an employee for suspected theft or dishonesty, the LP professional must have good people skills as a basis for building interviewing skills. Communication is key, and the LP interviewer must know when to talk, what to say, and when to listen and what to observe. Of course, interviewing is an advanced skill, but without basic people skills, it is impossible to be a good interviewer.

You will notice that I didn’t include any physical traits in here at all. I know that there are those who think that LP agents must be six feet tall and very imposing figures because they are stopping shoplifters, etc. However, some of the most effective LP people I have ever known didn’t fit that bill at all. It’s a myth.

Those are the basic things I look for in a loss prevention professional. The list is by no means all-inclusive, but it does cover the basics, I think. If you think I missed something, or if you would like to add to this list, by all means, leave me a comment.

There is a book available that explains the responsibilities of the retail loss prevention agent. You can get it here.

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