The purpose of this article is to help individuals looking for employment as a locksmith. While referenced directly by our “How to Become A Locksmith” article, this information can be used by experienced locksmiths as well.
Finding job leads can be very hectic experience for some. The prospect of landing a new job is very exciting but the search process can be stressful. Fortunately, job seekers have more tools available at their disposal than ever before to assist with this process. I am going to recap various sources of job leads, be it online or in-person or even traditional methods, that I’ve found useful over the years along with either my own experience and/or opinion on them.
Online Sources
Indeed.com
Indeed.com is by far my favorite. They currently boast an impressive 11.3+ million “I Got a Job!” stories. At the time of this writing, over 825,000 jobs have been added to the website in the previous 7 days. That’s A LOT of jobs! Best of all these jobs aren’t “white-collar” or “experienced” only. Skilled trades, such as locksmiths – apprentice or experienced, have their fair share of active job postings on Indeed.
Just how active? As of this writing there are 1,005 job postings on Indeed in the United States that have “locksmith” in either the job title or job description. Dozens of these jobs have “apprentice locksmith” as the job title, from Cary, NC to Lansing, MI, to Riverside, CA. Best of all, these jobs, and others, represent small business employers in addition to institutions and even some government positions. Occasionally you will see overseas contracts, especially for GSA work, if that is the type of employment you are seeking.
I have had great success using Indeed. I found an institutional locksmith job posting on the Indeed website back in 2014 and was hired about a month after my initial application.
If you are searching for a job, make Indeed your first stop. If you don’t find a job listing that suites your needs, simply leave your email (usually found in an “alert” box on the right menu on the “Results” page) and you’ll receive notifications of new job listings that match your search(es). Taking it a step further, you can actually upload your resume to the website to have potential employers find you – can’t beat that!
Glassdoor.com
Glassdoor.com is very much like Indeed, albeit much smaller. I’ve found that as it relates to locksmithing jobs, Glassdoor tends have more government job opportunities listed than Indeed. Like Indeed, Glassdoor also allows you to receive job alerts on a particular search via email as well as upload a resume for potential employers to find you. Unlike Indeed, however, Glassdoor has employee reviews of employers. This can be a useful tool to evaluate potential employers.
If you aren’t already on LinkedIn then now is the time to start. It’s a tremendous networking tool. I have nearly 600 connections currently and about 90% are other locksmiths. Granted, you can’t develop 600 connections over night but if you join and stay active you can build quite a network of industry contacts. Better yet, you can use this to your advantage when seeking job opportunities.
I frequently see other locksmith companies post job opportunities. I’ve also seen locksmiths post that they were seeking employment and in turn received messages or posts from employers looking to hire. I’ve even been contacted by a few employers about job opportunities.
Another neat feature of LinkedIn is that they host job postings as well. Simply search “locksmith job” and you’ll find postings – some mirrored from other job websites and some unique to LinkedIn itself.
ALOA Career Center
While not as active as Indeed, Glassdoor, or LinkedIn, the ALOA Career Center hosts multiple job postings across the United States as well. Users of the ALOA Career Center can create accounts to also set job alerts, like Indeed and Glassdoor. You do not have to be a member of ALOA to use this service.
Clearstar Security Network
Occasionally, new job postings will appear on the Clearstar Security Network employment board. This web page is open to the public so you don’t have to be a CSN member to take advantage of it.
Craigslist
I must warn you that while Craigslist does offer employment opportunities you must exercise great caution and careful vetting before responding to a job posting. Craigslist has become a breeding ground of sorts for scammer operations to target entry-level prospects. I recently spoke with an individual in Kansas City who responded to an ad on Craigslist and, unbeknownst to him at the time, started working for a scammer. Hindsight 20/20, he could have avoided this with a bit of research.
I have found the FTC’s article for “Finding A Locksmith” to be very effective when evaluating a potential employer on Craigslist. Simply apply the same vetting procedure as identified in the article, when applicable, to make sure you’re dealing with a legitimate operation. If it doesn’t pass the sniff test, don’t proceed.
With all that said, don’t let this warning dissuade you. There are reputable locksmith businesses who post employment opportunities on Craigslist.
Employer Websites
On a rare occasion, there are times where a job opportunity will only be posted online at the employer’s website. A very large and prestigious college in Atlanta, for example, only posts their job openings on their Careers web page. Popular employer websites to target are those in institutional settings, such as hospitals or colleges/universities, or property management companies like CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, and the like. While nearly all of these employers will post their openings on places like Indeed or Glassdoor, there are times where they don’t. It doesn’t hurt to bookmark their careers/employment web pages and stop by occasionally.
“In-Person” Sources
Local Chapters and Associations
As I mentioned in the “How To Become A Locksmith” article, local Chapters and associations are an excellent networking tool. If you aren’t already a member of one of these Chapters or associations then start the process, I can’t recommend it enough. At these meetings you will find other locksmiths, some of whom are business owners. The Chapter or association members will often know of local employment opportunities available.
Distributors and Suppliers
If you are fortunate enough to have a distributor or supplier in your area then they more than likely will have job postings at their customer pick-up/will-call counter. Even better, if you have a business relationship with one of their “reps” then he/she will also more than likely know of employment opportunities. Reps are very much liaisons to locksmith businesses and have a their “ear to the ground”, so to speak. They more than likely can introduce you to those who are hiring.
Traditional Sources
Print media, specifically job classifieds in newspapers, still exists and it represents another idea to find employment opportunities, although the opportunities are becoming fewer and far between. Yet another avenue is career/job fairs. Career/job fairs have seen a welcomed resurgence since the end of the Recession it seems. You can often hear about them on local radio stations, in local newspapers, as well as online (such as on community websites like Patch). Even better, they are occasionally “themed”. It’s fairly common to hear of a “facilities” or “trade” career/job fair which is right up our alley.
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