What We Can't Teach Successful Private Investigators

There are some skills that can not be taught for someone to become a successful Professional Private Investigator. These skills can be honed, improved upon, yet there are a few skills that successful private investigators must possess before they begin their training. 

• Being alert at all times - Being alert to potentially dangerous situations is one aspect, more importantly, it is being alert to situations, body language, what is said, and what is not said while conducting an investigation. Some refer to this as being "quick of mind", or "sharp" or "intuitive". Successful private investigators have the ability to know when something is not quite right... there is something missing. It may be how a suspect phrases an answer to a question, how they gaze in a different direction when answering, or looking at a crime scene and thinking, "Hmmm...something is wrong here". Sensing, or being alert to these indicators is one of the traits that is successful investigators possess. 
• Creative - Creativity is needed in investigations whether gathering facts that are elusive, finding additional ways to get to the truth when obstacles appear in the investigation, or utilizing varying approaches during an interview with a cunning suspect. Private investigators have to be creative in how they approach an investigation, being able to implement a new approach quickly when the one they are trying does not appear to be effective. Although there are several common tenets on how to approach and conduct an investigation, creativity is one of those skills that help an investigator reach a conclusion quickly. 
• Analytical Mindset - Gathering, reviewing, verifying facts requires a mental ability to think logically, analyze all the information that is gathered to find the truth in an investigation. In any investigation there is often a lot of information that has to be analyzed. Successful private investigators logically analyze the information they gather to determine what is relevant and what is not. Successful private investigators know what is 'noise' in their investigation, information that is not relevant, so they can focus their time and effort on what is important." 
• Honesty/Integrity - We include courses on ethics in our training and emphasize the importance of being honest and ethical. We identify the boundaries of what is ethical behavior and what is not ethical behavior. Although this training is important, it is only a reminder to those that already possess them. Honesty/integrity is learned from an early age that is the moral compass that guides us in everyday life. Consider that being honest in carrying out investigative responsibilities is a behavior versus a teachable skill. Facing the challenges, challenges to your honesty and integrity, in the right way requires a mind-set that is just not teachable, rather it is a commitment that does not require thinking about. Consistently successful private investigators are honest in all of their dealings. They find it easy to maintain their honesty and integrity where others may see it as a difficulty. 

It is these skills that stand successful private investigators apart from the other, less successful investigators. Education can help improve these skills, but, from our observations, what we've listed must be in place to become a successful, Professional Private Investigator.