17 Lessons I Learned From 15 Years as a Private Investigator

By Brian Willingham

Guide to Background Investigations

This month marks the 15th year that I have been a private investigator. Fifteen years ago, I was riding in a blimp taking photographs of the World Series. Shortly after, in a strange twist of fate, I was sitting in cars for hours on end doing surveillance, at one point tracking the steps of what we thought was a homegrown terrorist.

Since that time, I have picked up a thing or two.

1 ABL (Always Be Learning) – Over the past 15 years, a new breed of private investigators has emerged: investigators with research skills to find information that other people cannot, who search through the depths of the Web, investigative databases, government repositories, public records and court filings. I like to say that I’ve been undergoing on-the-job-training for the past 15 years. There are no textbooks for what I do. I make it up as I go along and have learned mostly by doing and observing others.

2 Know Thyself – It’s taken me 15 years in this business and more than 40 years in my personal life, but I now have a pretty good understanding of what I am good at and what I am not. I know where my strengths …read more

Source:: Pry-Eye