So, how would you measure up to this challenging career?
Are you:
a good communicator, including being a sympathetic listener?
interested in helping people?
happy working in a team as well as independently?
calm, controlled and level-headed?
a person who enjoys responsibility and challenge?
a problem solver and initiative taker?
an investigator?
a person who enjoys using science in a practical way?
convinced that trading and consumer laws are important and need to be enforced, and…
ultimately, someone who likes the idea of getting up every morning to a fresh challenge?
If you answer "yes" to all or most of these you may have what it takes.
As a trading standards professional you’ll need to know how to put people first; know what makes them tick. You’ll know what approach will get the best response. You’ll find yourself speaking to consumers of all sorts; people who’ve been sold unfit goods and vulnerable old ladies at risk from con men, for example. But you’ll also communicate with business professionals from shop managers to company directors, from farmers to food manufacturers and street traders. And, because trading standards sometimes works in partnerships with other agencies, you’ll work with other professionals such as the police and customs and excise.
Whoever it is that trading standards professionals are talking to, they must be able to communicate – and keep their cool. Their mantra is to listen, persuade, influence, reason – and be sure of their ground before prosecuting.
So, do you think you have what it takes? If you have, you’ll find the trading standards service is a career that you’ll really enjoy.
