When everyone is an Expert, Specialist or Advisor.
A brief look at LinkedIn is enough to see that the security sector has acquired more titles than it may be able to substantiate.
- Security Experts
- Security Specialists
- Risk Consultants
- Security Advisors
- Executive Protection Specialists
- Corporate Security Professionals
- Strategic Security Experts
And the list goes on.
The issue, of course, is not the title itself. Every professional needs a clear way to describe their work. The problem begins when the title stops describing professional reality and starts replacing it.
An impressive title can be created in seconds. Genuine professional competence takes years.
It requires experience, responsibility, mistakes, decisions, real incidents, people management and, above all, the ability to recognise a risk before it becomes an incident.
Security has another particular requirement: knowing is not enough. You must be able to put that knowledge into practice.
Someone may hold certifications, have attended seminars and use an exceptionally well-worded professional title. These are part of their professional development and certainly have value. On their own, however, they do not demonstrate operational capability.
Security is tested where theory ends. In decisions made under pressure. In anticipation. In assessing an ambiguous sign. In managing a real incident. In taking responsibility when something does not go according to plan.
There is no room for titles there. Only results.
Perhaps that is why today’s inflation of titles deserves closer attention. Not because we should question everyone working in the sector, but because we need to restore the true weight of words.
“Expert” must actually mean expert.
“Advisor” must mean that someone has the experience and judgement for others to rely on their advice.
And “Specialist” must indicate real specialisation, rather than simply a title beneath a profile photograph.
Ultimately, in security, there is one title that is not written on LinkedIn: credibility.
It is not awarded. It is not bought. It is not self-proclaimed.
It is earned.