Many people see private detective jobs as a fun way to make some money. Although being a private investigator can seem as an exciting job still there are many things that the private investigator must do as part of the daily activities, which they are not very fond of. The job is hectic and you will never feel bored, except when you need to write a report. Nobody wants to do that. They would rather be out chasing criminals than reporting on the activities they did. But that is all part of the job.

Become Someone’s Shadow

One of the most common techniques that private investigators use to gather evidence for a certain case is the surveillance. This technique is very complex as it requires a lot of patients and attention to details. You will need to become someone’s shadow and blend with the surrounding, and be almost invisible. For shorter mission this might not be so complicated, but for longer ones it can be difficult to stay low, as the longer the surveillance is, the bigger the chances are of being spotted.

Getting Background Information

The private investigator must be excellent in obtaining information. This is crucial for every investigation and you need to have strong communication skills and researching abilities. It will be very helpful to be an extremely good human lie detector, as people often are not aware of their body language which says a lot more than the verbal expressions. For a good private investigator one wrong move is enough for someone to become a potential person of interest. Besides the personal contact, as part of the investigation, private investigators check a number of available records such as birth records or custody records that can be beneficial for getting more familiar with the case and getting background information.

Go Undercover

In order to obtain certain information private investigators sometimes need to go undercover and pretend to be someone they are not. The undercover operation can be short and last only enough to get the required information, however in most cases it lasts for months or even years depending on how complex the case is. In the undercover operations the private investigator infiltrates in a certain criminal organization and becomes one of the bad guys. The private investigator needs to gain the trust of the people in that organisation and get the information relevant to the case. These undercover operations are especially stressful, as the private investigator is not allowed to contact friends and family while the mission is on-going. These types of investigations are often deadly for the private investigator’s personal life and can ruin their relationship or marriage.

The Least Favourite Task

The least favourite task of the private investigators is writing reports at the end of the day. They have to record everything they did during the investigation so the information can be used for future references. Paperwork has been known to be one of the most boring tasks of the pi job, but somebody has to do it.