Hey all! I am diving back into the world of contract investigations after having been out of the industry for a bit. I’m going to be relocating to the DMV area next year and considering my office setup/time management switch from my small town area to the “city.” What tips/tricks have you found that help you prep and zone better as an IC? I’m curious if anyone has ever tried renting an office space in an area and having Subjects (or Sources for that matter) meet you there to do in person interviews…is that a thing contractors can even do? I’m trying to figure out how to be as efficient as possible in the DMV. All helpful tips/tricks/advice is welcome!
Moving to Virtual for ESIs/TESIs (with some restrictions) and phone interviews for Sources has been a game changer (IMHO)
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There is no need to rent a space. You can get good results by using public libraries (that have rooms you can book in advance), also U.S. Army Reserve and State National Guard units often will let you use rooms when you make connections with the unit administrators there. As far as sources, you can meet them at their workplace or less formal places. You can often meet Subjects right at their workplace as well. But like SMCVA said, right now much can be done via phone. That will likely change at some point, and having an arsenal of local public libraries and other places is valuable.
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Thank you for those suggestions. The areas I’ve worked at before have all been pretty rural so it’s a bit of a change lol - I had very few libraries that would actually have rooms available and basically all of my Subject interviews were at their workplaces, but were usually pretty spread out - like at least an hour of driving in between.
Thank you! I didn’t even realize we’d switched back to doing virtual for ESIs and TESIs again. That will definitely be helpful!
As thoughts mentioned, libraries are a great resource. One caveat some here have is that meetings have to be “open” meaning any one can walk in. It’s never been an issue for me, as no one cared to interrupt an interview. Police/sheriff’s offices are another asset, most are cooperative. Just make certain the room is not being recorded. Good luck.
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Armed Forces recruiting offices are my go to for interviews. They always have a private space, wifi and just about all the amenities without time constraints.
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Man you guys are lucky. Our local recruiting office tries to put us in a literal closet.
What area of the country are you in @investigator721 ? I’ve never conducted an interview at an actual recruiting office. Most of my recruits (in a rural area) were in college at the time also and we were able to secure a room in the on campus library or another office on campus.
Midwest. My recruits are usually high schoolers.
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Ahh gotcha. I wish there was a better way for these types of ESIs.