MightyRecruiterTransportation security workers help ensure the safety and security of airline passengers by monitoring, inspecting and sometimes searching passengers and their bags. They check boarding passes and identification. They also identify and screen suspicious bags and confiscate prohibited items.
When writing your transportation security screener job description, be sure to emphasize skills and character traits that are essential for this role. Some of these qualities are an awareness of public safety issues, excellent personal and customer service, social perceptiveness and critical thinking skills.
Your ideal candidate will be comfortable interacting with the public and standing all day, so be sure to include those details. To learn more about what goes into a successful transportation security screener job description, see the example posting below.
Transportation Security Screener Job Summary
Are you looking for a job where you can put your people skills to work and support public safety at the same time? If so, we’d like to speak with you. Our agency is seeking an entry-level transportation security screener for our busy regional airport. In this role, you would mostly be interacting with passengers as they get ready to travel, making sure they have their documents in order and are prepared for security screening. You would also operate screening equipment and keep an eye out for suspicious packages or people. This is a fast-paced, public-facing job with very little downtime, where you get to meet all kinds of people every day.
Job Responsibilities
- Screen passengers, personal items and bags at airport security checkpoints, using x-ray machines, wands and gloved pat-downs
- Verify validity of passengers’ boarding documents and personal identification
- Instruct passengers on how to prepare for screening (for example, by removing shoes, emptying pockets and removing certain items from bags to meet TSA requirements)
- Practice situational awareness, strong communication skills and good judgment as you and other agents decide who or what may need additional screening, based on established industry, agency and facility procedures
- Inform passengers about how to mail prohibited items to themselves, or confiscate prohibited items
- Act with courtesy and respect, even when dealing with irate passengers and other stressful situations
- Verify credentials of individuals in restricted spaces, and work closely with security personnel to ensure that suspicious or potentially dangerous persons are never out of sight
- Exercise caution when handling suspicious bags and packages, calling for backup and following directions of security team and law enforcement agents
Job Skills & Qualifications
Reqiured:
- High school diploma (or equivalent)
- Basic computer skills
- Ability to stand for entire shift and to operate wand in a full range of motion, including over head
- Excellent customer service skills and friendly demeanor
Preferred:
- Background in public safety
- Experience supervising others
Transportation Security Screener Job Responsibilities
If you have ever written a resume, you know how important it is to have a work experience section that effectively points out responsibilities, daily tasks and special accomplishments. The job responsibilities section of your transportation security screener job description plays a very similar role, as it should emphasize the most important duties of your screener position and shed light on your day-to-day expectations of the candidate who ultimately fills this opening.
When written carefully and in a detailed manner, the responsibilities portion of your transportation security screener job description helps potential employees figure out if they are capable of filling the screener role successfully and if they should submit an application. To make this piece as strong as it can be, use bullet points to list 6-8 of the job’s key responsibilities. Help candidates picture themselves in the position by using strong action words to begin each line.
Consider the following examples of transportation security screener job responsibilities as you construct this section:
- Use X-ray screening and other security equipment to inspect cargo for hazardous materials
- Examine passengers’ boarding tickets and photo identification thoroughly to ensure legitimacy and authorization
- Confiscate threatening items and apprehend security violators until police arrive on scene
- Conduct regular and random searches of both luggage and people in concordance with proper protocols
Transportation Security Screener Job Specifications
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the job qualifications and skills section of your transportation security screener job description is of lesser importance than the responsibilities portion. It may seem like the easiest piece to compose because it is often the smallest part of your posting, but in reality, the skills and qualifications section is your critical first opportunity to weed out unqualified applicants, so put a lot of thought into its content as you construct it.
Before you begin creating your transportation security screener job description, ask your hiring manager or team what requirements are absolutely necessary for candidates to possess. Write clearly, with special attention to detail, and make an obvious distinction in your list between required and preferred specifications. There should be no question in a jobseeker’s mind about whether or not he or she qualifies to apply for the position.
If you struggle to determine what to include in this section, refer to the sample transportation security screener job specifications below:
- At least 18 years old with a high school diploma or equivalent
- Ability to follow Transportation Security Administration regulations, protocols and procedures
- Consistent and attentive surveillance expertise
- Excellent skills in interpersonal communication
- Fluency in English; proficiency in Spanish preferred
