This is the 7th installment in chronicling my journey into law enforcement. If you would like to read from the beginning, it is best to start with The Foundation.
Since last week I have made several trips back and forth to what I will call South Place, USA, to wrap up what is remaining in the South Place Police hiring process. I have been told that I am to start working full time as a city employee in 10 days! Apparently we will be taking care of some administrative things for a few weeks before the academy starts. Yesterday I had to go to the doctor for a physical and stress test. This part of the process is new to me, as I had not gotten this far into the process yet with the other departments I had been applying to. I had to make the 90 minute drive after working all night and to make things more difficult I had to fast for 12 hours before the physical. This was challenging since I had to be up all night at work, so by morning I was exhausted and starving.
My appointment was at 10:00 am. After arriving and filling out the packet of paperwork that was waiting for me, they drew my blood and tested my hearing and vision. I think I have mentioned before that I am a pretty competitive person, so those hearing and vision tests are kind of fun because I always try to really focus so that I can hear the extremely quiet tones on the hearing test and see the smallest images on the vision test.
I also had to take some sort of breathing test. I can't remember what it was called for the life of me but I had this tube that I had to blow into that was about 4 inches long. I was instructed to take in a very large breath of air and then blow into the tube as hard as I could for as long as I could. Then when I was all out of air, and while keeping my mouth around the tube I was to take another large inhale. The data from this was recorded on a computer screen. It was more difficult than it sounds because when I thought that I had blown out all the air the I could, the nurse still urged me to "keep going, keeping going!" Toward the end it felt like I was blowing and no air was even coming out. I had to to three sets of this little exercise and she assured me that I did really well.
After that I had to have your standard physical done where they make sure you use all parts of your body without any pain or real discomfort. The last thing they would do that day is have me take a stress test, but this was not before I had to drop my drawers down to my knees and have my man parts violated! That was just pleasant (sarcasm).
The stress test was kind of fun but extremely awkward. I took my shirt off and they attached 12 electrodes to my body with cords running from each one back to an EKG machine to collect all kinds of data about myself. Then I had to get on a treadmill and run with all this stuff hooked to me. I also had a blood pressure cuff on my arm, which they used to take my blood pressure every 3 minutes while I was running. It was very awkward to try to run with all these wires coming off of you and some lady turning your arm sideways to get your blood pressure. I definitely looked like a robot! To make things even more uncomfortable I had to run in khaki pants and dress shoes because I was not informed about this stress test at all. They record all this information to make sure you have a healthy cardiovascular system and that your body can perform well under stress.
Before I could head home I had to stop by the South Place Police Station to give them the paperwork from the doctor. On Monday I will drive up there again to get fitted for our uniforms and bullet proof vests. I am told that the 4 of us that are being hired will be sworn in sometime during the second week of March. Everything is moving so fast, it's crazy!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Conditional Offer
This is the 6th installment in chronicling my journey into law enforcement. If you would like to read from the beginning, it is best to start with The Foundation.
The day after the interview it was back to work at the hospital for another day of training. It was defensive tactics day and boy was it fun! I have had defensive tactics training a couple different times, but it is one of those things that you need to continue to practice if you don't want lose it. I'm sure you could handle yourself if you really needed to, but practice makes one smooth and I hope someday that is how I will conduct myself. In most of the training I have had, the instructor shows everyone a technique and then you practice it one or two times before you go on to learning the next technique. On this day the instructor put on the red man suit and created realistic scenarios that we might and probably will encounter in the hospital at some point. Later in the day, he created more scenarios, only then we were to use everything we had learned that day and put it all together. That is when things really started clicking and you started to feel a little more comfortable and confident with the tactics and techniques that we had learned that week.
On one of our breaks I went to check my cell phone to see if I had any text messages from anyone. I didn't find any text messages but I did find that I had a missed call and a new voice mail. Could it be one of the police departments I'm in the process for? Hopefully, but clearly it couldn't have been about my interview the day before because it had only been 24 hours. I still had a few minutes left of break so I listened to the message.
"Hi Thomas, This is Chief Smith. I have good news...you did very well on your interview and we would like to make a conditional offer of employment to you. What will happen from here is that Lieutenant Jones will be getting in touch with you probably Monday or Tuesday. You should be getting a letter here on Saturday or at least by Monday that you will need to sign it and send it back to us with either your acceptance or denial of the offer, which I'm assuming you will accept based on the fantastic job you did on the interview and all the lengths you took to get to us that you will accept. Then they will schedule you for a physical and a psychological evaluation and they will do a background investigation on you, which I'm sure will come back stellar. After that they will schedule you for an academy and we can get the ball rolling. Anyways, Congratulations, we really hope you accept it and let us know."
Wow!! Needless to say I threw my hand up in the air in excitement. I don't know if I had ever been so excited. This had been one crazy week with so many extreme emotions. I immediately called the secretary and verbally accepted the offer on the phone. Over the weekend the paperwork came in the mail and I signed the offer and mailed it back almost as soon as I opened it.
I am currently waiting for the Lt. to contact me to schedule those last few things in the process.
The day after the interview it was back to work at the hospital for another day of training. It was defensive tactics day and boy was it fun! I have had defensive tactics training a couple different times, but it is one of those things that you need to continue to practice if you don't want lose it. I'm sure you could handle yourself if you really needed to, but practice makes one smooth and I hope someday that is how I will conduct myself. In most of the training I have had, the instructor shows everyone a technique and then you practice it one or two times before you go on to learning the next technique. On this day the instructor put on the red man suit and created realistic scenarios that we might and probably will encounter in the hospital at some point. Later in the day, he created more scenarios, only then we were to use everything we had learned that day and put it all together. That is when things really started clicking and you started to feel a little more comfortable and confident with the tactics and techniques that we had learned that week.
On one of our breaks I went to check my cell phone to see if I had any text messages from anyone. I didn't find any text messages but I did find that I had a missed call and a new voice mail. Could it be one of the police departments I'm in the process for? Hopefully, but clearly it couldn't have been about my interview the day before because it had only been 24 hours. I still had a few minutes left of break so I listened to the message.
"Hi Thomas, This is Chief Smith. I have good news...you did very well on your interview and we would like to make a conditional offer of employment to you. What will happen from here is that Lieutenant Jones will be getting in touch with you probably Monday or Tuesday. You should be getting a letter here on Saturday or at least by Monday that you will need to sign it and send it back to us with either your acceptance or denial of the offer, which I'm assuming you will accept based on the fantastic job you did on the interview and all the lengths you took to get to us that you will accept. Then they will schedule you for a physical and a psychological evaluation and they will do a background investigation on you, which I'm sure will come back stellar. After that they will schedule you for an academy and we can get the ball rolling. Anyways, Congratulations, we really hope you accept it and let us know."
Wow!! Needless to say I threw my hand up in the air in excitement. I don't know if I had ever been so excited. This had been one crazy week with so many extreme emotions. I immediately called the secretary and verbally accepted the offer on the phone. Over the weekend the paperwork came in the mail and I signed the offer and mailed it back almost as soon as I opened it.
I am currently waiting for the Lt. to contact me to schedule those last few things in the process.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Rollercoaster of Emotions - Part #2
This is the 5th installment in chronicling my journey into law enforcement. If you would like to read from the beginning, it is best to start with The Foundation.
Despite being a professional procrastinator, I actually started preparing for the interview as soon as they called to schedule it with me. This saved me because since I was so busy trying to sort everything out at work, I had little time left to devote to actually preparing and practicing in those last few days before the interview. I would be willing to bet that few people put as much time into preparing for interviews as I do. A lot of people at least practice some questions they think they might be asked, but I would say that few, especially young people, actually put enough time into doing the research.
When you interview for a new job, no matter what the career field may be, you need to devote some time to research and learning as much about the agency or company as you can. I was always told to spend at least an hour just learning about the agency, but I spend a lot more than that! When you are applying for police departments there are a number of places you can look to gather information about that department. Obviously a good starting place is to visit the department's website. I always make sure I have a basic understanding of the structure of the department, and the different units or task forces they may have. For this particular interview I wrote all of that information out on note cards and then I studied it as if it was a test for school or something. Another good way to learn about the department is to read the annual reports. These are often found right on the website, but these will give you more details about some of the most important happenings for the department in that year. You will really have a good idea of what kinds of calls they deal with because a lot of the crime statistics are listed or at least summarized. Make sure you visit the city website and learn a little bit about the community as well! I like to search the local newspaper archives. That is the nice thing about police departments, they are always in the media so you should be able to gain a lot of useful information from newspapers online.
I also like to know the players, that is, who I think may be interviewing me. A lot of times you won't know who will be waiting for you in that room, but the websites usually list the different command staff leaders and some will even have short biographies included. I am not sure how much this will help you, but it helps me feel like I know who I am talking to so I feel a little more relaxed. It also can give you some clues as to what kinds of things may be important to them. If all the command staff leaders have college degrees, advanced degrees and a bunch of continued schooling listed...then I would make sure that you really highlight your educational credentials. Maybe you will be able to tell that they are all former military guys or something so you can highlight your military experience if you have any as well. Also, don't forget to pre-write some Thank You cards! In all honesty I have no idea how common this is in the world of law enforcement but in the business world people will send thank you cards after interviews to their interviewers. Go ahead and call it kissing ass but when I get the job because somebody remembered me over someone else who blended in with the rest of the applicants, I will happily accept that label. In the case of this interview I learned from online biographies that I shared the same college Alma mater with one of the Lieutenants, who then happened to be one of my interviewers.
Be sure to practice some common interview questions and review the different experiences you have had in the work place, but make sure you do some research. Once you have all those weapons in your arsenal then use them. I will give you some examples later.
It is about a 90 minute drive to get to the city where my interview was. I left about three hours before my interview time, which means I got into town extremely early and found myself bored out of my mind sitting in the Arby's parking lot. I just went through hell to get to go to this interview though so I wanted to make sure if my car broke down or something, that I would still have time to hitchhike the rest of the way.
When I was called in the room, I was greeted by a panel of 5 interviewers. The chief, the city's safety director, and three lieutenants. With the exception of the safety director, I knew the names and faces of everyone else in the room including what units they each oversaw and each one's career background. (Do your research) I will admit that I was nervous as all get out. I had interviewed at a couple different departments already, but it still is nerve racking.
I started out sort of slow, meaning I felt my answers for the first two questions were just OK. If I was interviewing me I don't think I would have remembered the responses to my first two questions. After that I started to get comfortable. The applicants that were called in for their interviews before me seemed to take about 20 minutes to go through the interview. I had to jump through multiple hoops to get here, not to mention I was sure that I had the farthest drive to the interview so I decided I was going to take as long as I needed to sell myself no matter how long it took. I know I was in that room for at least 45 minutes, maybe even an hour.
I thought I did a pretty good job and they even told me so before I left. One of the questions was "Have you ever had a disagreement with a supervisor?" I was sure to tell them in detail the disagreement I had just had with my supervisor and all of the lengths I went to in order to make the interview. I knew this was a good example because even though I was ticked off at my boss, I was still respectful in everything I did and I followed the chain of command. It also help them see how committed I was to their department. There were 13 of us who interviewed and they would be hiring 4. They told me that I would be getting a letter in the mail sometime soon letting me know the outcome of everything. I was able to drive back home feeling good about the interview. It had been a long week full of ups and downs and now all I had to do was wait.
Despite being a professional procrastinator, I actually started preparing for the interview as soon as they called to schedule it with me. This saved me because since I was so busy trying to sort everything out at work, I had little time left to devote to actually preparing and practicing in those last few days before the interview. I would be willing to bet that few people put as much time into preparing for interviews as I do. A lot of people at least practice some questions they think they might be asked, but I would say that few, especially young people, actually put enough time into doing the research.
When you interview for a new job, no matter what the career field may be, you need to devote some time to research and learning as much about the agency or company as you can. I was always told to spend at least an hour just learning about the agency, but I spend a lot more than that! When you are applying for police departments there are a number of places you can look to gather information about that department. Obviously a good starting place is to visit the department's website. I always make sure I have a basic understanding of the structure of the department, and the different units or task forces they may have. For this particular interview I wrote all of that information out on note cards and then I studied it as if it was a test for school or something. Another good way to learn about the department is to read the annual reports. These are often found right on the website, but these will give you more details about some of the most important happenings for the department in that year. You will really have a good idea of what kinds of calls they deal with because a lot of the crime statistics are listed or at least summarized. Make sure you visit the city website and learn a little bit about the community as well! I like to search the local newspaper archives. That is the nice thing about police departments, they are always in the media so you should be able to gain a lot of useful information from newspapers online.
I also like to know the players, that is, who I think may be interviewing me. A lot of times you won't know who will be waiting for you in that room, but the websites usually list the different command staff leaders and some will even have short biographies included. I am not sure how much this will help you, but it helps me feel like I know who I am talking to so I feel a little more relaxed. It also can give you some clues as to what kinds of things may be important to them. If all the command staff leaders have college degrees, advanced degrees and a bunch of continued schooling listed...then I would make sure that you really highlight your educational credentials. Maybe you will be able to tell that they are all former military guys or something so you can highlight your military experience if you have any as well. Also, don't forget to pre-write some Thank You cards! In all honesty I have no idea how common this is in the world of law enforcement but in the business world people will send thank you cards after interviews to their interviewers. Go ahead and call it kissing ass but when I get the job because somebody remembered me over someone else who blended in with the rest of the applicants, I will happily accept that label. In the case of this interview I learned from online biographies that I shared the same college Alma mater with one of the Lieutenants, who then happened to be one of my interviewers.
Be sure to practice some common interview questions and review the different experiences you have had in the work place, but make sure you do some research. Once you have all those weapons in your arsenal then use them. I will give you some examples later.
It is about a 90 minute drive to get to the city where my interview was. I left about three hours before my interview time, which means I got into town extremely early and found myself bored out of my mind sitting in the Arby's parking lot. I just went through hell to get to go to this interview though so I wanted to make sure if my car broke down or something, that I would still have time to hitchhike the rest of the way.
When I was called in the room, I was greeted by a panel of 5 interviewers. The chief, the city's safety director, and three lieutenants. With the exception of the safety director, I knew the names and faces of everyone else in the room including what units they each oversaw and each one's career background. (Do your research) I will admit that I was nervous as all get out. I had interviewed at a couple different departments already, but it still is nerve racking.
I started out sort of slow, meaning I felt my answers for the first two questions were just OK. If I was interviewing me I don't think I would have remembered the responses to my first two questions. After that I started to get comfortable. The applicants that were called in for their interviews before me seemed to take about 20 minutes to go through the interview. I had to jump through multiple hoops to get here, not to mention I was sure that I had the farthest drive to the interview so I decided I was going to take as long as I needed to sell myself no matter how long it took. I know I was in that room for at least 45 minutes, maybe even an hour.
I thought I did a pretty good job and they even told me so before I left. One of the questions was "Have you ever had a disagreement with a supervisor?" I was sure to tell them in detail the disagreement I had just had with my supervisor and all of the lengths I went to in order to make the interview. I knew this was a good example because even though I was ticked off at my boss, I was still respectful in everything I did and I followed the chain of command. It also help them see how committed I was to their department. There were 13 of us who interviewed and they would be hiring 4. They told me that I would be getting a letter in the mail sometime soon letting me know the outcome of everything. I was able to drive back home feeling good about the interview. It had been a long week full of ups and downs and now all I had to do was wait.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Rollercoaster of Emotions - Part #1
This is the 4th installment in chronicling my journey into law enforcement. If you would like to read from the beginning, it is best to start with The Foundation.
The rest of Saturday would prove to be agonizingly long. I didn't get much sleep and Sunday didn't prove to be any better. Both nights at the hospital were extremely slow. This gave me more time for me to think about my situation, which wasn't exactly what I needed at the time. I spoke about it with a couple of the other security officers who had quite a bit of seniority and whom I have come to have a lot of respect for. It became apparent to me that if I skipped the training to go to the interview I would most certainly be suspended for a couple days and there was probably even a chance that I would be fired.
What would that do to my future or to my career path? Would I be able to explain to an oral board someday why I had been suspended? If I got fired it would be game over! There is no way a police department is going to hire you if you get fired from another job. At least not a job so recent in your work history, and in my case, there is no way I would be hired by a department if I was fired from a security job.
I had one last chance, I could call the department I was scheduled to interview with on Monday morning to explore any options of rescheduling the interview. Of course I already knew what their answer was going to be. Hundreds of people apply for these positions and every step in the process is designed to weed people out. They give you a time and place for everything, so if you can't make it there when they tell you to be, then you become another wannabe that gets washed out of the process. It wasn't like I could just switch times or even request the next day. I had training all week.
I called on Monday morning and talked to the secretary. "I'm sorry sir, but the Lieutenant that is handling the scheduling of these interviews is out of town until tomorrow. I can transfer you to his voice mail and you can leave a message if you like."
Well that really sucked! That meant I wasn't going to find out until the day before my scheduled interview. I didn't have a choice though, that would have to do.
"Good Morning Lt...this is Thomas Towers. I am scheduled for an interview Wednesday afternoon but I have ran into a little bit of a problem. I normally work nights so making the interview would never be an issue normally, however this week I am on days because we have this mandatory training that we have to attend. I tried to get the day off, but I have been told that is not going to be possible and it looks like if I miss the training that day, I could be suspended or fired. I wanted to talk to you to explore the possibilities of rescheduling my interview. If you could give me a call back I would really appreciate it. Thanks!"
Now I just had to go back into class and wait until tomorrow to find out what was going to happen. The training was actually really great training. This father and son who both used to work for the Secret Service started this company that goes all over the world and trains security professionals. They teach some of the material, but they have current and retired federal and local law enforcement officers to come in and teach some of the material as well. It really was top notch training. We learned about the laws of arrest from a security standpoint, public relations, interview techniques, patrol tactics, self defense tactics, crime scene photography, active shooter training, to name a few.
My mind was still doing flips. I would be dead set on skipping work and going to the interview if that's what it came down to, then 12 hours later I would change my mind. I started thinking about how long a person's career is and telling myself that I couldn't risk my long term career goals on one agency. One of my coworkers told me I needed to take emotions out of the situation and make a good choice that would ensure my long term success. I thought that was good advice and I knew he was right. I knew I had to go to be at the training.
I ran scenarios in the my head all night Monday and into Tuesday morning. I also talked to a number of close friends and family to get there advice. It wasn't until I talked on the phone with a close friend of mine that my strategy changed. I have a very close friend, and a life long mentor of mine really, who is a state trooper close to where I am from. I call him from time to time for advice on all kinds of things.
He delivered wisdom when I needed it the most and offered a suggestion I had not considered, "If it was me, I would go in one more time and talk to my supervisor and do everything I could to try to get out of that training. Offer to compromise in some way...anything. If I didn't get anywhere with that, then I would resign on the spot."
Woah! OK I didn't see that one coming and for the first few seconds I thought he was crazy. Then I was thinking, I wonder how bad not giving a two weeks noticed would be. Certainly I would be able to explain that to an oral board easier than a suspension or firing. I took this idea to several family members and friends and a police captain that I come to know really well while working for the PD in college. It was unanimous...this was my best option. I couldn't risk calling off and letting my supervisor decide my fate and I had to make that interview. I'm sure I fell asleep praying that night.
Tuesday came, the Lieutenant called me while I was in training and I had to step out of the room to take the call. Rude or not, I didn't care, I had more important things on my mind than how to write a report. I was right about the interview, it couldn't be rescheduled. The Lt. was very understanding of my situation though, and showed empathy which doesn't happen in these hiring processes very often.
The verdict was in. I would be quitting my job later that night because I knew there would be no negotiating. I felt like the rest of my day was pointless since I wouldn't be there anymore anyways, but I figured if I'm going to be losing my job I might as well stay and get a full days pay out of it before I walk out.
My supervisor was still working nights all week so I would have to wait until at least 2200 before I could talk to him. After work that afternoon, I went home and rounded up all my work uniforms, my badge, and ID cards and put them in a large garbage bag to take with me that night in my car. I sat down and typed up a resignation letter. For quitting my job without any notice, it was a damn good resignation letter. I still wanted to be professional. I thanked them for the opportunity to work for them and said I was blessed to have had the position. It was the truth, a lot of people in this country would have loved to have my job. No chance of being laid off, full time work, with an excellent full benefits package. I was blessed.
It was 2200, I loaded up my car and grabbed my letter and off to work I drove. I was blessed to have my job but that doesn't mean that I liked it. By this time I just wanted to quit without even trying to negotiate one last time to make up the training. I just wanted the weight off my chest and I wanted to make sure that I was in control of the situation and I felt like that only way I could do that was if I quit that very night.
I explained my situation again. "Sir, I have to make it to this interview. I really have a good feeling about this and I think I can beat out the other applicants, I really do. It's simple. If I do not go to this interview, I will not be able to wake up and live with myself next week knowing that I had such a great opportunity and I didn't even try."
It didn't matter to him it seemed. My resignation letter was in my pocket and the bag of uniforms was in my car. He didn't really give me any options. "Well, I think I am going to have to part ways tonight then." I said timidly. "What?" he questioned. I repeated myself again and then I started to get a response out of him. "You are quitting? You aren't even going to give a two weeks notice? Do you realize what you are doing ? You know that agency is going to call us for a reference and ask about you, as is every other agency you are in the process for. You are going to throw away a job, a job you already have, on something that is not guaranteed?"
It continued, but as you can see it sure made me second guess myself. Was I making the right choice here. I sure sounded young and dumb. Screw that! I had made up my mind and had support of those closest to me. Just then he gave me another option. You can come in tomorrow morning (the morning of the interview) and talk to the director. The director of our department has had a very successful law enforcement career. He retired from one of the most reputable agencies in the state and held the rank of Major just before retiring. How intimidating! I didn't want to come in the next morning. I just wanted to be done with this! I wanted to quit right then and never look back!
"If you don't at least come in tomorrow morning and talk to the director, you are shooting yourself in the foot!!" I caved under the pressure and I agreed to be there the next morning to talk to the director. I went home, walked in my girlfriend's apartment, still employed. I know I fell asleep praying again that night. Make something happen. Anything. I'm tired of trying to figure things out. I'm just going to go with it and hope that I am taken care of.
The next morning, this Wednesday, I went in to talk to the director. "Sir I am in a position to have to make one of the hardest decisions I have ever made." I explained. I told him the situation again to make sure he knew the details of how many positions were going to be filled and how many people were left in the process. "I understand how important this training is and I know you guys have gone to great lengths to pull this off. I am willing to meet you in the middle, make up any training that I were to miss, unpaid even."
Let's just say...my prayers were answered. He was allowing me to take time off to attend the interview under the agreement that I would have to make up the training next month when the next group goes through it in March. I was only trying to get out of the afternoon. Instead, he gave me the entire day and told me to go home and get my head right and be prepared for that interview.
I was going to the interview and still had my job! What a change of events!
The rest of Saturday would prove to be agonizingly long. I didn't get much sleep and Sunday didn't prove to be any better. Both nights at the hospital were extremely slow. This gave me more time for me to think about my situation, which wasn't exactly what I needed at the time. I spoke about it with a couple of the other security officers who had quite a bit of seniority and whom I have come to have a lot of respect for. It became apparent to me that if I skipped the training to go to the interview I would most certainly be suspended for a couple days and there was probably even a chance that I would be fired.
What would that do to my future or to my career path? Would I be able to explain to an oral board someday why I had been suspended? If I got fired it would be game over! There is no way a police department is going to hire you if you get fired from another job. At least not a job so recent in your work history, and in my case, there is no way I would be hired by a department if I was fired from a security job.
I had one last chance, I could call the department I was scheduled to interview with on Monday morning to explore any options of rescheduling the interview. Of course I already knew what their answer was going to be. Hundreds of people apply for these positions and every step in the process is designed to weed people out. They give you a time and place for everything, so if you can't make it there when they tell you to be, then you become another wannabe that gets washed out of the process. It wasn't like I could just switch times or even request the next day. I had training all week.
I called on Monday morning and talked to the secretary. "I'm sorry sir, but the Lieutenant that is handling the scheduling of these interviews is out of town until tomorrow. I can transfer you to his voice mail and you can leave a message if you like."
Well that really sucked! That meant I wasn't going to find out until the day before my scheduled interview. I didn't have a choice though, that would have to do.
"Good Morning Lt...this is Thomas Towers. I am scheduled for an interview Wednesday afternoon but I have ran into a little bit of a problem. I normally work nights so making the interview would never be an issue normally, however this week I am on days because we have this mandatory training that we have to attend. I tried to get the day off, but I have been told that is not going to be possible and it looks like if I miss the training that day, I could be suspended or fired. I wanted to talk to you to explore the possibilities of rescheduling my interview. If you could give me a call back I would really appreciate it. Thanks!"
Now I just had to go back into class and wait until tomorrow to find out what was going to happen. The training was actually really great training. This father and son who both used to work for the Secret Service started this company that goes all over the world and trains security professionals. They teach some of the material, but they have current and retired federal and local law enforcement officers to come in and teach some of the material as well. It really was top notch training. We learned about the laws of arrest from a security standpoint, public relations, interview techniques, patrol tactics, self defense tactics, crime scene photography, active shooter training, to name a few.
My mind was still doing flips. I would be dead set on skipping work and going to the interview if that's what it came down to, then 12 hours later I would change my mind. I started thinking about how long a person's career is and telling myself that I couldn't risk my long term career goals on one agency. One of my coworkers told me I needed to take emotions out of the situation and make a good choice that would ensure my long term success. I thought that was good advice and I knew he was right. I knew I had to go to be at the training.
I ran scenarios in the my head all night Monday and into Tuesday morning. I also talked to a number of close friends and family to get there advice. It wasn't until I talked on the phone with a close friend of mine that my strategy changed. I have a very close friend, and a life long mentor of mine really, who is a state trooper close to where I am from. I call him from time to time for advice on all kinds of things.
He delivered wisdom when I needed it the most and offered a suggestion I had not considered, "If it was me, I would go in one more time and talk to my supervisor and do everything I could to try to get out of that training. Offer to compromise in some way...anything. If I didn't get anywhere with that, then I would resign on the spot."
Woah! OK I didn't see that one coming and for the first few seconds I thought he was crazy. Then I was thinking, I wonder how bad not giving a two weeks noticed would be. Certainly I would be able to explain that to an oral board easier than a suspension or firing. I took this idea to several family members and friends and a police captain that I come to know really well while working for the PD in college. It was unanimous...this was my best option. I couldn't risk calling off and letting my supervisor decide my fate and I had to make that interview. I'm sure I fell asleep praying that night.
Tuesday came, the Lieutenant called me while I was in training and I had to step out of the room to take the call. Rude or not, I didn't care, I had more important things on my mind than how to write a report. I was right about the interview, it couldn't be rescheduled. The Lt. was very understanding of my situation though, and showed empathy which doesn't happen in these hiring processes very often.
The verdict was in. I would be quitting my job later that night because I knew there would be no negotiating. I felt like the rest of my day was pointless since I wouldn't be there anymore anyways, but I figured if I'm going to be losing my job I might as well stay and get a full days pay out of it before I walk out.
My supervisor was still working nights all week so I would have to wait until at least 2200 before I could talk to him. After work that afternoon, I went home and rounded up all my work uniforms, my badge, and ID cards and put them in a large garbage bag to take with me that night in my car. I sat down and typed up a resignation letter. For quitting my job without any notice, it was a damn good resignation letter. I still wanted to be professional. I thanked them for the opportunity to work for them and said I was blessed to have had the position. It was the truth, a lot of people in this country would have loved to have my job. No chance of being laid off, full time work, with an excellent full benefits package. I was blessed.
It was 2200, I loaded up my car and grabbed my letter and off to work I drove. I was blessed to have my job but that doesn't mean that I liked it. By this time I just wanted to quit without even trying to negotiate one last time to make up the training. I just wanted the weight off my chest and I wanted to make sure that I was in control of the situation and I felt like that only way I could do that was if I quit that very night.
I explained my situation again. "Sir, I have to make it to this interview. I really have a good feeling about this and I think I can beat out the other applicants, I really do. It's simple. If I do not go to this interview, I will not be able to wake up and live with myself next week knowing that I had such a great opportunity and I didn't even try."
It didn't matter to him it seemed. My resignation letter was in my pocket and the bag of uniforms was in my car. He didn't really give me any options. "Well, I think I am going to have to part ways tonight then." I said timidly. "What?" he questioned. I repeated myself again and then I started to get a response out of him. "You are quitting? You aren't even going to give a two weeks notice? Do you realize what you are doing ? You know that agency is going to call us for a reference and ask about you, as is every other agency you are in the process for. You are going to throw away a job, a job you already have, on something that is not guaranteed?"
It continued, but as you can see it sure made me second guess myself. Was I making the right choice here. I sure sounded young and dumb. Screw that! I had made up my mind and had support of those closest to me. Just then he gave me another option. You can come in tomorrow morning (the morning of the interview) and talk to the director. The director of our department has had a very successful law enforcement career. He retired from one of the most reputable agencies in the state and held the rank of Major just before retiring. How intimidating! I didn't want to come in the next morning. I just wanted to be done with this! I wanted to quit right then and never look back!
"If you don't at least come in tomorrow morning and talk to the director, you are shooting yourself in the foot!!" I caved under the pressure and I agreed to be there the next morning to talk to the director. I went home, walked in my girlfriend's apartment, still employed. I know I fell asleep praying again that night. Make something happen. Anything. I'm tired of trying to figure things out. I'm just going to go with it and hope that I am taken care of.
The next morning, this Wednesday, I went in to talk to the director. "Sir I am in a position to have to make one of the hardest decisions I have ever made." I explained. I told him the situation again to make sure he knew the details of how many positions were going to be filled and how many people were left in the process. "I understand how important this training is and I know you guys have gone to great lengths to pull this off. I am willing to meet you in the middle, make up any training that I were to miss, unpaid even."
Let's just say...my prayers were answered. He was allowing me to take time off to attend the interview under the agreement that I would have to make up the training next month when the next group goes through it in March. I was only trying to get out of the afternoon. Instead, he gave me the entire day and told me to go home and get my head right and be prepared for that interview.
I was going to the interview and still had my job! What a change of events!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Decisions, Decisions
This is the 3rd installment in chronicling my journey into law enforcement. If you would like to read from the beginning, it is best to start with The Foundation.
A few days ago I was telling you all how difficult it has been just waiting around while going through these slow moving police hiring processes. Some recent happenings have taken place in my life, creating a substantial dilemma which has sort of brought me to a crossroads on my pursuit for a law enforcement career. Remember that interview I was telling you about last week? This interview is for a department that I really want to work for...definitely one of my favorite prospects for several reasons. For starters it is a nice sized city at about 38,000 people, with the surrounding area having around 45,000. The department itself has about 65 officers which is pretty good sized. It is much closer to my hometown and my family in comparison to the other prospects. It also presents the best opportunity to get hired.
The chief wants to hire a total of 6 officers. However, they are planning on staggering the hiring so that they do not overwhelm their FTO's. It is unclear how the 6 will be split up but they have funds budgeted to send 4 applicants to a state ran academy that starts next month, so this will be a very speedy process. (what a change!) They are initially going to interview the top 13 applicants. (I am sitting at #12) My interview was scheduled for this Wednesday afternoon. Herein lies the problem.
I normally work nights so I almost never have scheduling conflicts when it comes to tests and interviews. Except for this week! I have to go through this security training for work that has been scheduled since November, and it will run Monday-Friday 0800-1600. It is a mandatory training that all of the officers have to go through. When I took this job I was very honest with them and let them know up front what my career goals were and that I was actively pursuing them and they were more than supportive of this. My boss has always said as long as you are honest I will do my best to work with you.
Since I am a man of integrity, or so I believe at least, I was honest and told my boss the situation that I was in. I told him how important the interview was to me and that was the only day and time that I could interview and that it was smack dab in the middle of Wednesday's training.
"I wasn't sure if I could leave early Wednesday or miss Wednesday completely and attend the Wednesday portion when the next group goes through the training in March." I reasoned.
He replied, "That is quite the dilemma, and unfortunately no you cannot miss any portion of the course because all parts of the training are required and your spot is already paid for and it is a little too late to make any changes to that." "I will let you know."
I said OK and walked out of the office. That was not how I was hoping the conversation would go but at least he was going to look into some options for me. That took place a few days ago and I hadn't gotten any word yet on what was to come of this, until today.
No, I cannot leave early. It is mandatory training and I must be there. Of course I can call off, I planned to anyways, and more than likely will do so. All of the guys at work said I shouldn't have said anything and just called in sick that day. I was determined to take the honest route and in the end I pretty much screwed myself. Now, when I call off they will know that it is because I decided the interview was more important.
Let's play a game of scenarios now. I have never called off before and the policy states that you get 3 unscheduled call offs in a year. This would be the first so normally nothing would happen to me. However, since I am missing a mandatory training I am sure it will end in some disciplinary action. I could be written up, suspended a few days, or I could just be terminated.
Or...since I told him about it he could consider that a previous request for time off. Policy states that if you call off for a time that you previous requested time off for but were denied...this could be considered insubordination and could result in discipline up to and including termination.
I have never been disciplined at work in my life! This has always looked really good in all of my background investigations because all of my employers come back to them with positive feedback. I don't want to burn any bridges with my employer because I need to count on them for a good reference in the future. If I destroy that I am putting all of the other hiring processes that I am in at risk.
However, the opportunity to get hired at the agency I am interviewing for is the best odds I have seen anywhere. Historically, I have been told that I am a good interviewer and I have already spent numerous hours researching this agency and preparing myself for this interview. I am confident in saying that few would ever prepare as much as I do. The odds are promising but still does not guarantee that I land the job.
Do I take a chance on a dream job with a favorite agency based only on good odds and possibly harm relations with a current employer? Or do I throw away the best opportunity I have been given and skip the interview to go to work?
A few days ago I was telling you all how difficult it has been just waiting around while going through these slow moving police hiring processes. Some recent happenings have taken place in my life, creating a substantial dilemma which has sort of brought me to a crossroads on my pursuit for a law enforcement career. Remember that interview I was telling you about last week? This interview is for a department that I really want to work for...definitely one of my favorite prospects for several reasons. For starters it is a nice sized city at about 38,000 people, with the surrounding area having around 45,000. The department itself has about 65 officers which is pretty good sized. It is much closer to my hometown and my family in comparison to the other prospects. It also presents the best opportunity to get hired.
The chief wants to hire a total of 6 officers. However, they are planning on staggering the hiring so that they do not overwhelm their FTO's. It is unclear how the 6 will be split up but they have funds budgeted to send 4 applicants to a state ran academy that starts next month, so this will be a very speedy process. (what a change!) They are initially going to interview the top 13 applicants. (I am sitting at #12) My interview was scheduled for this Wednesday afternoon. Herein lies the problem.
I normally work nights so I almost never have scheduling conflicts when it comes to tests and interviews. Except for this week! I have to go through this security training for work that has been scheduled since November, and it will run Monday-Friday 0800-1600. It is a mandatory training that all of the officers have to go through. When I took this job I was very honest with them and let them know up front what my career goals were and that I was actively pursuing them and they were more than supportive of this. My boss has always said as long as you are honest I will do my best to work with you.
Since I am a man of integrity, or so I believe at least, I was honest and told my boss the situation that I was in. I told him how important the interview was to me and that was the only day and time that I could interview and that it was smack dab in the middle of Wednesday's training.
"I wasn't sure if I could leave early Wednesday or miss Wednesday completely and attend the Wednesday portion when the next group goes through the training in March." I reasoned.
He replied, "That is quite the dilemma, and unfortunately no you cannot miss any portion of the course because all parts of the training are required and your spot is already paid for and it is a little too late to make any changes to that." "I will let you know."
I said OK and walked out of the office. That was not how I was hoping the conversation would go but at least he was going to look into some options for me. That took place a few days ago and I hadn't gotten any word yet on what was to come of this, until today.
No, I cannot leave early. It is mandatory training and I must be there. Of course I can call off, I planned to anyways, and more than likely will do so. All of the guys at work said I shouldn't have said anything and just called in sick that day. I was determined to take the honest route and in the end I pretty much screwed myself. Now, when I call off they will know that it is because I decided the interview was more important.
Let's play a game of scenarios now. I have never called off before and the policy states that you get 3 unscheduled call offs in a year. This would be the first so normally nothing would happen to me. However, since I am missing a mandatory training I am sure it will end in some disciplinary action. I could be written up, suspended a few days, or I could just be terminated.
Or...since I told him about it he could consider that a previous request for time off. Policy states that if you call off for a time that you previous requested time off for but were denied...this could be considered insubordination and could result in discipline up to and including termination.
I have never been disciplined at work in my life! This has always looked really good in all of my background investigations because all of my employers come back to them with positive feedback. I don't want to burn any bridges with my employer because I need to count on them for a good reference in the future. If I destroy that I am putting all of the other hiring processes that I am in at risk.
However, the opportunity to get hired at the agency I am interviewing for is the best odds I have seen anywhere. Historically, I have been told that I am a good interviewer and I have already spent numerous hours researching this agency and preparing myself for this interview. I am confident in saying that few would ever prepare as much as I do. The odds are promising but still does not guarantee that I land the job.
Do I take a chance on a dream job with a favorite agency based only on good odds and possibly harm relations with a current employer? Or do I throw away the best opportunity I have been given and skip the interview to go to work?
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Patience is a Virtue
This is the 2nd installment in chronicling my journey into law enforcement. If you would like to read from beginning, it is best to start with The Foundation.
The hiring process to be a police officer consists of many steps, varying in levels of difficulty depending on who you are. For some applicants, simply filling out the 20 page application can seem challenging. You have the easy part where you write in your contact information etc. Then you have to fill out your work history, which depending on the department, may require you to list all the jobs you have held in the past 10 years or even every job you have ever held since you entered the work force. That includes the ones where you hated your boss or vice-versa. Maybe you got fed up one day and just walked off the job without giving them any notice that you were quitting. You can bet they will be talking to every employer that you list. Suddenly you start to think, "Geez, maybe I shouldn't have told my boss to shove it before I walked out on my last day!" Some of the more lengthier applications will even ask you to list not only your supervisor's contact information, but also the contact information of another coworker from each job you have held. I am fortunate to be going through this at such a young age because I don't have quite as many employers to list. My advice to anyone who knows they want to pursue a career in law enforcement is to keep all of this information written down somewhere with everything in the same place so that every time you fill out an application you don't have to dig out the phone book to look up addresses, phone numbers, etc.
Then you have to list every place of residency you have held in the last ten years, or ever...I feel for those of you who have moved around a lot! List your references, and all the schools you have ever attended...and oh yeah, don't forget to leave yourself enough time to order a transcript from every school you have attended (some are free, others are not), make a copy of those diplomas too because they are required most of the time. Some places require you to submit a copy of your license, ss card, birth certificate, or a passport if you have one. If you are applying to a big city you can just head down to the post office and mail it or just type it in on your computer and click send...if it's a smaller city or a suburb you are going to have to stop at the bank and get your application notarized. Also, don't forget your check book because sometimes you also have to send in an application fee with your packet. Usually between $15-20, but I have seen up to $60 before. Mail it in and you are done! Unless you are like me...then do that 20 more times, once for every department you apply to. You can bet that just the hassle that this requires weeds out at least a couple people.
For some people the written test is the most challenging. Maybe they barely passed high school or haven't had to take a test in 20 years. I usually score fairly well on them depending on the format of the test. If there is a personality section involved I have learned I am pretty much screwed.
1. I prefer to watch cinderella over Sleeping Beauty. - strongly disagree, disagree, not sure, agree, strongly agree
2. I prefer Abraham Lincoln over George Washington. - strong disagree, disagree, not sure, agree, strongly agree
Yeah, go ahead and laugh but that screws me over every time!
For other people the physical fitness is the most challenging. In most cases you only have to do some pushups, situps and then 1.5 mile run. It is usually the run that weeds people out. The time that you have to do it in varies by department. On most occasions I have been required to run it in less than 11:58, but in others you can have as long as 15:30...or if you apply to a department in the South, even as long at 17:30. OK! At that point you might as well not even test physical fitness because it cannot be that important of a quality to your department if you have 17 minutes to run 1.5 miles! If you haven't ran lately, that is an incredibly long time! On a track you can pretty much speed walk the straight aways...walk the turns...stop for lemonade and take a nap and still finish with time to spare. The physical fitness is usually my bread and butter so I like them to be as hard as possible to weed out others who aren't dedicated enough to stay in shape on a regular basis.
Then comes the background investigation...they are going to talk to your employers, your coworkers, the references you listed and then they are going to ask each of those people to name a couple other people that know you. Was he a good neighbor? Do you know about how many times he was late to work when he worked for you? Have you ever had any disagreements with him? Hell, they might even talk to your kindergarden teacher...so hopefully she doesn't tell them that you used to eat your boogers and you shit your britches a couple times.
After they get all kinds of dirt on you, then they bring you in for the polygraph examination. Let me just share with you that you will never go through anything like this at any other time in your life. You are hooked up to all kinds of crap that monitors everything you can imagine. Then they ask you questions for about an hour or so about anything and everything. Financial history, drug and alcohol use, and you guessed it - your sex life too! I was once asked what kind of porn I like to watch! I am sitting there wondering what in the world is he looking for? I'm respond.."I don't know, naked chicks sir?" I wanted to joke back by asking what kind of porn he watched but I refrained. You can bet that this weeds out a decent number of people too. Here's a word of advice - don't lie! In most cases they don't care what kinds of things you have done. They just want to see if you will lie about it.
If you make it this far you are doing pretty good. The process starts to wind down with a stress test, medical eval, and then they usually bring in a shrink to administer a psychological test to find out if you are crazy. This part humors me. "umm...sir, I am signing up to be responsible for wearing a gun on my person every day for the next 30 years, patrolling the ghetto, pulling over cars and walking up and bothering them in the dark in the middle of the night, all while earning a police officers salary...Of course I am crazy!" This reminds me of a short commentary by Paul Harvey, be sure to check it out!
My problem is that the part this entire process that is the challenging for me is not the written, physical, background, or polygraph exams. It is the waiting game. It will test your patience like no other so I hope you are in no hurry to get a job. Best case scenario, it will take you anywhere from 6 months up to 2 years. I am waiting to schedule for an interview for one major Midwestern city that I applied for on Easter weekend of last year. The next academy class doesn't start until summer, so even if I was fortunate enough to make it in that class, it will have been a year long process. In another major city I had my written test in August 2010. They have not even sent out their results yet.
Here is my dilemma and I welcome any thoughts or feedback. In the meantime, I have been working as a security officer at a hospital in a major city (it's boring as hell, don't ever do it). I got myself registered to start the police academy at a local community college here in March. This is something I have been trying to avoid because for starters, it is expensive ($5,100 is what I am paying). Major cities usually have their own academy that they want you to go through, so it doesn't matter if you already went through an academy or even if you have been a police officer for the last ten years...you are going to go through it again at their academy. Also in many cases, medium sized to smaller departments will pay to put you through the academy and even pay you for your time, however since the city budgets are strained, it is becoming more difficult for them to be able to do this. (if you fail the academy or decide it's not for you, they are out that money) I have decided to bite the bullet and put myself through to make myself more marketable to the medium sized departments who may be balancing budgets.
I am in the final 8 for one department and should know more on the outcome of this in the coming weeks. This is a smaller department (around 20 officers) so they will be looking for me to go through an academy at a local community college like I have described. They could say, "You're hired and we will pay for your academy...you put yourself through the academy and let us know when you are done...or maybe even we want you but you are going to have to pay for your academy and then we will bring you on initially as a part time officer." I am also in the final 12 at another department that is a little bigger (about 60 officers). They send all of their recruits through an academy ran by the state which also starts in March and everything is paid for by them and they pay you for your time as well. I have an interview with them next week so wish me luck. As you can see, I could be headed down several different paths and only time will tell what in the world is going to happen. This uncertainty has proven to be challenging for me because I am a planner. As ironic as it seems, I have no idea what I am doing in 4 hours, but as for the larger events in my life I have always had a plan. Not having a plan for something that is so important has been stressful, or rather, I have plans set in place and even backup plans, but not knowing which plan I will follow is what has been stressful. I'll keep you updated with what happens with all of this!
The hiring process to be a police officer consists of many steps, varying in levels of difficulty depending on who you are. For some applicants, simply filling out the 20 page application can seem challenging. You have the easy part where you write in your contact information etc. Then you have to fill out your work history, which depending on the department, may require you to list all the jobs you have held in the past 10 years or even every job you have ever held since you entered the work force. That includes the ones where you hated your boss or vice-versa. Maybe you got fed up one day and just walked off the job without giving them any notice that you were quitting. You can bet they will be talking to every employer that you list. Suddenly you start to think, "Geez, maybe I shouldn't have told my boss to shove it before I walked out on my last day!" Some of the more lengthier applications will even ask you to list not only your supervisor's contact information, but also the contact information of another coworker from each job you have held. I am fortunate to be going through this at such a young age because I don't have quite as many employers to list. My advice to anyone who knows they want to pursue a career in law enforcement is to keep all of this information written down somewhere with everything in the same place so that every time you fill out an application you don't have to dig out the phone book to look up addresses, phone numbers, etc.
Then you have to list every place of residency you have held in the last ten years, or ever...I feel for those of you who have moved around a lot! List your references, and all the schools you have ever attended...and oh yeah, don't forget to leave yourself enough time to order a transcript from every school you have attended (some are free, others are not), make a copy of those diplomas too because they are required most of the time. Some places require you to submit a copy of your license, ss card, birth certificate, or a passport if you have one. If you are applying to a big city you can just head down to the post office and mail it or just type it in on your computer and click send...if it's a smaller city or a suburb you are going to have to stop at the bank and get your application notarized. Also, don't forget your check book because sometimes you also have to send in an application fee with your packet. Usually between $15-20, but I have seen up to $60 before. Mail it in and you are done! Unless you are like me...then do that 20 more times, once for every department you apply to. You can bet that just the hassle that this requires weeds out at least a couple people.
For some people the written test is the most challenging. Maybe they barely passed high school or haven't had to take a test in 20 years. I usually score fairly well on them depending on the format of the test. If there is a personality section involved I have learned I am pretty much screwed.
1. I prefer to watch cinderella over Sleeping Beauty. - strongly disagree, disagree, not sure, agree, strongly agree
2. I prefer Abraham Lincoln over George Washington. - strong disagree, disagree, not sure, agree, strongly agree
Yeah, go ahead and laugh but that screws me over every time!
For other people the physical fitness is the most challenging. In most cases you only have to do some pushups, situps and then 1.5 mile run. It is usually the run that weeds people out. The time that you have to do it in varies by department. On most occasions I have been required to run it in less than 11:58, but in others you can have as long as 15:30...or if you apply to a department in the South, even as long at 17:30. OK! At that point you might as well not even test physical fitness because it cannot be that important of a quality to your department if you have 17 minutes to run 1.5 miles! If you haven't ran lately, that is an incredibly long time! On a track you can pretty much speed walk the straight aways...walk the turns...stop for lemonade and take a nap and still finish with time to spare. The physical fitness is usually my bread and butter so I like them to be as hard as possible to weed out others who aren't dedicated enough to stay in shape on a regular basis.
Then comes the background investigation...they are going to talk to your employers, your coworkers, the references you listed and then they are going to ask each of those people to name a couple other people that know you. Was he a good neighbor? Do you know about how many times he was late to work when he worked for you? Have you ever had any disagreements with him? Hell, they might even talk to your kindergarden teacher...so hopefully she doesn't tell them that you used to eat your boogers and you shit your britches a couple times.
After they get all kinds of dirt on you, then they bring you in for the polygraph examination. Let me just share with you that you will never go through anything like this at any other time in your life. You are hooked up to all kinds of crap that monitors everything you can imagine. Then they ask you questions for about an hour or so about anything and everything. Financial history, drug and alcohol use, and you guessed it - your sex life too! I was once asked what kind of porn I like to watch! I am sitting there wondering what in the world is he looking for? I'm respond.."I don't know, naked chicks sir?" I wanted to joke back by asking what kind of porn he watched but I refrained. You can bet that this weeds out a decent number of people too. Here's a word of advice - don't lie! In most cases they don't care what kinds of things you have done. They just want to see if you will lie about it.
If you make it this far you are doing pretty good. The process starts to wind down with a stress test, medical eval, and then they usually bring in a shrink to administer a psychological test to find out if you are crazy. This part humors me. "umm...sir, I am signing up to be responsible for wearing a gun on my person every day for the next 30 years, patrolling the ghetto, pulling over cars and walking up and bothering them in the dark in the middle of the night, all while earning a police officers salary...Of course I am crazy!" This reminds me of a short commentary by Paul Harvey, be sure to check it out!
My problem is that the part this entire process that is the challenging for me is not the written, physical, background, or polygraph exams. It is the waiting game. It will test your patience like no other so I hope you are in no hurry to get a job. Best case scenario, it will take you anywhere from 6 months up to 2 years. I am waiting to schedule for an interview for one major Midwestern city that I applied for on Easter weekend of last year. The next academy class doesn't start until summer, so even if I was fortunate enough to make it in that class, it will have been a year long process. In another major city I had my written test in August 2010. They have not even sent out their results yet.
Here is my dilemma and I welcome any thoughts or feedback. In the meantime, I have been working as a security officer at a hospital in a major city (it's boring as hell, don't ever do it). I got myself registered to start the police academy at a local community college here in March. This is something I have been trying to avoid because for starters, it is expensive ($5,100 is what I am paying). Major cities usually have their own academy that they want you to go through, so it doesn't matter if you already went through an academy or even if you have been a police officer for the last ten years...you are going to go through it again at their academy. Also in many cases, medium sized to smaller departments will pay to put you through the academy and even pay you for your time, however since the city budgets are strained, it is becoming more difficult for them to be able to do this. (if you fail the academy or decide it's not for you, they are out that money) I have decided to bite the bullet and put myself through to make myself more marketable to the medium sized departments who may be balancing budgets.
I am in the final 8 for one department and should know more on the outcome of this in the coming weeks. This is a smaller department (around 20 officers) so they will be looking for me to go through an academy at a local community college like I have described. They could say, "You're hired and we will pay for your academy...you put yourself through the academy and let us know when you are done...or maybe even we want you but you are going to have to pay for your academy and then we will bring you on initially as a part time officer." I am also in the final 12 at another department that is a little bigger (about 60 officers). They send all of their recruits through an academy ran by the state which also starts in March and everything is paid for by them and they pay you for your time as well. I have an interview with them next week so wish me luck. As you can see, I could be headed down several different paths and only time will tell what in the world is going to happen. This uncertainty has proven to be challenging for me because I am a planner. As ironic as it seems, I have no idea what I am doing in 4 hours, but as for the larger events in my life I have always had a plan. Not having a plan for something that is so important has been stressful, or rather, I have plans set in place and even backup plans, but not knowing which plan I will follow is what has been stressful. I'll keep you updated with what happens with all of this!
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