Should I Apply to Multiple Departments?

[MGORDON]

Hello Gents,

I believe I’m a fairly competitive prospective officer. I was in the Army as an infantryman in the 75th Ranger Regiment and after my honorable discharge I earned two B.A.s in Psychology and Sociology (with an emphasis in criminology). I have maintained peak physical conditioning and would easily max any PT test administered. I have good credit with nothing in collections, have never used illegal drugs… other than experimented with marijuana for the first and only time(4 years ago when I got out of the service), had several speeding tickets (5) but all were when I was young and haven’t had a single citation in almost 6 years.
My problem is that I am quite set on a specific region and would like to get into a certain department (largest in the state)…. should I apply to a couple departments that are near my desired metro as backup plans or do you reasonably believe I will be accepted by said department? My reasoning is I want to seem confident and only apply to them, but as you all know… the application process can take quite a while… Don’t need a 8 month setback.

Thanks in advance.

[L-1]

Hello Gents,

I believe I’m a fairly competitive prospective officer. I was in the Army as an infantryman in the 75th Ranger Regiment and after my honorable discharge I earned two B.A.s in Psychology and Sociology (with an emphasis in criminology). I have maintained peak physical conditioning and would easily max any PT test administered. I have good credit with nothing in collections, have never used illegal drugs… other than experimented with marijuana for the first and only time(4 years ago when I got out of the service), had several speeding tickets (5) but all were when I was young and haven’t had a single citation in almost 6 years.
My problem is that I am quite set on a specific region and would like to get into a certain department (largest in the state)…. should I apply to a couple departments that are near my desired metro as backup plans or do you reasonably believe I will be accepted by said department? My reasoning is I want to seem confident and only apply to them, but as you all know… the application process can take quite a while… Don’t need a 8 month setback.

Thanks in advance.

I don't mean to be rude, but do you have any idea how law enforcement agencies determine the desirability of one candidate over another?

All you have done here is put lipstick on a pig. You have not listed anything in your post demonstrating you can perform the duties of the position you are seeking better than other applicants.

[LPSS]

My advice is to apply to whichever agencies are hiring and paying an acceptable salary in the area you'd like to work. If and when you get into law enforcement you'll find that what you thought was so great about one specific department (as an outsider looking in) may not have been accurate and you'll enjoy working where you are. You'll also have a head start and be paying into your state retirement system. Or, you'll gain some experience in your first department and then be able to apply as a lateral candidate to your more desired location. Either way, it doesn't benefit you to not be in law enforcement at all if that's what you'd like to do.

[NotDelegated]

In general I'd say don't limit yourself to one agency. But your drug use is probably going to be a problem. 4 years isn't that long ago, and you used it after military service, as a grown adult. Expect a lot of scrutiny of your driving record too.

[just joe]

Apply to whatever agencies you would want to work for. Applying to one agency will not be taken as a show of confidence. No one has any idea whether you have a shot with your dream agency.

[MGORDON]

Thank you all for your replies. I truly appreciate it. L-1, I don't know too much about the process in which various departments rank and hire prospective officers... but I do know that I went down the line of all posted questions that took precedence on a certain departments recruitment board... so yeah... I figured all of that "lipstick" was relevant. Thanks again, gentlemen. Most certainly will do my best to keep my foot of the gas and not smoke any of that reefer.

[echat12]

It would also behoove you to recognize that there are plenty of ladies on this forum and in FLE, as well.


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[MGORDON]

Of course... thank you gentlemen and ladies. Apologies... didn't mean anything by it. I guess I'm just not used to it, seeing as there are no females allowed in my unit. I'll definitely work on that though!

[HSVP]

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