CBP officer

[dghai62]

hi guys,

so after working in retail for a while, i am sick and tired of always looking for jobs in retail and seeing the same things over and over. I happened to save money for some certified training that can help me get into a new industry for money. I wanted to do something that would perhaps enhance or help my chances to get a job as a CBP officer( i am aware of the long wait). I am stuck between either getting my unarmed security guard license or EMT, what would you guys pick if you were in my situation. I am leaning more towards EMT ,but i am unsure if it would work for the resume that the CBP would look at.

any advice is appreciated,

thanks guys ,and congrats to everyone getting The Call .

[BiggyWannaBGman]

Went shooting today. Fired 50 rounds. Minimum was 5-10 rounds. Love my instructors!

Did you hit the target? lol

[BiggyWannaBGman]

hi guys,

so after working in retail for a while, i am sick and tired of always looking for jobs in retail and seeing the same things over and over. I happened to save money for some certified training that can help me get into a new industry for money. I wanted to do something that would perhaps enhance or help my chances to get a job as a CBP officer( i am aware of the long wait). I am stuck between either getting my unarmed security guard license or EMT, what would you guys pick if you were in my situation. I am leaning more towards EMT ,but i am unsure if it would work for the resume that the CBP would look at.

any advice is appreciated,

thanks guys ,and congrats to everyone getting The Call .

Do whatever you WANT to do, do what ever you are comfortable doing. I know someone who is a cbpo that was an EMT before. So I suggest doing that. Plus I feel you could bring more to to the job doing that.

[dghai62]

@BiggywannaBGman

thanks biggy, i will definitely work on my EMT cert in a month, and it comes with CPR Cert which i feel is an asset anywhere. However, my issue is how would you put something like EMT on the resume to convince the CBP that you meet their requirements? i guess that's the question that's mainly on my mind.

[poolearmor]

I hope this is true as well. I also hope my 2nd BI clears by then because I am up there on the magic "list" Have you had to redo any steps yet? When did you test? I tested in Aug 08

my backgound and med went to pending on last Sep but it went back to compete by itself after about a month.
i tested back in Aug 08

[BiggyWannaBGman]

dghai62,

You would just lay it out as a job on your resume and you'd list your duties and your roles of that position. If you have a 4 year degree you can substitue that for experience. Other than that, you need 3 years of GENERAL work experience.

take a look at the full posting on usa jobs. Below is a piece of what it requires for the position.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:
Applicants may qualify for the CBP Officer position based on education, experience, or a combination of both. Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria for each grade level by the closing date of the vacancy announcement. An exception is made for those who are currently enrolled in college. They may complete the education-based qualification requirements within nine (9) months of the closing date of the announcement.

Experience Requirements for a GS-5 level: Applicants must have at least three (3) years of general experience that requires the ability to meet and deal with people and the ability to learn and apply a body of facts. Examples of such duties include explaining administrative requirements and procedures to others and screening forms to ensure that they are completed properly in accordance with requirements. Positions involving lead and supervisory duties or operating a business should also have provided the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. The performance of predominately typing, filing, copying, messenger duties, or other purely mechanistic tasks, is not creditable as general experience, nor is experience in trades, crafts, or equipment operator work.

Experience Requirements for a GS-7 level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience that entailed performance of substantive duties in inspections work at borders, seaports, airports or other ports of entry and/or work involving preliminary screening of persons for entry and immigration status, or compliance/regulatory work. Inspections experience must have demonstrated the ability to apply specialized knowledge of the laws, regulations, and procedures for importing and exporting merchandise to and from the United States and/or law enforcement work at the local, State or Federal levels, which included dealing with persons suspected of entering the United States illegally. Compliance/regulatory work experience must have demonstrated the ability to collect, develop, and evaluate facts, evidence, and pertinent data in assessing compliance with or violations of laws, rules or regulations. Specialized experience is generally gained in the performance of the duties of the following kinds of positions in the private/public sectors: Inspector, Auditor, Analyst, Examiner, Administrator, and Investigator as well as some Technicians and Assistants.


Education: If applicants do not have the work experience described above, four (4) years of study in any field leading to a bachelor's degree in an accredited college or university can be substituted and is fully qualifying for the GS-5 level. For the GS-7 level, one (1) full academic year of graduate education, or a master's or higher degree is qualifying, or meeting the provisions of Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). See http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/SEC-II/s2-e5.asp#e4f for information on SAA.

Education obtained from a foreign university or college is not creditable for qualification requirements unless it has been evaluated by a private foreign educational credential evaluation service (see http://www.naces.org/members.htm for a list of organizations that provide this evaluation service).

Combining qualifying experience and education: If you do not qualify based on experience or education alone, you may be able to qualify based on a combination of your experience and education. Follow the directions below in order to convert each to a percentage, and then add the percentages together to see if they total 100 percent. To determine your percentage of qualifying experience, you must divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by the required number of months of experience. For information on how to caculate your education and experience please see the following

[yoda]

@BiggywannaBGman

thanks biggy, i will definitely work on my EMT cert in a month, and it comes with CPR Cert which i feel is an asset anywhere. However, my issue is how would you put something like EMT on the resume to convince the CBP that you meet their requirements? i guess that's the question that's mainly on my mind.

If you have at least 3 years already in retail, you already qualify for GS-5.... That's really all you need to get in, they only look to see if you qualify, not at the type/quality of experience you bring in. Although an EMT background can help when you get the job and something happens that you'll need that knowledge to help out either a traveler or a fellow officer.

[poolearmor]

@BiggywannaBGman

thanks biggy, i will definitely work on my EMT cert in a month, and it comes with CPR Cert which i feel is an asset anywhere. However, my issue is how would you put something like EMT on the resume to convince the CBP that you meet their requirements? i guess that's the question that's mainly on my mind.

EMT do require some physical action like lifting up patient and carrying equipments... so it may meet the CBPO requirements

[dghai62]

i will be done with my economics/poly sci degree around summer of 2012. with clerical i had 4 years experience(volunteered at a hospital as a admitting department volunteer.), retail i have about 2 years (including the seasonal one month stint at the USPS) and i currently got my associates for Business Administration.

Since i will be finishing this summer, i just wanted to get a job somewhere outside of retail. I will probably end up getting my EMT certification, couldn't be a doctor , so why not EMT lol.

[BiggyWannaBGman]

i will be done with my economics/poly sci degree around summer of 2012. with clerical i had 4 years experience(volunteered at a hospital as a admitting department volunteer.), retail i have about 2 years (including the seasonal one month stint at the USPS) and i currently got my associates for Business Administration.

Since i will be finishing this summer, i just wanted to get a job somewhere outside of retail. I will probably end up getting my EMT certification, couldn't be a doctor , so why not EMT lol.

Why not apply to CBP now? Seems as if you already have the work experience.. plus you are close to the "9month rule'

[dghai62]

hey biggy,

i did apply for CBP. it turns out i am more than qualified by the combo of education and experience. got the test on the 25th... hope everything turns out well.

i have been trying numerous ways to study as well as going through the guide.

[dghai62]

biggy, i also PM'ed you. hope you don't mind me asking you something

[Beecy]

Hey Baron. Took the exam in April '08. I am the supervisor of the international department for a large private company. Previous job I did imports/exports and unloaded trucks/trains for CBPO's so they could inspect. Currently working on 2nd background. Approved for GS-7.

Maybe I should post on here more often. The very next day I get an update. I got a call today from the company that schedules the Background Investigator. She wanted to confirm my address and contact info including my supervisor's name. I mentioned to her that it has been over 3 years for me and her comment was "yeah, we have been talking to lot of people that way because everything has been so slow for a couple years BUT NOW THE FLOODGATES HAVE OPENED AND WE ARE CRAZY BUSY!"

I take that as good news!

She said I should here from the BI within a couple weeks.

[Alpha/Tango]

Does anyone know if CASS is up and running?

[Indio0217]

How is everyone doing so far? i have a Background Information question about credit history. I had a house that was foreclosed and a second mortgage for 23k showing past due or delinquent sinced 2009 and went into collection. Will this affect my BI or i will most likely be disqualify for poor credit history and lack of responsibility with my debts?