CBP officer

[UofU76]

I just checked USPS.com and its showing delivered and signed for. It even shows the name of the person who signed for it. I sent it express mail.

It’s a conspiracy. MHC just doesn’t like me. (Just kidding)
The last time I used certified mail was over a year ago when hiring was at a boom. Maybe that had something to do with it. In fact, I believe they lost the last thing I sent to them that was certified. That’s when I started separately sending two of everything. I had to re do everything except my finger print cards because some how they had those, but nothing else that I sent. Actually, the office in Washington also missed placed my and another guy I know background investigations. They took so long on my BI that I contacted the IA Supervisor. Within a few weeks they found my BI and I was cleared. That was 9 months ago. Now I just use priority mail with delivery confirmation. It's basically the same thing.

[merlin436]

I bet MHC will be surprised at how many people are STILL interested in this job and not giving up... I wonder if they'll lose maybe a handful of applicants out of the whole TSU bunch... (the few sane ones who already found decent jobs elsewhere haha

I'll bet you'd be surprised at the numbers of people who will be giving it up.

Nearly every stage of hiring sheds huge amounts of people who are either not committed/under-committed toward doing what needs to be done to pass onward to the next level. Throw in those who get screened out by the process by factors they can't currently control and at the end...we'll be seeing far less than half of the current applicant pool even getting within a sniff of picking up this job.

[seeOH]

I'll bet you'd be surprised at the numbers of people who will be giving it up.

Nearly every stage of hiring sheds huge amounts of people who are either not committed/under-committed toward doing what needs to be done to pass onward to the next level. Throw in those who get screened out by the process by factors they can't currently control and at the end...we'll be seeing far less than half of the current applicant pool even getting within a sniff of picking up this job.

So what you're saying is... This is like a support group and only together we can make it through this?

Ha, as funny as that is though... it's seriously true. At least we keep one another motivated with our hearsay, opinions, and circumstantial evidence!
I bet a lot of people who don't read this online forum will think they're alone and just give up.

[USMC0844]

I think another thing to keep in mind is that the letters are supposed to be post-marked by Dec. 24th. Then everyone goes home for the holidays. They return after the start of the new year and start sorting through the responses and compile the TSU 2.0 list. That puts them about the end of January before they have a new list to start working off of. So those of you hoping for an EOD for a New Year's gift, stand-by to stand-by!

[merlin436]

So what you're saying is... This is like a support group and only together we can make it through this?

Ha, as funny as that is though... it's seriously true. At least we keep one another motivated with our hearsay, opinions, and circumstantial evidence!
I bet a lot of people who don't read this online forum will think they're alone and just give up.

Actually, I'm saying it's like the UNICEF boxes that we got handed as kids around Halloween or the candy bar/T-shirt drives we used to be pestered to sell for fund-raising in high school. Just about everyone is willing to sign up originally, but remember how many people actually managed to stick around, stay involved and ended up contributing meaningfully to the fund raising.

Truthfully man, you want people to give up. You're in competition...and only the winners walk away at the end of the day with the blue ribbon prize.

[colinm112]

just swung by to check up on everyone.. even though I resolved an issue with missing a drug test and am sitting in TSU going on 10 months for Miami, I still wouldnt take the job at this point if they begged me. in half the time I have passed reqs for a different position with State and have noticed a certain level of professionalism with them that simply is not present at DHS.

As my security clearance lawyer once said (which I did not understand at the time), DHS has no idea what its doing half the time when it comes to its hiring processes and tends to leave its paperwork and its applicants to the wind. 10 months in TSU, to me, is a sign that they did not properly gauge what they needed. Maybe they did and simply dont care about all these people hoping for a position. Either way, it stinks to me. So much of the country's money wasted. I would bet my bottom dollar that I will never run into another hiring process like this again, no matter what agency I apply for.

I feel for those who have been in TSU for such a long time and are still hoping. I have zero faith left in this position and honestly find it offensive that they make people wait so long without letting them know what is going on besides "we are having budget problems". It may be too much to ask I suppose, but this is just my personal opinion on the matter.

[USMC0844]

As my security clearance lawyer once said.

Just saying

[TXCBP]

haha i thought the same thing when i read it.. i think he ment to say he used delivery confirmation...:

I've read it 5 times and still have no idea what I read!!! Good thing something like that wasn't on our test haha!!!

[judoka77]

just swung by to check up on everyone.. even though I resolved an issue with missing a drug test and am sitting in TSU going on 10 months for Miami, I still wouldnt take the job at this point if they begged me. in half the time I have passed reqs for a different position with State and have noticed a certain level of professionalism with them that simply is not present at DHS.

As my security clearance lawyer once said (which I did not understand at the time), DHS has no idea what its doing half the time when it comes to its hiring processes and tends to leave its paperwork and its applicants to the wind. 10 months in TSU, to me, is a sign that they did not properly gauge what they needed. Maybe they did and simply dont care about all these people hoping for a position. Either way, it stinks to me. So much of the country's money wasted. I would bet my bottom dollar that I will never run into another hiring process like this again, no matter what agency I apply for.

I feel for those who have been in TSU for such a long time and are still hoping. I have zero faith left in this position and honestly find it offensive that they make people wait so long without letting them know what is going on besides "we are having budget problems". It may be too much to ask I suppose, but this is just my personal opinion on the matter.

colinm,

I went through the process not that long ago and I feel your pain. I applied for the CBP position in September '07 and was hired May '09. I was so frustrated with the whole process that I nearly turned it down. Unfortunately, this is how the process works, may not be the best way but it is what it is. They are not picking on you or anyone else that has been in tsu for any length of time. People are in TSU because they are awaiting positions to open up or funding. Applying for and getting hired by the DHS is a job within a job, if you know that it will happen on their schedule and not yours, it makes it so much easier on you. Trust me, I was a Cass-Aholic for months, I had the CASS set as my home page for the internet (it was that bad).
There are many people applying for these jobs and based on my experience with the whole hiring process and FLETC, it is worth it. These jobs are secure and the pay is good.
In some places Police Officers are being layed off. I nearly fell over when I found that out, I always thought a Police Officer job was a secure one. CBP is worth it for all of you out there. Hang in there and just keep plucking away at what you are doing and when "the call" comes it will be that much sweeter.

Good luck to all of you and if you have any questions about anything PM me.

[TXCBP]

Hehehe.

My knee is killing me. I stopped running daily for about 2 months (with only a day here and there) joined a gym a the end of November and last week my knee started hurting. It doesn't hurt when I walk, but I can only run for about 2 minutes without feeling like I should stop fast.

Any advice?

I've heard swimming is good for it as well.

[TXCBP]

colinm,

I went through the process not that long ago and I feel your pain. I applied for the CBP position in September '07 and was hired May '09. I was so frustrated with the whole process that I nearly turned it down. Unfortunately, this is how the process works, may not be the best way but it is what it is. They are not picking on you or anyone else that has been in tsu for any length of time. People are in TSU because they are awaiting positions to open up or funding. Applying for and getting hired by the DHS is a job within a job, if you know that it will happen on their schedule and not yours, it makes it so much easier on you. Trust me, I was a Cass-Aholic for months, I had the CASS set as my home page for the internet (it was that bad).
There are many people applying for these jobs and based on my experience with the whole hiring process and FLETC, it is worth it. These jobs are secure and the pay is good.
In some places Police Officers are being layed off. I nearly fell over when I found that out, I always thought a Police Officer job was a secure one. CBP is worth it for all of you out there. Hang in there and just keep plucking away at what you are doing and when "the call" comes it will be that much sweeter.

Good luck to all of you and if you have any questions about anything PM me.

Thanks for the positive words!!!

[judoka77]

Thanks for the positive words!!!

No problem, I mean it, if anyone has anything they are not sure of I will happily answer any questions. If I don't know the answer, I will find someone who does. I know what it is like to get discouraged with this process, once in awhile you need to hear that there is a payoff with this and all the hard work (preparing documents, physicals-sometimes multiple,etc) is worth it.

[bflogirl]

Now I got a second email from MHC and seems the only difference is it doesn't have to be post marked until Dec 28th. I already sent mine in but just another example of them not thinking things through!

[UofU76]

Now I got a second email from MHC and seems the only difference is it doesn't have to be post marked until Dec 28th. I already sent mine in but just another example of them not thinking things through!

Yup, I got the second email. Classic.

[seeOH]

Actually, I'm saying it's like the UNICEF boxes that we got handed as kids around Halloween or the candy bar/T-shirt drives we used to be pestered to sell for fund-raising in high school. Just about everyone is willing to sign up originally, but remember how many people actually managed to stick around, stay involved and ended up contributing meaningfully to the fund raising.

Truthfully man, you want people to give up. You're in competition...and only the winners walk away at the end of the day with the blue ribbon prize.

haha, good analogy. It's true. I've been in this situation before with other LEO job's that I've worked. Some people just give up. It's kind of mind boggling that you'd get this far and just give up (unless your personal life needed you to) but I've seen it happen! Speaking of candy bars... I gotta go.