CSO Letters of Recomendation

[PoorCollegeKid]

Hey all,

So I just have a random question I would like a little feedback on. I figured what better place for such a situation then Officer.com!

Anyways, for those of you who don't know I am a senior at UWEC in criminal justice. I submitted an application for a Community Service Officer position a month ago, and was asked for an interview. Now I planned ahead and had a few letters of recommendation written up from previous and current employers. A Sgt. from the university department where I work now, a res hall supervisor where I held a job for three years, athletic director where I coach middleschool sports etc.

The interview is on Tuesday, and from what I've been told it consists of a written 'exercise' and a panel interview. Now that I have these letters of recommendation I'm wondering if its appropriate to use them in this situation. I know that when applying for an officer slot, many times they are based on scores and civil service type stuff so letters don't make much of a difference, possibly only at the final stages.

Do you all feel this is the same for a CSO spot? Do the letters have a fair chance of helping, or might they be looked at as "extra junk". If I do use them, when is the appropriate time in an interview to hand them over?

Thanks guys. Interview is tomorrow (Tues) afternoon, was just wondering what you all thought. As always, appreciate any information.

[firemanmatt]

Will it ever hurt to be over-prepared? I say no. If there's a good opportunity to use the letters of recommendation in the hiring process, I say use them.

[WCSO]

You can always bring the letters and ask the panel if they would like to see them.

[PoorCollegeKid]

Thanks guys. I know it may seem like a wierd question but figured I'd ask anyways. As always, appreciate the feedback. Off to the interview now. See you all around cyberspace.

[L-1]

If you are applying for a civil service position, I seriously doubt they will even look at the letters.

Because civil service is supposed to judge everyone by the same criteria, looking at the letters and possibly giving you extra points for them scores you by a completely different criteria than the other applicants, affording you preferential treatment. This can open the entire testing process up to claims of discrimination by those who score less than you. Look at the exam announcement for the position. If it says points will be awarded for letters of recommendation, offer them. If not, expect them to be rejected.

When we sat on orals, we were only allowed to score based on answers to the questions provided. If someone offered a resume, letters of recommendation, commendations, diplomas, certificates, etc., we were prohibited as a matter of civil service rules from even looking at or discussing them. All we could score by was their answers to the test questions. In short, civil service defined what the scoring system was based on and not the applicant.

[PoorCollegeKid]

Understood L-1, thats why I ended up asking. However, this was not for a officer position and I was unaware if CSOs were also hired based on civil service hiring practices.

Regardless, I offered the letters of rec at the end of the interview and they took them, so heres hoping they help. If not, I didn’t lose anything.

[woodtik25]

Will it ever hurt to be over-prepared? I say no.

It's the six P's of life: Proper Pre-Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

Obviously your plan worked, good luck.