Need Opinion

[Gold777]

Lets say that I have my EMT-P, high school diploma, fire fighting 1 & 2, a lot of experience with the people since I use to work on ambulance, I am an ex- explorer for my local police department, an ex-explorer for my local fire department, a completely clean criminal record, and absolutely no tickets. If you where in charge of hiring would you hire me onto your police department?

If not, please explain why and what I need to do to make myself more noticeable.

If yes, thank god and I hope the individual in charge of hiring feels the same way you do.

I also understand most things listed are not really LEO requirements, I am just stating my accomplishments, and the accomplishments that I am fighting towards to accomplish right now.

Thanks for your service and stay safe.

PS: That EMT-P would also be a AS college diploma.

[M-11]

How many hard drugs have you done?

M-11

[BrickCop]

Here is one sure way to get noticed. Wear a giant blaze orange cowboy hat while holding a sign that reads "Hire me- I want to carry a gun" in front of the agency.

Your background sounds good. Ask other cops about their background before they got on the job but don't overthink it. If you obtain a high enough written/ oral board exam score you will be fine.

[Social Worker]

Brickcop be nice......jajajaja!

[SgtScott31]

Why go so far to have paramedic and FFI & FF2 just to become a police officer? That's a lot of training for the FD/EMS world to move into LE. Not to say that it throws red flags, but if I were interviewing you, that's one question that would be on my mind.

Since you are only a First Responder as indicated on your other post and only 17 yrs old, why go for paramedic and the FF certifications if you want to be in law enforcement? Many people who pursue those type certifications plan on making a career in the FD/EMS service. Why not pursue a college degree? And another question, why are you an EX-explorer?

[ArkansasFan24]

Nah, I know lots of people who became cops and did all the fire and ems stuff ahead of time. I think it has something to do with wanting to be involved. You can get fire and medical training at 18, but you've got to wait until 21 for police training. It gives them something somewhat applicable to do in the meantime.

Even I wasted my years between college and law enforcement as a high school biology teacher, lol, AND part-time paramedic.

[careerchange#2]

Sounds like you're trying to do a bunch of fun stuff until you're old enough to apply for law enforcement. Based on that, I'd ask you why you didn't apply yourself to something like a BA/BS degree in something that could be used down the line, i.e. business admin/finance/etc.

You're 17, and you've asked a lot of whatif's, and you've got a lot ahead of you. I got all the same certifications as you've mentioned, but my original intent was a career in EMS. I worked career and my hiring boards grilled me on why i was leaving behind everything I had worked for.

[Gold777]

You are pretty much right on, I wanted and still want to help people through my younger years. I am in the process of becoming Fire fighter 1 & 2 certified, EMT-B certified, and getting onto a local EMS service.

I also want to go through to get my EMT-P as my actual college degree. If it works like that, I think it does because it's an option as a academic choice (that degree will be a Associate degree). I was going to get a degree in criminology but i thought everyone did that, and I wanted to stand out from everyone else. Then after I am done with that I want to get onto a police department. Have not decided if I want to work city or county yet, but It doesn't really matter since I am going to apply for twenty different departments.

Thank you for your service and stay safe.

[Social Worker]

It sounds to me like you are just trying to figure out what you want to be when you grow up and that is perfectly ok. That acutally might work towards your advantage when apppling for an LEO position. Something in the likes of you tried all these other career options but LE is your passion. Then you tell them "HOW" these other skills can help you in the LEO position.

[mikeymedic]

The EMT-P is a big help on rural departments, just keep in mind they are hiring you to be a cop, not a FF/medic. When you get on a scene and EMS shows up, guess what, your doing traffic. Also just about every agency will not allow you to arrive on scene of a fire and "bunker up."

[2wheeldep]

That all sounds well and good, but there is a lot more to a background investigation than one paragraph of accomplishments

[Gold777]

I have to admit you added a lot of confidence to me just now. I feel confident that these skills that I have obtained through training and classroom time, have changed me significantly (in a good way).

Not to mention, I always think it's good to have a first responder back ground. I also believe that they will look at me being an Ex-EMT on an busy county ambulance and believe that I have great people skills, and can think under stressful conditions. I am hoping that gives me a little edge during the interview.

Thanks for your service and stay safe.

[Gold777]

Well, that is why I am asking you guys. Please inform me what they want to see and what they are looking for when hiring a new LEO.

Thank you for your service and stay safe.

[mikeymedic]

[QUOTE=Gold777;2045724]Not to mention, I always think it's good to have a first responder back ground. I also believe that they will look at me being an Ex-EMT on an busy county ambulance and believe that I have great people skills, and can think under stressful conditions.[QUOTE]

I hear ya and your on track but still a tad off. There are coping skill that you gain from being a medic and skills in calming people down. There is stress of saving lives and working under pressure.

However, police work is waaaaay different. The people skills need to have more, are you confident, confrontational, when you speak do you have command presence? The stress, in EMS you get stressed when others are getting hurt in a controlled "box." in LE you have stress of you getting hurt in an unsound and unsafe environment, you need to handle 10 different situations at once while having 7 people tell you whats going on and still listen to your radio to relay status back to dispatch.

Take some public speaking classes, and take special care of the English composition classes for report writing later on down the road. Trust me if you are going for EMT-P you WILL take english composition.

[L-1]

Lets say that I have my EMT-P, high school diploma, fire fighting 1 & 2, a lot of experience with the people since I use to work on ambulance, I am an ex- explorer for my local police department, an ex-explorer for my local fire department, a completely clean criminal record, and absolutely no tickets. If you where in charge of hiring would you hire me onto your police department?

If not, please explain why and what I need to do to make myself more noticeable.

Based solely on the criteria you have posted, no, I would not hire you. Very little of the experience and training you have listed demonstrate a knowledge of and ability to perform law enforcement duties and none of it meets the selection criteria for this profession.

FWIW, the selection process is rarely based on work experience. In most civil service agencies, you are hired based on your combined written and oral exam scores. These scores are based on the number of correct answers you give to test questions that measure your ability to actually do the job. So, your work experience alone doesn't count for much. It is the abilities you demonstrate during the testing process that count.

The background investigation doesn't give you brownie points for being a good boy either. To the contrary, with respect to character, all it looks for is whether there is anything in your history that meets the criteria for disqualification. So, it doesn't matter if you got the Nobel Peace Prize or saved a dozen babies from a burning building, None of that makes up for the time you sold a lid of grass in college or embezzled money from your employer but never got caught.