Hi all,
Brace yourself because it's a long post. I read the stickies and searched the forum, but I was hoping for some fresh perspective on the subject of ex-strippers working in Law Enforcement. Plus any insight into the military spouse angle would be appreciated.
Background: Female, 30 years old. Military spouse and therefore move around the country a lot; generally we move every 2 years. Currently in Las Vegas. I've always assumed that departments would not hire someone to become a sworn officer if that candidate is going to be moving away mere months after they complete the hiring and training process. However, I started looking at civilian job postings and feel I'm very qualified to work some office positions that don't need a ton of training, also it would be great to get solid LE office experience that would help me transition into other departments when/wherever we move.
So, anyway- civilians must do the same BIs, interviews, polys, etc as sworn officers and this is where my past comes into play. Between 2005-2008 I occasionally worked as a topless dancer in about 5 different strip clubs in Pennsylvania. Danced maybe 20 times total in those years and would go to whichever club was doing well that month. I was "freelance" never adhered to a set schedule or signed any contracts/applications. I'm actually not sure the clubs have any records of me being employed unless they photocopied my ID for proof of age. I claimed my cash income on taxes so no problems with the IRS like some other strippers. I followed the industry regulations, never did anything shady or illegal, and I'm not embarrassed about it so I plan to tell interviewers about being a stripper even if there are no employment records. There might be pictures of me floating around that a BI could find by combing titty bar websites, I dunno.
On to my questions: Would you and/or your most conservative coworkers consider hiring someone who stripped in the last decade? Would you deem a former stripper less worthy of being in Law Enforcement (compared to those who never worked in that sort of industry) or as a person whose past might bring disrepute to the department? Is this likely to be more of an issue in a large city with lots of competition (ie Las Vegas) or in a small/rural town where it's not commonly seen on anyone's resume? I know it's not an automatic DQ or rule that strippers can not get hired but is working a pole enough to get passed over in favor of someone who has never flashed a nip for $5?
And if you think the stripper thing doesn't even matter because I'm a military spouse who moves so often that I don't stand a chance of getting hired in this field anyway, please say so before I get my hopes up any further. Apologies for for the long post and thanks for reading!
Brace yourself because it's a long post. I read the stickies and searched the forum, but I was hoping for some fresh perspective on the subject of ex-strippers working in Law Enforcement. Plus any insight into the military spouse angle would be appreciated.
Background: Female, 30 years old. Military spouse and therefore move around the country a lot; generally we move every 2 years. Currently in Las Vegas. I've always assumed that departments would not hire someone to become a sworn officer if that candidate is going to be moving away mere months after they complete the hiring and training process. However, I started looking at civilian job postings and feel I'm very qualified to work some office positions that don't need a ton of training, also it would be great to get solid LE office experience that would help me transition into other departments when/wherever we move.
So, anyway- civilians must do the same BIs, interviews, polys, etc as sworn officers and this is where my past comes into play. Between 2005-2008 I occasionally worked as a topless dancer in about 5 different strip clubs in Pennsylvania. Danced maybe 20 times total in those years and would go to whichever club was doing well that month. I was "freelance" never adhered to a set schedule or signed any contracts/applications. I'm actually not sure the clubs have any records of me being employed unless they photocopied my ID for proof of age. I claimed my cash income on taxes so no problems with the IRS like some other strippers. I followed the industry regulations, never did anything shady or illegal, and I'm not embarrassed about it so I plan to tell interviewers about being a stripper even if there are no employment records. There might be pictures of me floating around that a BI could find by combing titty bar websites, I dunno.
On to my questions: Would you and/or your most conservative coworkers consider hiring someone who stripped in the last decade? Would you deem a former stripper less worthy of being in Law Enforcement (compared to those who never worked in that sort of industry) or as a person whose past might bring disrepute to the department? Is this likely to be more of an issue in a large city with lots of competition (ie Las Vegas) or in a small/rural town where it's not commonly seen on anyone's resume? I know it's not an automatic DQ or rule that strippers can not get hired but is working a pole enough to get passed over in favor of someone who has never flashed a nip for $5?
And if you think the stripper thing doesn't even matter because I'm a military spouse who moves so often that I don't stand a chance of getting hired in this field anyway, please say so before I get my hopes up any further. Apologies for for the long post and thanks for reading!
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