Didn't get in

[Xanthorius]

So the department I was so excited about, working as a sworn student officer, said I wasn't eligble for the job because I'd quit two jobs without notice (one kind of recently,the other years ago).

I was so upset I hung up on the guy. He took ten minutes of lecturing me about work ethics before he told me I wasn't eligible for the job. I wasn't going to listen to any more from him.

I am so upset right now. I really think I'm going to abandon law enforcement. If nobody wants me, fine. I am very bright and can make a living doing pretty much anything else. In fact, I can make more money doing other things too

I really need a chance right now, but by the time somebody gives me a chance, my freaking POST certificate will expire. I am just coming out of college ( I was willing to go back to college to work for these people )and coming in to my own as a young man. If nobody is willing to accept that, that's fine. I know they only want the best. So by the time I've shown my "maturity" (which I thought was by being honest and open about my mistakes) by waiting two years without getting fired from my s***hole of a job, I won't have a POST certificate and I'll be close to 30. Frankly, I don't have the two years to waste earning $10 an hour with a four year degree.

[Frank Booth]

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[KenM]

If you didn't get in and you really want in law enforcement then apply somewhere else.

As much as I hear administrators whine and cry about the quality and lack of applicants today there has to be a job out there for you. Just expand your search and be willing to go where the work is.

Good luck.

*****And I wouldn't have listened to any friggin' lecture either. Unless you're my Daddy don't talk to me like I'm a kid.******

[kirch]

I'm going to dismiss your ranting and raving as a byproduct of your disappointment. Nontheless, you've pretty much GUARANTEED that you won't be working for that department, didn't you?

Who can blame them for not hiring you? You have a history of leaving jobs without warning. Granted, one was years ago, and they probably would have overlooked that. But you did it again recently, showing that you're capable of doing it again. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." With all the man-hours and expense that goes into training and the high number of people that decide police work isn't for them after being hired, an agency wants to do everything they can to ensure the people they hire are going to stay. Speaking as someone who has done a bit of hiring in his career, I wouldn't take a chance on you either.

That being said, I don't think abandoning law enforcement is your answer. You'll find the people with the same attitudes in any career you choose to follow. Don't want to have anyone tell you what to do and go into business for yourself? You'll see many prospective customers act the same way.

But there are plenty who aren't as concerned about such things. How can you say nobody wants you when you've only been turned down by one agency? I contacted over 20 agencies and interviewed with more than a dozen before I found the right one for me. You need to expand your options.

[Xanthorius]

To clarify, this is not the first deparment that has rejected me (the 4th), but they all reject me for different reasons. It makes you start feeling like you're a huge loser, because everybody has something really negative to say about who you are, and it always ends with "and we don't want you around us".

Mostly I was just upset because he had the nerve to lecture me on my character and THEN tell me about the denial. If he'd just said, "Look, I've been reviewing your file, and I just don't think you have the character to work here. Frankly, we have concerns about your job history. I'm sorry." I would have been a LOT less angry.

Please don't make fun of me for saying I'm bright. I'm looking for some support and some guidance from the people here who can whup me into shape, making fun of me doesn't count for that. When people tell me to stop whining, I can take that with a grain of salt, shut up, and go start calling local PD's . It doesn't help me to be made fun of.

But hey, you guys are right, I am being whiny. I was ****ed off, so I was whiny, and now, a few hours later, I am feeling really bummed out but determined. I figure I'll keep applying until my certification expires. If nobody wants me in three years, I'll take the hint and find a different career

[Xanthorius]

On a more positive not, can I get some advice? Like I said, all of these agencies have something different. At first, I failed the oral boards, because I knew nothing about being a cop. When I started to know what the job was about, that shaped my attitude and I started passing those. Then, I failed an executive interview. Now, this place doesn't like my work history.

Would it make sense, on future applications, to attach a letter to my background packet explaining that I have been washed out of other hiring processes for XXXX reason, and then explain that reason? Or should I wait until an investigator brings it up? I can see benefits to both, on the one hand I'd seem pretty forthright and open about my mistakes (which is a good idea, right?), but on the other, it'd bring attention to something that the investigator might not normally care about...

[Don]

Xan - This is your

[Xanthorius]

Yeah, I agree with you, Don. I just needed to do a little public whining to realize how silly I was and start thinking a little better. One of my main problems is that my wife and I JUST bought a house in Fort Collins (was that dumb or what, should've waited...oh well ), so my wife isn't real keen on moving away from here.

However, we may have to face up to the fact that if I want to get a job, we may have to do just that. At least she can telecommute, she's a web designer

[ 07-01-2002: Message edited by: Xanthorius ]

[KCadet]

Good luck to you Xanthorius! I've come to the boards before whining and complaining, and it's always been Frank and Don who have slapped the sh*t outta me and made me think straight. It's a long, hard road, and you're ahead of me, but I know I can make it. Can you?

Read this poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. I think it's good for you right now:

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its merth,
But has trouble enough of its own.

Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air;
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go;
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all, --
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.

There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.

[Frank Booth]

.

[Xanthorius]

I apologize, then, Frank. I have heard that very bright people do get bored in LE easily, but I'm not too worried about it, there were a lot of fantastically smart instructors in my Academy who seemed to really love their jobs.

[Frank Booth]

.

[Xanthorius]

No, I went to a Community College Academy. My instructors were all full-time cops who got paid a whopping $8/hr from my community college to teach us, on top of their (normally) full time police duties. There were all kinds of people who did just about everything in police work, patrol officers, detectives, arson investigators, and then some people who were full time instructors with other departments (primarily Colorado State Patrol) who were also instructing us.

So a lot of them really were still pushing the old patrol car, but a lot of them weren't.

[ateamer]

Just because you love working patrol does not in any way mean you are less than bright. I love patrol and never want to do anything else in law enforcement, besides motors. Not everyone gets burned out on the streets or wants to be a detective. Patrol is one of the toughest positions because you not only have to be a jack of all trades, but must be a master of them.

I shudder at the thought of being behind a desk with stacks of reports and the other drudgery of detective work.

[GRACE]

X,

Hang in there and don't give up so easily.

I have had my share of disappointments:

I have been at this process since 1995 and have been rejected for numerous reasons (failing oral boards, low test scores, medical reasons, and finally, not being the right person for THAT particular dept.)

I have a medical condition that may keep me out but I am applying to all departments in SoCal and Northern AZ. Until I have exhausted all means I AM going to keep trying. I am currently a student so it is easier to do this and I am blessed with a great husband who has given me the support and the financial means to try to accomplish this goal.

I have tried too hard sometimes and not so hard other times BUT I realize as I get older and more seasoned in the process that in the end all of this will just give me more experience in the hiring process.

Just take all of the negatives and turn them into positives and use it as ammo for future job hunts (no matter what it is you decide to do).

Best of luck!

Grace

[ 07-02-2002: Message edited by: GRACE ]