very good debate question

[wolve]

I heard stories that there are some lawenforcement agencies out there that like to disqualify applicants on their backgrounds because they have applied to many departments. As Americans when we are looking for a career we want we apply, apply, and apply until we land the career we want. Is this stuff true, about disqualifing applicants for this. As applicants i think we do not have to give loyalty to one department when we are not working for them, we are going to continue applying until we find what we want. Iwould like to hear some comments regarding this issue, All i know if an agency disqualifies someone for this, than that is very wrong

[neinta]

The people who are doing the hiring want to know there will be some degree of loyalty to their PD. They don't want to hire someone and then have then move on after a year or so. Some PD's make you sign a contract. They want to hire people who want to work there, not people who are settling becuase there top 10 choices all said no (extreme example). It won't automatically DQ you but they may place someone who has more loyalty higher on the list. They want someone who wants to be there, not someone who just 'wants a job.'

It's not like they won't hire you becuase you applied to 4 or 5 other departments. But if you apply to 20+ departments all at once, do you really expect them to think you are serious about their department?

A lot of time and money goes into training an officer, especially those who are sponsored through the academy. I've had complications before because a PD knew I was over qualified to work there and that I could make much more at a place that could afford to pay me for my educational experiences/degrees. I had to convince them that THAT department was the one I wanted to work at and that I wasn't going anywhere. Of course after I succeeded in that, it all went under because of problems finding a new Chief. But it's all good because I have since decided that hell would have to freeze over to get me to stay here. (nothing against the PD, I'm just... well that's an entirely different discussion.)

I also have to comment on your comment about "we are going to continue applying until we find what we want." In LE, you don't necessarily get to choose what you want, especially with no previous LE experience. You take what you can get to get the experience to give you the ability to choose.

[Thumper]

Okay how about this.
I move from Reno Nevada to Missouri.
I sponsor myself through the academy in St.Louis and apply for St.Louis Metro PD.

Will they like this explanation:

I lived in Missouri for a year, I really loved the climate, the people and the scenery. Due to unfortunate circumstances with health of family members on the west coast and the sudden lay off of my husband we chose to move to Reno for while.
My grandfather passed away early summer 2003, and now that we are financially stable we have chosen to make Missouri our permanent home. With that said I really want to work for the St.Louis Police Department.

I have some brushing up to do on that speel.
But I know Im going to have to explain myself when they look at my background and have a frigging cow at how many jobs, and how many times I have moved in the last three years.

T

[Thumper]

Soooo
Paying for the academy myself, being a woman, living in a high rise city apartment paying city taxes and being hispanic would greatly improve my odds of getting into St.Louis Metro?

OOO RAH!

Paying for my training would be like a race car driver coming up to a sponsor with his own ride and asking hey can I drive for you and you can paint your logo on my car.

LOL


I would gladly pay the 3k for my training, the money for my own gun, and pay for my entire uniform, hell I would even buy my own car... Im pretty easy to please... swear me in, point me in the right direction and let me go...LOL

5 year contract? Make it 10...LOL

Or would I just come off as to desperate? LOL

T

[mcsap]

As the recruiting Sgt for our dept. I can tell you that applying to multiple departments has NO bearing on our decision to hire. I am trying to fathom how applying to multiple departments has ANYTHING to do with loyalty ? How can a person be loyal to a dept they don't even work for ??? I look at a person who fills multiple apps as someone who WANTS the job.

Now if a person has WORKED at multiple departments, that is another matter.

[Scruit]

Even in civillian jobs... If I have an applicant presented to me who has applied at many other companies in the last 2 years then that doesn't faze me at all. If he's WORKED at that many in 2 years then I wonder why he moved on so quickly and that's a bad thing. If he's applied in many different job types "Doctor, lawyer, sales, truck driver, then IT" then I wonder if he's really comitted the the IT career path.

If an applicant for an LEO position has been turned down by another department then;
1) Do you know? (background check or info volunteered by applicant)
2) Are you allowed to ask why? Are you allowed to find out from the other department.

[wolve]

neinta im not trying to start an argument with you but i feel some things your saying are wrong. Even if you apply to 20+ departments at once how in the world can that dq you. i have not done that. If your trying to get into this field, are you just going to apply for 4-5 departments in 1 year, absolutely not. if someone does that then it will take longer to get in. As applicants we do not have to give loyalty to any department we dont even work for, If someone wants to get in this field then apply to as many departments as you can.

[neinta]

It won't DQ you but would you rather hire someone who wants to work there or someone who is just looking for a job. I'm not talking 4 or 5 in a year. I'm talking 4 or 5 at a time... like every other month or so. If you apply to 20 departments at one time, you risk running into scheduling conflicts for testing and interview dates as well.

Scruit: Yes to both questions (at least here). When I applied for Cadet (paid explorer) and Reserve positions I had to list every dept I had applied to in the past five years. I had to say whether or not I was hired and I had to list a reason if I was not hired. I also had to list all of the agencies I was currently applying for. They then called the other agencies and asked the HR people there. When the local PD found out I had applied for a county position I was asked to choose. When County found out I also applied for state, I had even more explaining to do.

[wolve]

maybe it may not DQ me, but as an applicant it would be better to apply to as much as you can simply for one reason, it is to get a job in lawenforcement. My attitude is this, i will apply and apply and the agency that accepts me , i will gladly work there.

[Jcrazy]

I have applied to many departments. I currently have three apps running. All that shows a recruiter is that I am determined to get hired. I think a person who has applied many times over several years shows a genuine intrest in law enforcement and are a safer choice then a person who has only tried once. The person who only tried once may just be testing the water but not yet be sure if it is what they want. A person who has applied a lot has clearly put a lot of time and effort into getting hired. The process is very long with many steps and a ton of paperwork. I can't see a department DQ a person for multiple apps.
On the other hand, if a person has jumped from one department to another looking for that sweet deal, I can understand a department DQing them.

[Lfpdlieu302]

heres my .02 cents. i dont have a problem with somone who has applied to a lot of different pd's. my only questin or concern would be why he or she has not been hired at any of them. what is it about this person that continually makes him unqualified to work at so many pd's? now if he just applied to all of them at the same time, that may be different, but 10 to 20 in a month with no hire? as stated above my main concern would be somone who HAS worked at several pd's and keeps on moving around.

[mcsap]

I took tests/filled out apps for about 2 YEARS before I got hired. Once hired, I became the dictionary definition of loyalty ( well maybe not quite that ) but I was willing to put my all into somone who took a chance on me.

In the last 17 yrs, only one person left our dept voluntarily BEFORE retirement age and he became a chief ( was a Sgt) in another dept. We now have 47 officers and are still growing. I guess it helps to work for a good dept with good pay and bennies. We have 4 guys past retirement now who have no intention of leaving. (25 plus yrs. )

I applied all over because I WANTED an LEO job. I didn't care where. There were 3 openings and over 60 applicants. Actually I got 2 offers on the same day. The PA State Police called when the Twp PD called. I went Twp.

[Darin]

Neinta is right on with what she said. I was told by a Captain (who happens to be my cousin) NOT to apply with a lot of different departments. This particular agency doesn't like that because if they are going to invest the money in you to send you to the academy and train you, they want you to stay around and not be tempted to go to another agency.

All departments are different.

[wolve]

Darin, maybe some agencies dont want you to apply to many agencies simply because they think someone may just leave, But how can a person increase their chances if they dont apply, apply, and apply. I think probably small departments make an issue out of this instead of larger departments. I was just curious if your cousins agency is a small department.

[Charlie]

Here's my thoughts as my PD's recruiter and background investigator:

* Applying to multiple agencies MAY be a good thing/bad thing. It depends. In one respect, (and depending upon what I find out as well), a person that applies to several agencies MAY make an agency wonder why this person has not been offered a position by any of the other departments they've applied with.

* Another reason is, as previously noted, a department typically invests a lot fo time and money in someone to bring them in, train them and get them out on the streets. Obviously, this can add up to be a significant cost to the department.

Applying to multiple departments is not necessarily a bad thing as others have noted but at the same time, one should be able to logically understand why there may be a certain level of suspicion by some departments towards an applicant when all things are considered.

Therefore, I HIGHLY suggest that prospective applicants should set a reasonable limit on how many departments they decide to apply to. I don't know what the magic number may be but I would recommend no more than 5 departments max. The "applying to every agncy under the sun" approach is, in my opinion, a bad approach concerning this issue. A lot of departments, (myself included and depending on the applicant), generally view this as an indicator that the applicant is not seriously interested in my department. Pick those departments that you are seriously interested in working for. The "shotgun Application" approach is not a good method to employ and MAY only lowers, in my opinion, your potential success rate in getting hired.

Hiring someone as a recruit or cop is a serious investment especially in light of the budget issues a lot of departments are facing these days. Right or wrong, good or bad, this is the reality of the situation. All departments may or may not share my views but I'd be willing to bet that a lot of departments MAY share a similar view to mine!;)

Food for thought.
--
Charlie