Thin line!

[Rknight]

In the begining of this year I was with the California Highway Patrol. I was stationed in Central Los Angeles, CA. At the end of April I decided that I wasn't ready to do the job so I resigned (which was the biggest mistake). Later on I missed the job so much I started applying to other police departments. One of the departments I went through the whole process took the written exam, did the oral interview board, and did the polygraph. On my application the reason I left the CHP was that due to personal problems but when I took the polygraph I told the examiner that it was because I didn't feel I was ready and so after the polygraph the examiner told the officers that I passed the polygraph but I did give a different answer than what I put on my application and the officers said that was fine. Then I received a letter saying I wasn't able to go through the rest of the process. I was so dissapointed that I didn't even ask why. Then recently which is about 5 months after applying to the department it was bothering me that I didn't know why I was unable to continue so I called the department and I spoke with my investigator who said that I was disqualified due to inconsistent information about the reason I left the CHP. I explained that I told the truth in the polygraph and I passed and the polygraph examiner and I even told some the officers who said it was fine. What I am wondering is should I put that I was disqualified on applications cause it will look bad on me even when I told the truth. Does every police department know where you have applied at if you leave it off? Please help me I want to get back into Law Enforcement but want to do it the correct way.

[Samuel]

Seems like you should already know this... ?

[Citicop]

Being completely honest, I don't see that as inconsistent information. I think that "personal problems" is a general statement that covers a whole lot of territory, and that during the polygraph, you got more specific with your answer. Be honest with future departments, both about what happened with CHP and in the last hiring process you were in. Better they hear it from you than from someone else.

-Citicop.

[jarobins]

Why can't you go back to CHP? If everything happened the way you wrote, you would probably still be eligible for rehire. I would assume they have a policy in place for rehires, afterall they spent thousands of dollars training you. I'm sure they'd take you back so that they can recoup some of their investment in you. I work for a state agency and we rehire several people every year that left because they thought the grass was greener somewhere else.

[mcsap]

I would question spending a bunch of time and money on someone who left a hard to get into position because they " weren't ready " to do the job. I would want to know what you weren't ready about before I would hire you ( back).

You aren't telling us the entire story so you might as well give us the Paul Harvey version where you can be anonymous and get a lot of experienced officers chiming in.

[scott715us]

I would also want a prospective employee to elaborate on "personal problems" before considering them for employment or the reasoning behind "not being ready for the job." The possible liability associated with this career is going to force agencies to delve deep into the applicant's personal life so they know this person can handle the stress associated with the job, on and off-duty.

[DeltaV]

You don't just leave a good job in LE for "personal problems." The department is definitely going to want a more detailed explanation and will be talking with your former coworkers at CHP as well. Anytime someone resigns during a probationary period it sends up red flags, whether or not it's justified. Resigning from one good and well respected LE agency during probation isn't going to help your chances of getting hired anywhere else regardless of what you write on the application.

[Gutwrench]

Rknight,

I worked the street in the Bay Area and did bg's just prior to retiring.

If you rcv paperwork asking for a list of prior depts where you have applied and it asks which stage you completed then you best be open and honest. We asked these types of questions in the background paperwork/interview though not at the initial application stage.

Any competent bg investigator will find out where and why an applicant has been eliminated by another agency and failure to be forthcoming with info will most likely have very serious consequences.

You decide how you wish to handle this but I would discuss this in depth with your bg investigator as well as your reasons for leaving the CHP.

You can expect that your bg at CHP will be closely examined as well any bg conducted by any agency in the past.

We usually only hired laterals but we did take apps from the street. Even with laterals most applicants fail (or are passed over) out of the process so you are certainly not the first candidate this has happened to.

Remember, you had the tools to get hired once, completed CHP's academy and have some street experience. This puts you way ahead of many candidates. Barring any obvious dq'ing conduct, how a candidate handles the questionable areas of their bg certainly contributes to making or breaking the case. Some agencies will look past some things while others won't. Almost all will pass on dishonesty, deception, and integrity problems. And minimizing conduct is also closely examined.

Again, openness and honesty are your biggest allies in bg's.

Good luck.

[Legoate]

You quit in april and have already been applying to other departments. You say that 5 months after failing out of the process you called to find out why you were not hired.... Sounds like no time had really passed since you were "not ready" to work as an officer at CHP until the point you started applying. I'm almost certain that my department wouldn't even consider your application until a significant period of time had passed for you to mature. Nobody wants to hire somebody who just quit a perfectly good job for no good reason.

If you weren't "ready" to be an officer in april, what have you done to make yourself "ready" now?

[Samuel]

It Sounds like he Was hired, graduated the academy, and then quit/got rolled up during his patrol training period...

[Big Sexy]

Wishy washy much?