question since i'm stressed.

[jm1985]

Hey guys (and gals)
I don't post on these boards much but I do read them regularly, I have however decided to post a question to help ease my mind (or make me worry more). Either way I just wanted some opinions. I will try to keep this as short as possible so please be patient with me.

I am currently in the hiring process with a sheriff's office in my area. I think I have done well so far, I scored a 93% on the written and scored pretty high on the physical fitness. I was then issued a personal history statement/background packet that I filled out completely and honestly. About a week after I turned it in I was called and scheduled for my oral board interview. As i'm sure everyone else was at one point I was a nervous wreck going into my oral board interview. It went very well however, so well in fact that all three of the officers interviewing me said they really liked me and thought I would fit in. The officer in charge of field operations (one of the interviewers) went so far as to tell me that he had been waiting for someone like me and he wanted me working for the department as soon as possible. He then escorted me upstairs to one of the investigators in professional standards, threw my file down on the desk, and said "we want this guy, speed him through the process". and they scheduled me for my polygraph the next night. I'm not sure why they took a liking to me so much, I was just honest and polite in the interview, I haven't done anything spectacular in my life. If anything it is on the contrary

I have made some mistakes in my life and there are things that I had to put down on my personal history statement that I am not proud of, (marijuana experimentation - 4 or 5 times about four years ago, citation for possession of alcohol by a minor, stole some things like cardboard political signs and pictures from dormitory hallways while in college on a scavenger hunt for a fraternity ,to name the more serious of my mistakes). Anyways now I am worried that even though the board of interviewers really wanted me hired that these things are still going to get me DQ'ed by a background investigator. Keep in mind that all of the interviewers reviewed my background packet before even scheduling me for the interview and said that despite my mishaps they liked what they saw, so they were aware of my past. I guess my question is who's word do you think holds more weight when it comes to me being hired, the panel or the BI?

Also on a slightly unrelated issue, I had my polygraph last night and I am assuming I passed since I had nothing to lie about in the first place. But one thing has me worried. At the end of the test the polygrapher asked me something regarding a question in the test which was "Have you used any illegal drugs in the past 12 months" Which I haven't, no if, ands, buts, or maybe's. However after the test was over he asked me "what were you thinking about when i asked you about your drug usage in the past 12 months?" I told him the only thing that came into my mind was when I used marijuana 4 years ago. I just thought it was odd that he asked me this...I have had a similar experience on a poly that I took for another department regarding a sexual crime question, the same thing happened, the polygrapher asked me what i was thinking when he asked me that question. (I passed that test) Does anyone know if this is standard procedure for the polygrapher to ask you about one of the questions on the poly?? I am still awaiting the results of the poly that I took last night.

Sorry this was so long...I guess I am making up for my lack of posts here... Thanks!

[Stormrage]

This is my 0.02, I am not an expert on polys and never had one myself.

But, you stated you were asked similar on another poly and passed, I would lean more towards the "Your alright" side. They may have asked the question to catch you in a lie or anything of that nature.

[itsdalaw1983]

polys are unrealiable, at least you were honest about using drugs and alcohol.

[Sierra]

polys are unrealiable, at least you were honest about using drugs and alcohol.

This response serves no purpose for the OP. Whether the poly is reliable or not is irrelvant in this instance, it is still being used in the hiring process of the agency. :rolleyes:


I do not know of anyone on board who is a polygrapher, but I can tell you that I was asked about questions on 2 of 3 polys I have taken.