Would you hire me?

[NHashim]

Hello everyone, I've been browsing this site for a while now and I thought it would be a good idea to get some feedback on my background. I'm pretty confident right now, although I do have some possible red flags. So, here it is...

22 years old.
By May of this year, I will have a bachelor's degree in Political Science & International Relations. I have a 3.7 GPA. Since I was a freshman, my GPA has not gone below 3.3.
I was accepted to Marine Officer Candidate School last summer; however, I had to leave after one week of training due to family issues.
I have volunteered at the local hospital, and the local church, throughout my teenage years.
I have two speeding tickets, one warning for speeding, one ticket for doing a "rolling stop" through a stop sign, and one warning because a tail light was out. All of these have occurred over two years ago, except for the tail light warning.
I was suspended from high school twice. However, my HS principal still stays in touch with me and I plan on using him as a reference (so hopefully that will help mitigate any concerns that arise from my suspensions?)
I smoked weed about 15 times in high school, during the summer after my freshman year.
I didn't drink underage in high school, although I did drink underage when I first started college.


Hmm I think I'll stop there. Is there anything else I should bring up? Any advice/feedback?

Thanks for your time.

[Kimble]

I was accepted to Marine Officer Candidate School last summer; however, I had to leave after one week of training due to family issues.

You don't have to go into specifics of this here online, but expect to be asked to do so with any agency you apply to. If you quit OCS because you couldn't hack it and blamed it on "family issues" that's not going to help your cause. If there's legit family emergency problems that occurred that's another issue, but expect to have to go into much greater detail with whatever agency(ies) you apply to.

[NHashim]

Thanks for your response. The issues were definitely legitimate, and if necessary I have records from doctors to explain the circumstances.

[ChaosXIW]

Hmm I think I'll stop there. Is there anything else I should bring up?

My last DUI said "I think i'll stop there" after about 5 steps on the walk and turn.

Don't stop until you have said everything.

[NHashim]

Okay, I'm not entirely sure what else to bring up though. I have no criminal record. However, the illegal things for which I haven't been caught for are smoking pot about 15 times in high school. The kid who got me to try drugs died in a drunk driving accident, he lived right across the street. One year later, my other neighbor also died in a drunk driving accident. Drugs and alcohol have very little appeal to me, and I've been very determined to get a career in law enforcement so I've made my best effort to stay away. Although I did attend a few parties where I drank underage my freshman year in college, seeing people passed out in their own vomit just sort of reaffirmed my disinterest in alcohol.

I also have a daughter; however, I'm not married, but I do support my girlfriend and daughter to the absolute best of my ability.

One thing that could be an issue is that I was fired from a job in high school. The manager said he was "overstaffed", and to the best of my knowledge, I did not violate any policies that could have justified being terminated. This occurred about five years ago.

[NHashim]

Here's a question:

With this information, do I appear to be a competitive candidate, or an average candidate?

Or is that question too open-ended.

If it helps at all, I am in great physical condition, and can easily score over the 85th percentile for most agency physical requirements.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

Okay, I'm not entirely sure what else to bring up though. I have no criminal record. However, the illegal things for which I haven't been caught for are smoking pot about 15 times in high school. The kid who got me to try drugs died in a drunk driving accident, he lived right across the street. One year later, my other neighbor also died in a drunk driving accident. Drugs and alcohol have very little appeal to me, and I've been very determined to get a career in law enforcement so I've made my best effort to stay away. Although I did attend a few parties where I drank underage my freshman year in college, seeing people passed out in their own vomit just sort of reaffirmed my disinterest in alcohol.

I also have a daughter; however, I'm not married, but I do support my girlfriend and daughter to the absolute best of my ability.

One thing that could be an issue is that I was fired from a job in high school. The manager said he was "overstaffed", and to the best of my knowledge, I did not violate any policies that could have justified being terminated. This occurred about five years ago.

We would consider smoking marijuana 15 times beyond a level that could be considered 'experimentation'. Your mileage on that may vary depending on the agency, but for my department and those in this area, it puts you in the 'average' camp at best.