Any Advice?

[benhowden]

I will be applying for the Vancouver Police Department in February. VPD is said to have up to 15 openings by March. I am 21, clean record/history, 2.5 high school GPA, 1.5 GPA one year college, I have been working security at a hospital for the past nine months. I dont know what my chances are but I'm gonna do my best and be honest. Does anyone have any advice, tips, or experiences regarding the testing process? Also any comments regarding what you may feel my chances are would be welcome also. Thanks.

[gamecockfan]

just find out as much as you can about the department before you start your interview process and think of some reasons why you would benefit the department if they hire you. do ride alongs and see what their hot topics are and what they think are the important topics in the community like traffic, drugs, property crime etc.... so that you can form your answers around what they think is important.

[Soon2BeCop]

I've been told by officers that are already in the field that being a security guard type of any position doesn't really improve your chances of getting hired like you'd think it would. I think ride alongs are good to do and give you a lot of insight on what the job is like. I have done several ride alongs, and it really gave me an insight on what a busy night can be like and then there have been some where over the whole 10 hour shift, the officer I ride with only made 2 traffic stops.

[irishlad2nv]

Originally posted by Soon2BeCop
I've been told by officers that are already in the field that being a security guard type of any position doesn't really improve your chances of getting hired like you'd think it would. I think ride alongs are good to do and give you a lot of insight on what the job is like. I have done several ride alongs, and it really gave me an insight on what a busy night can be like and then there have been some where over the whole 10 hour shift, the officer I ride with only made 2 traffic stops.

They did not make the Security Job statement to make their chances of getting hired any better, i think it was brought up to show their background. You are right and you are wrong on what officer have told you. Everybody has their opinion on Security Guards and getting into LE.

[Soon2BeCop]

Originally posted by irishlad2nv
They did not make the Security Job statement to make their chances of getting hired any better, i think it was brought up to show their background. You are right and you are wrong on what officer have told you. Everybody has their opinion on Security Guards and getting into LE.

I agree with you and I wasn't trying to stir anything up. I was just repeating what I was told.

[bb007d]

with only 15 vacancies, my suggestion would be to get the GPA up.
not sure whether college credits are required or not for VPD, but regardless, you would stand a much better chance if you showed a tad more proficiency in college (not meant to be a knock on you, just an observation).
best of luck to you


Originally posted by benhowden
I will be applying for the Vancouver Police Department in February. VPD is said to have up to 15 openings by March. I am 21, clean record/history, 2.5 high school GPA, 1.5 GPA one year college, I have been working security at a hospital for the past nine months. I dont know what my chances are but I'm gonna do my best and be honest. Does anyone have any advice, tips, or experiences regarding the testing process? Also any comments regarding what you may feel my chances are would be welcome also. Thanks.

[VSP_Troop]

I would go back to college and get that GPA up. Get at least an AS degree and try and get it up to a 3.0.

[Frank the Tank]

i dont think a college degree will help you any more than not having one. i dont have one, i have 4 years with no degree, and less than a 2.0 gpa on those 4 years. i think if you are the more rounded person with life experience and a good interview, you will beat out the college grad that lived with mom and dad for their 21 years of life.

[stevedoyon2002]

Frank I agree to a certain extent. Life experience goes a long way, however the more blocks that are checked the better. Also each department is different, some departments are filling thousands of positions each year, while are other departments might only bring in a dozen of new applicants each year. An applicant with a clean record, life experiences such as prior L.E. or military, with a 4 year college degree, who graduates with honors is going to be on the top of the list. If someone can get half of these blocks checked they still have a good chance of getting in depending on how many applicants are going to get in. The member who posted earlier who had the 1.5 GPA, it didn't look likehe had the life experience either. In his case if he can't the experience he needs, then he needs to bring up the GPA.

Just my 2 cents!