USSS Hiring Advice (specific)

[markg131313]

Right now I'm several months (May) from graduating and I'm about to turn in my initial paperwork for USSS SA and UD. I happened to run into a USSS recruiter today at a career fair on campus and apparently I impressed him enough that he said 'do not turn in your paperwork, but make an appointment to sit down with me after you graduate.' He said I was one of only two people he gave his card to today. So, my question is...do I turn in my paperwork anyways and call him when I graduate...or do i just wait until I graduate. My big concern is the timeline...if I wait until after I graduate, who knows how long it could take to get hired. However, he stated that they hire how and when they want and there's no reason that it has to take so long...Thoughts????

[eastcoastskiier]

To my knowledge, it will still take 6 to 12 months, as that is the "normal length" for the application to go through the proccess.

If I were you, I would put my application in anyway. How do you know this guy is acutally going to remember you with all of the job roles he has as a special agent.

Thats just my two cents though...

[raven52]

I had a similar thing happen to me. I would send your papers in now. I didn't even get to take the test.

[Whats_Shakin]

you should probably just send in your paper work. what he said about hiring when they want to has some truth to it, but remember you have multiple steps to the hiring process to complete, and it takes time (months) to do. They wouldn't side or short step any of that proces. My opinion is the sooner the better.

[Puffy6460]

markg131313,

If you are a 22 year old undergrad student with little else on your resume, my advice would be to slow down if you are looking to land a Special Agent position. The VAST majority of the "competitive" applications have one or more of the following: prior military, prior law enforcement, graduate degrees, foreign language expertise computer network expertise etc.

This recruiter may be trying to help you out by not having a record of your application be rejected. Instead he may direct you to get some of the above training, experience and maturity. (The average age of a new SA is 30.)

Best of luck with your choices.

[markg131313]

Thanks for the replies! I'm noticing more and more that the age factor could pose a problem. I have an internship with ATF on my record, but little else besides internships and campus jobs. What about if I went UD for a few years then moved on to an 1811? Would that be a good route? Thanks.

[justice12]

UD is a great way to get into an SA position. Another great way to get an SA position is to go with the Border Patrol for a couple of years. If I could go back and do it again I would have gone to the BP definitely right after college.