Police Recruiting?

Question

I have just graduated high school and am applying to join the police. They want to know details of my employment history and contact details of my past employers. I have only had one paid job, in retail, which I resigned last week. The trouble is, I resigned without notice because my boss was a complete a**hole and make me work 8 hours continuously without a break (which he denies). I know he is going to give me an absolutely horrible reference when the police recuiting staff ring him.

All other aspects of my appication are great: academic history, academic ability, physical testing, no criminal record, etc.

My question is, will this horrible reference fom my only employer seriously jeopardize an otherwise good application?

TIA.

I should have explained that I'm in New Zealand where you can join the police at 18.

Answer 1

Your background investigator will definately ask about it. The fact it's your only previous employer could be kinda bad, because your potential employer now can't really get a vibe on your work ethic.

Tell your background investigator the whole story, including you think he's going to give youa shady reference, and why. Disclose everything up front, you should be okay.

Answer 2

If you just graduated from high school, you're probably around 18 or 19. Most police agencies won't hire you until you're 21. The fact that you resigned without notice and did not get along with your boss will result in a poor reference and will not make you look good. It can make you look immature and unreliable. You will need to completely explain your actions and use your co-workers as references too, if they are able to verify your claims. The police will look at the overall picture.

Answer 3

Yes, it will, sorry!
You can try the good advice of trooper3, but yikes.
You might think about a couple years in college studying criminal justice, police agencies like that a lot.
And/or get another job for a year, do well there, then try!

Being a law enforcement officer, is a great and rewarding profession, its well worth the effort it takes to get in, and in the US it usually takes a few attempts to get hired on (it took me a few tries), so perseverance may be required!

Wow, they have cops in New Zealand, lot’s of bad sheep, or what? :)

Answer 4

This will probalby not exclude you from employment, but it will certainly make other applicants more desireable.

The department will look at everything, not just employment history. Of course, they will ask about this. Do not try to hide anything. You will be much better off being honest, with explaination.

Prepare to answer questions about this. Be careful blaming everything on the boss, admit if you did anything to contribute to this. Also, if you have coworkers who can confirm he was unfair, ask them if they would be willing to speak to the department. Do this before the interview, so you can tell them to contact your coworkers.

Also, tell them you learned a lot from this experience. That way, if they think you are partly responsible, you can lead them to believe it won't happen again.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Your interpersonal skills are most important with the Police Force...

You just walked off the job!! That is not what they want to see in Police work..

I would talk to my past employer and explain everything, and hope he is the forgiving type.

Yeah, after reading the other posts, aren't you too young and are you educated enough to join the Force?..

We need 2 years of College/Criminology here.. maybe it's different in your State.

Good luck

Answer 6

It could, though they will talk to other people at the job besides just the boss to get the true story.

And, FYI... You can't be a police officer right out of high school. In almost every jurisdiction I am aware of, the minimum age is 21 years old (which is the minimum age to own or possess a handgun).