Police Officer Hiring Process – Job Announcement
Because law enforcement job openings are with public agencies, they will always be publicly “posted.” The saying that a job has been “posted” means that it has been announced. Often, law enforcement job openings are called “vacancy announcements”
Most if not all information about the job opening will be contained in the announcement. It is extremely important to have a thorough understanding of all of the information contained in the announcement. Failure to do so can cause your application to be rejected. It is very commonly for “highly qualified” job applicants to be removed from consideration because they did not take the time to thoroughly read and understand the information contained in the vacancy announcement. However, they were in fact “highly qualified” because they did not have the ability to read, understand, and following instructions.
The vacancy announcement will contain the following:
- Job Title
- Job Description
- Pay Rate
- Application Deadline
- Minimum Qualification including:
- Educational Requirements
- Work Experience Requirements (if any)
- Certifications
- Age Requirements (minimum and maximum if any)
- Citizenship
- Disqualifiers
- Information about the Hiring Process
- How to Apply Information
- Agency Contact Information
If the job is of interest to you, make certain that you meet the minimum requirements. Make a note regarding if there is a application deadline, exceptions will not be made for this deadline. If you have any questions regarding the job announcement, ask. If there isn’t a contact person listed in the job announcement, contact a recruiter from that agency. Otherwise, contact the personnel department from the city, county, or agency that the job is with.