agency hire eligibility??

[2wheelryder88]

well i guess ill start by giving a little background on my situation..
im 21 yrs old ive worked since i was 16 never got in any trouble. i worked as a commercial electrician from when i was 18 up until december of 2008 because of this crappy economy i was laid off. as a result of that i fell behind on a credit card and my motorcycle payment. since then ive fixed the situation and am current on all my bills.

ive been looking into applying at fontana pd do you think my short time of credit trouble will disqualify me?

[retired]

Not necessarily. They would recognize the fact that you lost your job and that affected your ability to pay your debt. They would also look at the fact you have now taken care of that debt and are caught up. Those are pluses.

Now, the negative: They would also look at your spending habits prior to losing your job. If the cc debt was for high priced, frivolous items and you were living well beyond your means even tho you were employed, that will look bad. That goes toward your judgement.

Talk to someone in recruitment at the PD and let them tell you. Be up front; don't hide anything as integrity is everything. They may tell you a certain period of time needs to pass to show how responsible you are. Good luck.

[Jonathan Doe]

Make sure you have a good writing skill. It will be a big help.

[cmonk518]

It might be extremely difficult right now! I just checked for another thread, all the additional federal grant funds for city agencies comes down to barely squeezing 2 to 3 officers into their annual budget.

If that is the case and hundreds apply in every agency every year, they are definitely going to pick people who really "shine" or hire extremely experienced officers who have already been in the field.

In a great economy and no budget cuts, they can afford to hire lots of officers, but with only 2 or 3 allowed annually, they can certainly be nit-picky as much as they want in 2009 and 2010. I would think that kind of officer would be in his late 20s early 30s with college education, maybe background in criminal justice or law, been in explorer or military, extremely fit, and an extremely clean background. Those that fit this category are not that hard to find in CA, thats why they always have a priority over someone with a young age and maybe poor credit score. Poor credit score can definitely hurt your chances if put next to a bunch of applicants who have good scores.

You should definitely look at the other recent forum post on ShaolinCrane who got DQ'd from LASD. He's the same age as yourself, so you may find it a very relevant...

[2wheelryder88]

ok thank you ill try to get a hold of someone with their recruitment department.

[fullrearview]

Every dept. and background process is different. Some will let you explain, others wont. With your age it will be tough getting a paid trainee position. If you can afford to, put yourself through. That will make you better on the budget and you can volunteer until you get picked up full time.

Just make sure you stay current on all your bills from here on out and you should be fine.