Your experience in the military taught you a lot, but now it is time to return to civilian life. If you want to continue using your military skills to help the innocent and bring justice to criminals, though, why not consider joining the police force? After all, you are already comfortable with wearing gear like magnum boots, so why stop now? Keep reading for a few helpful tips that can guide you towards your new career as a police officer once you have left the military.
Start Preparing a Year in Advance
A year before you leave the military, start thinking about where you would like to work as a police officer. Then, around eight months before you leave, you can begin contacting those law enforcement agencies that interest you the most. Fill out interest cards and let recruiters know that you’ll be looking for work.
Five months before you leave, start doing more research into the job market that you are interested in within the geographic areas that you would hope to move to, and attend job fairs to see what openings are available. Continue searching and start sending out resumes about two months before you plan on leaving the military.
By taking these steps far enough in advance, you will essentially be starting the job hunting process prior to officially leaving the military, and job offers may be waiting for you by the time you do leave.
Visit a City Before Applying to Work There
Once you decide that you want to join the police force, you will need to determine where you want to work. There are countless places to choose from all over the country, from rural areas to the biggest cities, but you should visit a location to check it out before you actually apply for a job there. After all, a city’s website may look fantastic, but in reality, it might not be so great. Where you work should be where you want to live, so try to find the right balance and the right location before you apply.
Ace Your Interview
Once you have applied to the police department that you think will be a good fit for your needs and expectations, it is time to prepare for your interview. During the interview, it is a good idea to emphasise the fact that you have developed valuable skills in the military that can now be transferred into work as a police officer.
A lot of law enforcement agencies will immediately see the value of your experience in the military, and they will reward you for it by streamlining your application, waiving your education requirements, adding points to your exam scores, offering incentive pay, and providing service credit towards your retirement.
These are just a few of the steps that you can take if you are planning on joining the police force after leaving the military. Once you find the right department and city to work for, you should find that your military skills translate very well to this new civilian line of work.
