Ask A Recruiter – Question #231
Posted by aguintu
College Senior aspiring for Law Enforcement Career.
I currently attend UC Davis and am graduating at the end of this school year (06/2013) with a BA in Psychology. I plan on applying to the police force and was wondering what would be the best type of work/experience for someone fresh out of college to make them a more competitive candidate? The application process to get into the academy is pretty lengthy and was wondering what would you guys recommend someone does while going through the process… Any related info is appreciated!
Dear aguintu,
First of all, congratulations on your upcoming graduation. The process can be very lengthy in regards to being hired by an agency (Sac PD). There are a couple of things you can do to make yourself a more viable candidate.
First of all, I would suggest that you go on a few ride-alongs with not only our agency, but with others in the region. I would definitely recommend doing a couple of different shifts on different days. See what graveyard or swings is like and make sure you do a weekend evening where the city can get extremely busy. You can find a ride along application on our website: http://www.sacpd.org/getinvolved/ridealong/
Second, if Sac PD is where you would like to work, I would recommend becoming a volunteer within our department. We have a very good volunteer program that is run by an officer within the department. That way you can get a feel for the agency from inside and get to know some of the people that make the ultimate decisions on the hiring process.
Sacramento Police Academy
