subject: Do You Really Want To Become A Police Officer? [print this page] At a time when the every country is fighting to break out of the recession, many people look for a safe and secure job. These types of jobs are normally found in the public sector where the job involves providing a public service such as a police officer, fire-fighter or paramedic. These are essential services and are often seen as recession-proof jobs which is why they appeal to so many people.
Don't get me wrong, these types of careers appeal to people when countries are not in recession it is just that the job security is highlighted more in tough times. In the United Kingdom alone an estimated 70, 000 applicants submit an application form to join the police in the hope of starting a new career yet only a small percentage of these actually go on to obtain the desired career.
So you would think that applying to be a police officer during a recession would be a job move?
Well, on the positive side, should you be successful, the police officer once completed their training starts on a very good wage, they are often required to work shifts which means greater flexibility and they are not limited to the so called 9 to 5 office routine that most people are desperate to escape. In addition to this, there is usually an annual pay review, the opportunity of promotion and career development, a pension scheme and housing benefits. All of this would seem to suggest a good reason for making an application.
However, what many candidates fail to take into account is that during times of recession the police forces are typically forced to find ways of reducing their spending and cutting costs. The first aspect which is not caught up in this cost saving exercise is the hiring and training of new candidates. It is not cheap to put applicants through the recruitment process and then train them to the point where they are ready to head out onto the streets. During 2009 there have been months where none of the police forces within the United Kingdom were recruiting new candidates.
So what does this mean for applicants now?
Well, it simply means that when police forces do open their doors they will be flooded with more applications than ever before, which means that the competition is going to be even greater and you need to ensure you stand out from the other candidates. Before we entered the recession period police forces would have to actively advertise that they were recruiting in order to get candidates to apply, however this is no longer the case. With rising employment the amount of people looking for a safe well paid job grows each and every day.
A great example of this was when a police force in the UK opened its doors for just 2 hours. All they did was allow applicants to download an application form within those two hours from their website. They then had one week to complete the application form. There was no advertising of the position what so ever and they were inundated with hundreds of applicants.
