Personal Development (or a follow-up to my most frequently asked question.)

Most people get home from a long day at work or school and need to give their precious time to the people most important to them, their family. With a policing application you need to have a balance amongst all aspects of your life, this means you must demonstrate a commitment to your community, volunteering is expected of you and you need to fit it in somewhere. Volunteering can manifest itself in such a large variety of ways. Don’t get anxious or worked up about it, if you have just begun the testing process or are preparing for testing, now is the time to get on those volunteer experiences. For instance, to volunteer as a big brother or sister you need to commit to a minimum of one year. If you don’t have the time to consistently volunteer yourself then look for volunteer opportunities where you volunteer for one day at an event where you don’t have to make an extended commitment. This could include the kids school, a local church, community centre, maybe you volunteer your time to a fundraising cancer research car wash. Local fundraisers and community projects typically offer these kinds of one or two day volunteer experiences. Get yourself out there and research opportunities within your community. Also, never overlook the possibility of getting your family and friends involved, volunteering can be fun events. Services look toward those who have a balance in their lives, education, family, work, giving back to the community. You must fulfill this criteria to some satisfaction in order to make it. This doesn’t mean that someone with little to no volunteer experience will not make it or get a call. They do, however, in many instances when they’re waiting to move on to the next interview stage, have a background investigation or are waiting for their offer of employment they get rejection letters because someone else was a more competitive candidate. Don’t let this happen to you, there is absolutely no reason why a lack of volunteering should hinder you in getting hired.

Let’s talk about a different aspect of personal development. Have you ever taken a defensive driving class? You need your full G license for all Ontario Police Services and I highly recommend a defensive driving class, it’s a great way to increase your driving confidence and develop some skills you may be rusty with. Have you ever handled a firearm or handgun before? In Canada in order to go to a shooting range and fire a handgun in a calibre larger than that meant for squirrel and rabbit hunting you must posses a valid Possession Acquisition License (PAL). PAL’s come in non-restricted only or both non-restricted and restricted. Restricted firearms are all handguns with an exception to some that have barrels so short they are prohibited, less than 106mm. Non-restricted firearms are most rifles and shotguns. In order to have a restricted PAL you must take the course for non-restricted. Regardless of whether you are a law enforcement officer or not you must follow the same rules as citizens and have a valid license in order to privately own a firearm. Many Police Constables purchase the same pistol they are issued on the job to practice or compete with. Typically this will either be a Glock or SiG. Typically chambered in .40 S&W. I am a great advocate of the shooting sports and highly recommend getting your non-restricted, restricted PAL if for nothing more than to learn to identify ammunition, identify the types of firearms and understand how those firearms operate in addition to safe handling. This includes loading, unloading, how to prove that they’re safe, and many other very interesting facts about ballistics, safety and general information on firearms including the specifics about Canadian firearms law. During my testing process I took the non-restricted and restricted PAL courses merely for personal development. I had never had any interest in firearms, seen a real firearm outside of a rifle rack at Canadian Tire or a museum let alone touched one or fired one! The PAL course was a huge learning experience. I also must admit, I’ve really come to love shooting as a sport.

A few messages have come in since last weeks post asking if all this development is really necessary. It is! I hate to hark back on a subject I wrote so much about only the week before as I’m sure you’re all probably sick of it but think of who a Police Constable is; I believe it’s a proactive person. So, yes, take any and all training available at your workplace, demonstrate that you are committed to developing yourself, maybe take the new guy under your wing at work, demonstrate your willingness to help, support and share with others to see them grow. You may find yourself asking that question all over again “Is all this going to get me hired?” Well, yes. You’re making experiences that develop your competencies, fill your resume and most importantly these things combined make you a more competitive applicant!

Professional Development (or my most frequently asked question).

I am making this post in only week three of the blog because I really want everyone out there who is pursuing a career in law enforcement to be mindful of and begin their professional development now. I often get asked the same question by friends, or friends of friends at all different stages, whether they have not yet begun testing, are in testing or have already applied to a service only to receive a deferral letter, no call back at all! The question I get asked all the time: "What does it take to get called in for an interview?" Thats right, just getting called in for an interview can be a challenge when your application and resume are amongst thousands of other applicants. I can only speak from my experience and those related to me by friends where I know the facts remain intact. So, what does it take? I tell everyone the same thing about applying, it’s not just meeting standard on your test scores but being the whole package. Throughout the process of getting you're certificate of results, you're used to or at least will get used to only meeting standard, if you score better than standard, you don't get a mark to reflect so really all you need to do is just pull your own weight but this isn't right for any other aspect of the Constable Selection System. Although police services are trying to fill their numbers of recruits, the process is highly competitive. My police recruiter told me that most applicants feel they are entitled to a position with the service, this just isn’t so and, an attitude like that surely won't get you far in the process.

Professional development is easily attainable and should include night school or continuing education classes if you have been out of school for more than two years. Ask your employer, they may cover the cost of some classes if it’s related to your industry. I recommend attendance based classes for full-time employed people, it means no tests and few assignments, just show up, be a part of the class! This also could mean getting your Grade 12 diploma if you don’t have it, if you don’t have it, ask your current employer, they may be willing to subsidise the cost. Most community colleges have programs aimed at adult learning and obtaining your grade 12 equivalency. At the time of applying I had been working for two years at the same job and had not been in school for three years. I applied myself to two attendance based night school classes. They were thirty hours in total each, once a week each, for ten weeks. My classes both ran from six thirty until nine thirty. The fortunate thing with night school classes is they realize your brain is ready to shut down by nine and they typically let you out early!

Just those two classes did it for me, I fulfilled my portion of the commitment to continuous education, it is a developmental competency after all! If you’re not available on weekdays there are daytime continuing education courses and weekend classes available as well. Don't feel intimated by going back to school, the continuing education teachers are trained to work with adult learners and in my experience have a lot of respect for people taking the intitiative to better themselves. Also, don’t underestimate the value of a second language class. For those people who are efficient and like to kill two birds with one stone, I would recommend any second language classes as you’re demonstrating your commitment to continuous education and also developing a second language which is very valuable on your application and could result in you getting an interview sooner.

If all of the above fails in motivating you to get signed up with a continuing education class, I have one last piece of information that should speak volumes. In the future when it comes time to have your behavioural interview, you can only draw on experiences from work, education and volunteering; These experiences must be within the last two years. If you're mindful of the competencies, you know you need as much ammunition as possible, taking a continuing education class will surely give you more experiences, especially recent ones to draw from.

Professional development also includes your Standard First Aid certificate and CPR level “C”. Yes, this is a requirement of police services so, take advantage of the discount offered by Rescue Seven to testreadypro.com members. Again, your employer may pay for part of the First Aid or CPR certification.

Lastly, go to the website, call the recruiting branch of the police service that you plan on applying to. Research if they have any specific requirement for the position of Police Constable. You can learn a lot from their recruiting web pages and get guidance from recruiters about how to make your resume/application as strong as possible for their specific recruitment. It could even be skills that you will be tested on that you had no idea would be necessary to be hired. I mean it, it happened to me! Be proactive, find out what you need to do to be as competitive in this process as possible. In doing so you may develop a relationship with your recruiter, they may offer mentoring services, privately, one on one in their office at the recruiting branch and, most importantly you could also be developing some of those competencies when it comes to interview time.

It’s not a decision or career move, it’s a calling.

Once in your life you may feel a great sense of responsibility. Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel called this duty. “the duty of our generation as we enter the twenty-first century -- solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick, and those in despair. It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanizing meaning to a community.” Marcus Aurelius, last of the “Five Good Emperors” of Rome and, a brilliant philosopher, did not regard this as duty but love. The meek will quote Frederick Buechner “a calling is the place where your deepest gladness meets the world's deepest need.” The truth about a calling is that you don’t do it because you have to, someone asks it of you, you do it because you truly want to. The motivation to become a police constable is of you.

Great; I now know what I want to do, where do I sign? Unlike military recruitment efforts, joining a police service is precursor with standardized testing. In Ontario you must first provide an Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) certificate of results (COR) before you can even apply. Once you have your OACP COR and apply, you will have to complete one or two competency interviews (ECI and/or DCI) in addition to a local focus interview. If you’re successful with all of the above you will have a written psychological interview and then an interview. This entire process is known as the Constable Selection System, it is standardized and implemented in all of Ontario since February of 1998 (with a few exceptions, including Peel Regional Police). The interesting thing about the Constable Selection System is that you can obtain your Certificate of Results from either the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) or Applicant Testing Services (ATS) www.applicanttesting.com. Keep in mind the testing is no different with either and they will both charge you the same fee.

So, who do I recommend you test with? Whoever has the most convenient test date and closest date location to you! I know guys who tested with ATS and applied to the OPP and were hired, it really doesn’t matter who you test with. What does matter though is the attention you pay to when you take your tests. Of course you want to be prepared to write your tests and feel confident in knowing the material but the most important thing about submitting your police application is timing. What I mean by timing is it’s wise for you to submit your application within a specific window of time to coincide with the hiring waves. As once you are hired you will be sent to Aylmer, Ontario home of the Ontario Police College (OPC) where you will undergo basic constable training. If you want to try and be hired for a September semester at OPC you absolutely must have your application package submitted for early June. For a January start at OPC have your application in by September. Finally, for a semester start of May you need to have your application in early January. Three months does seem like a lot of lead time but keep in mind you must wait for your resume/application to be processed, you must have a competency interview, a local focus interview, be subject to a psychological written test and one on one meeting in addition to having a medical and background clearance. As if all this wasn’t enough there is one time line you have to keep in the back of your head, your OACP COR. Each test you took expires and you must retest completely in order to update your certificate. This will not cause a problem for most people as the average expiration time is three years except for the Physical Readiness Evaluation for Police (PREP) which expires every six months. Every portion including your PREP must be fully maintained and up to do date from the day you apply to the day you go to OPC. So, be mindful of when you take your tests, you need to start the testing process at least two months before you plan on applying, if you have recently had laser eye surgery or plan on having laser eye surgery you need to start the testing process three months before you plan on applying as a small amount of paperwork spaced by a mandatory 28 day and 30 day waiting period must be filled out. No, there is no chance of this paperwork being filled out faster. Don’t worry, I tried myself and to my dismay it withheld my own COR delaying my application submission timeline.

I know some, if not all of these seem like great hurdles to overcome but there are many resources out there to help you and ultimately what it comes down to is applying yourself, putting the man hours into studying, exercising and simply having the passion to pull yourself through this process. In saying that, I highly recommend the services of John Belisle. He is a former Peel Regional Police member who now teaches at the Brantford Campus of Mohawk College. You will meet him on the training day that Test Ready Pro offers. At this event he has an in depth analysis of the competencies and interviewing. John offers his service as a private tutor/mentor to students. Try using John as a tutor for one of your areas that you’re having difficulty, in my case it was the WCT. (the WCT material on testreadypro.com is John’s formula that I followed for a pass on my WCT!) You will be receiving guidance from a person who really knows how to motivate his students to success. I started this blog off with motivational quotes from great people, I want to finish this weeks blog by saying I know this isn’t an easy process, the only thing easy about it is getting discouraged. If you’re pursuing this career because of a calling, don’t give up, whether you fail a test or tests, you can re-test, you have the resources before you, challenge yourself every day whether it be some math questions/problems you figure out on your lunch break, a jog every night before dinner, read a chapter from a novel before bed to improve your communication skills. Whatever it is that will help your weak areas or fine tune your good areas, do it. Don’t stop that momentum, moving towards your dream.

Allow Me To Introduce Myself.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Timothy Gordon and I am a successful police constable candidate. It’s in big part thanks to testreadypro.com that I am here, able to share my experiences with you. Let me firstly say good for you for catching the “bug”. You’re taking the steps towards a rewarding and exciting career. Also, you’re being proactive to seek out resources to help you be successful in this process. That initiative will keep your head above water when it looks or feels like your chances are drowning. TestReadyPro.com has everything you need from start to finish; I really do recommend it to all my friends. Whether it be written or behavioral testing, preparing for the physical readiness exam, putting together the perfect police resume, acing the interviews or most importantly keeping yourself motivated through the process, this website will guide you to success.


This blog will be updated frequently, so please feel free to comment on the blog and leave your questions, if you prefer a more private method, email me with your questions, I will write back. Also, don't miss out on the TRP Forum - it's a great place to connect with other applicants. My story very simply begins like most of yours, a little less than a year ago. Maybe you, like me heard that your local police service, the O.P.P. or even the RCMP needs recruits. By all accounts it seems to be an employees market out there. I started with a web advertisement for the RCMP and, after checking out the website, calling the recruiting hotline and visiting an information session in my town, it was then that I caught the “bug”. The unfortunate reality for me with joining the RCMP is that for a minimum of five years I would be far away from Ontario, let alone south west Ontario, my home. I knew that it would put a strain on my relationship with my fiancé; I began seeking out information on joining my local police service, to my surprise there was a recruitment shortage across the province, my dream of being a police constable was becoming realized. Now the problem was actualizing my dream!