The Application Process

June. We were married. Officer decided he wanted to be a cop. We talked about the job. We prayed about it. We came to the conclusion that we were both jumping in one hundred percent. He would apply and I would support him. The application itself was about twenty pages. We filled it out together. He wanted to make sure he did it just right so he would have me read over everything he filled out. He mailed it off and the long wait began.

July. Physical and written testing took place on a Saturday. The physical test was held at a local school. There were about a hundred people there to “try out”, of those I think there were three women and the rest were men. They ranged in age, weight, height, and background. I remember a few of the people who didn’t pass. One older man who was former military, I remember thinking he seemed to be all talk and living in his glory days. There were a few men who, while I applaud the fact that they tried, they were too over weight to accomplish the tasks. I also remember a woman who was very short. I would guess she didn’t even hit five feet tall. She didn’t make it through the 1.5 mile run with in the time allowed. There were also others who sailed through the physical test. I remember being amazed when a very tall lanky man made it through the run in under seven minutes. I assume he ran for the track team in school. My Officer was in the middle. He hates to run so he didn’t do as well on that part, but his upper body strength is outstanding so he accomplished the sit-ups and push-ups with ease. I was worried about how well he would do an the run because he broke his leg in January and it still gave him trouble from time to time. In the end Officer passed the physical test easy peasey. Instant gratification on this part of the process, you make it or you don’t.

I went to cheer on Officer. I also wanted to spend time with him. As you may know weekends are precious. The more quality time you can spend with your spouse the better. I thought this would give us some time together. I was wrong. I was very glad I went, don’t get me wrong here, but I was a bench warmer while he did the physical testing and I was waiting in the local library for hours while he accomplished the written testing. I was bored out of my mind! I consider myself a very active person and while it was not hard to occupy my time in the library the anticipation and waiting was hard for me to do. When he finished for the day (an hour after he expected) we headed home talking all the way. Though he thought he did well on the written test he would not know how the results for a while.

September. The results are in. He passed! Officer did well on the written. He made it in the top 70%. The department assured him they would call and let him know when/if he made it farther on in the process. More waiting. Not our favorite thing but better than hearing a “No.”

October. He made it to the first interview, exciting and nerve racking for both of us. Officer did everything right. He attended all the optional interview what-to-expect sessions. He talked to as many police, sheriff, and firemen as he knew. He asked questions. He wrote out and memorized a short bio. He learned about the department, the chief, and the city.

The day before the interview his parents came down for a visit. It was good timing for us because we had an extensive background and family information packet to fill out. His mom and I spent the entire afternoon filling it out for him while he was working. I don’t think he could have done it on his own, I’m glad his mom and I could help. Just so you know it was also like 20 pages long.

The morning of he took the day off to prepare and relax. Much to his chagrin Officer woke up with a sore throat and a voice that was fading. I think he ate cough drops all day long. I still had to work so I kissed him good bye, wished him luck, and told him I’d pick him up when he was done with the interview.

I finished work and drove to meet him and his parents for a late lunch. I was excited for him. He thought it went well. He was only worried about his lack of experience, though I think that is to be expected of a 24 year old. Only time would reveal the truth to us. If he made it past this he would be called back for a second interview. More waiting, hoping, and praying…

November. The callback interview finally came! Relief. He was not out of the woods yet but made it on. 800 applicants were slowly weeded out and there were now 40 people competing for 8 open positions. The interview came and went. It was much like the first, he did really well he thought... but then we didn’t hear anything more.

January. One day… two day… sorry you’re still waiting honey but I got a real career job today! And that is how it happened. We both graduated in December the year before. We both had found jobs to pay our bills. His job was working on a ranch, mine making coffee like I had since I was 16 years old. They didn’t pay much but they paid for our studio apartment, food, and car... Living on love... I think there is a country song about our lives at this time. Our days began early 4:30 AM Monday through Friday. The days were wearing us down and we were both looking for other work, careers that would allow us to pay back the thousands of dollars in student loans we acquired in college. I mentioned to some of the regulars at the coffee shop that I was looking for other work. One of them told me there was an opening in his office upstairs. I gave him a cover letter and resume the next day. The day after that he asked me to come up and talk with him after work, and the day after that he offered me the job. Just like that I would start a new career. After my two weeks were up at the coffee shop I moved up and started working on the 19th floor. Officer was jealous at how fast I got my job. He had been working at becoming an officer for months and I had a job, just like that, in three days.

Will we ever know if you made it? That was the thought we kept coming to as we waited. We had heard from a few of his references that they had been called and asked about him, but that was more than a month ago. Finally in the end of February we heard from the department. He received a conditional offer of higher in the mail. Though exciting, a “conditional” offer of higher just makes you aware that the job is not yet yours. He had to complete a psychological test and get a physical from the department’s doctors. The offer also said that it was contingent on there being a position available for him when and if these tasks were successfully completed. As you already know Officer passed both these test too. He would start as a police officer March 1st! The waiting was over. We finally knew. There was an end to the toils and it was grand.