Hiring?

[Unregistered]

I saw a job posting for USF Police Department St. Petersburg campus. I have 13 years experience as an Officer and Detective at the Philadelphia Police Department, now I am living in another state and currently a reserve Deputy (volunteer), and the Criminal Investigator for the County Attorney's Office (unworn position here). My family and I are moving to the St. Pete area in October, or sooner. I am searching employment opportunities and saw USF was hiring, but the application seems to weigh heavily on military service points. I have not served in the military and was wondering if there's still a possibility to get an interview. Thanks for your help!

[Unregistered]

I saw a job posting for USF Police Department St. Petersburg campus. I have 13 years experience as an Officer and Detective at the Philadelphia Police Department, now I am living in another state and currently a reserve Deputy (volunteer), and the Criminal Investigator for the County Attorney's Office (unworn position here). My family and I are moving to the St. Pete area in October, or sooner. I am searching employment opportunities and saw USF was hiring, but the application seems to weigh heavily on military service points. I have not served in the military and was wondering if there's still a possibility to get an interview. Thanks for your help!

You shouldn't have any issues, assuming a clean record. There's more of a focus placed on hiring people that already have a good amount of prior experience, regardless of military service.

[Unregistered]

I have a spotless record, thank you very much for your insight! Do you know how many openings there are or when the hire date may be?

[Unregistered]

Right now there's only one open position that has been created. That could change down the road, depending on people leaving/retiring, but for the moment they're just interviewing for the one spot.

[Unregistered]

Oh, and not sure on the hire date. It's a new position that was just approved in the new budget, so I imagine they'll try to fill it quickly.

[Unregistered]

Thanks again for the info, I won't be holding my breath until I get a call haha. But I will keep my eyes open for future job opportunities.

[Unregistered]

Thanks again for the info, I won't be holding my breath until I get a call haha. But I will keep my eyes open for future job opportunities.

Actually, with prior experience like you've described, I think you've got a really good chance of getting a call back. Most of our guys came from other agencies, including two that were chiefs at other departments prior to coming to us. I don't think you'll have an issue at all. It's laid back, very much about visibility and community policing, like a small town department, but because of the location in south St. Pete, there's also plenty of self-initiated if you want it. Hopefully this was helpful, and I wish you luck.

[Unregistered]

If you're interested in St. Pete, avoid USF Tampa, it's a completely different animal

[Unregistered]

If you're interested in St. Pete, avoid USF Tampa, it's a completely different animal

Having experienced both, they've both got pros and cons. It all depends on what you're looking for when you relocate. St. Pete doesn't have the size and resources that Tampa does, but the work environment is very good, and the department is steadily growing under the new chief. The pay scale is the same at either campus, but Tampa does offer more varied work assignments, plus a take-home car program. St. Pete is very liberal with allowing time off, but Tampa offers more training opportunities. St. Pete has 15 sworn, plus the new position, which sometimes creates tight scheduling. Tampa has almost 4 times as many officers, but they also have a larger jurisdiction.

They're both decent departments, and coming from a big agency like Philly, I doubt you'd have any issues at either place.

[Unregistered]

Is there still the one spot open, or are there other openings?