Police Recruiting 101: Losing Applicants Before Testing!

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Quick question…what if your police recruiting problem isn’t that you’re not getting enough applicants. What if the real issue is that your best ones are on to the next agency before you ever get a chance to see them? 🤔

This pre-testing scenario is way more common than most agencies realize, and it’s happening quietly, every single day.  Wanna fix it? Keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO, and this week, and this week we’re talking about something that does not get nearly enough attention in the police recruiting world and that is the pre-testing applicant experience. 🙃

A lot of agencies spend a ton of time trying to figure out how to get more applicants in the door. But what they forget about, over and over again, is what happens after someone raises their hand and says 'hey, I’m interested'. 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️

This crucial pre-testing window is where you can lose great candidates before they ever list one job on an application, knock out their first pushup at the PT test, or even have a chance to think about what it would be like to work for you. 💯

Here are the three biggest breakdowns of the pre-testing window and how to fix them…

1. Being ignored on social media

This one is first for a reason…it’s huge.‼️

Someone follows your recruiting page. They comment on a post. They send a direct message with a basic question. And then…nothing. No response. No acknowledgment. Just silence. 👻

From the applicant’s perspective, this can feel a lot like disinterest on your end. Or worse still, disorganization. 🥴

Listen, if someone’s reaching out to you on social media, they’re probably reaching out to other agencies there too. Whoever responds first, and more importantly responds like a normal human being, will instantly have the advantage. 🫶

Here’s how to fix it: treat social media like it’s the front desk of your recruiting unit. You don’t need long answers or some perfect combination of magic words. You just need to acknowledge people in a timely manner. Even a simply reply that says, “Hey, great question, here’s who to contact”, keeps that person engaged and interested in your process. 😎

2. Radio silence after applying

This is one of the fastest ways to lose someone and it’s quite commonplace in police recruiting. 💨

Imagine this…someone takes the time to apply. They hit submit. And then they hear nothing for days, weeks, and in some cases even months depending on the agency’s testing schedule. At best, they get an automated email that thanks them for their interest and explains absolutely nothing about what happens next.  I’m talking, no timeline, no expectations, no reassurances. 🦗

That silence or lack of information creates uncertainty, and uncertainty kills momentum. 💀

Here’s how to fix it: acknowledge every application quickly and clearly. One short email explaining that their application was received and what the next step looks like goes a long way in keeping people around a little while longer. You don’t necessarily need to speed up your process here, although it helps a lot, you just need to communicate it better. 🗣️

3. No clear point of contact

This is a sneaky one, because let’s face it…we’re busy enough without opening the flood gates to questions from applicants…but here’s why you should be doing it. 👇

If an applicant has a basic question about testing, scheduling, paperwork or whatever, and they have no idea how or who to ask a question to…they are then left to sit around and wait.  When someone is sitting around and waiting…they eventually, usually on the quicker end of things, lose interest and move on. 👋

Here’s how to fix it: give applicants a real point of contact. A name and number. A recruiting email. Something that tells them here is a person who can help you. That small step alone builds confidence with applicants and keeps people engaged longer in your process. 😍

Seriously, put yourself in their shoes for a second. Applicants these days are not desperate. They have options. Tons of them.  And whether you realize it or not, they are evaluating your agency based on how this early experience feels to them. 🔍️

When they get ignored, left in the dark, or are unsure of who to talk to, they start connecting dots.  And those dots tell them what it’s like to work for your agency.  Once those dots start feeling negative, applicants aren’t going to tell you they’re out…they just quietly disappear. 😶‍🌫️

Remember…people aren’t going to walk away from your process because of pay, benefits, testing standards, or whatever else you come up with. They walk away because your process feels confusing, cold, or unwelcoming right from the start. 🎯

Fix that with the three suggestions from this newsletter and watch how many more highly qualified applicants you suddenly have. 🚀

Ready for more police recruiting insight?

Now…need some more help building a recruiting process that works from the first point of contact all the way through someone signing their new hire paperwork?  My Road to Better Recruiting online training course is designed to help you do exactly that. 💪

It’s four and a half hours of I should have taken this so much sooner and you can check it out right now on my website by visiting forcopstraining.com/rtbr. 

Know a recruiter who keeps saying, 'we’re not getting enough applicants'?  Share this newsletter with them so they can learn too.  Our profession is much stronger when we’re all working together. 🤝

Have more questions about police recruiting, marketing, or anything else you're struggling with? Don't hesitate to reach out...I’m always here to help. 🙏

Until next week my Police Marketing Squad, happy recruiting! 😃

Tom

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👋 I’m Tom Sye, your Police Marketing FTO. I founded ‘For Cops’ Training to teach Police Departments how to attract more qualified candidates through the same tried and tested methods I’ve used for the past ten years at my own department to keep up with turnover and stay ahead of vacancies.

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