Police Recruiting Mindset Maintenance: Recruiter Refocus!

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Feeling a little burnt out lately from your Police Recruiting duties?  😩

Believe you me…I’ve been there!  Let me teach you how I snap out of it and reset with these key three Police Recruiter refocuses...keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO, and this week let’s talk about your mindset a little bit…we haven’t covered that in a while, but it is so important to not only your production level but your overall well-being as well. 🧠

Look, I know you’ve got a lot going on and the pressure to hire people and fill those vacancies of yours can feel like a daunting task.  And why wouldn’t you feel that way…every single day you’re in a super competitive race for applicants and have people constantly asking when you’re going to hire more of them.  Trust me, I’ve been there a million times and know exactly what that feels like. 💯

So, whenever the everyday pressures of the job get to be too much, I want you to remember and utilize these three recruiting resets to help get you back on track…

1.  Police recruiting is supposed to be fun

Often times lost in the sea of looming deadlines and mounting pressure is the fact that you work in police recruiting and are supposed to be having fun!  It’s the very nature of our job.  Talking to people about how great it is to work for your agency and how much they’re going to love it. 🙌

So, whenever you start to feel that negativity starting to creep in, squash it by calling an applicant to tell them some good news like you’re getting close to getting them to a conditional or a final offer, go talk to a co-worker and ask about some of their great candidates and why they like them, or quite simply take a minute or two to yourself to think about some of the awesome people that you’ve hired in the past. ☺️ 

Do this as many times as it takes to get you right…because when you are not at your best and aren't quite feeling like your typical friendly, outgoing, and welcoming self…your applicants will feel that too. 😳

2.  Remember that nothing is un-overcomeable

This is a lesson I’ve taught every single one of my trainees who have come into the Background and Recruiting Unit over the past decade plus and now I’m passing it on to you... 👇

👉 Nothing that you do in backgrounds and recruiting is un-overcomeable. 

❌ Filled out the wrong form in processing an applicant? 

✅ Fill out a new one and turn it in. 

❌ Forgot to ask a question during a background interview? 

✅ Call them up and ask it. 

❌ Misspelled something in a social media post. 

✅ Smash that edit button and correct it. 

There’s literally nothing that can’t be fixed…even hiring someone you shouldn’t have.  Remember new hires are probationary in nature and can be let go when you discover the mistake, especially if it’s shortly after their start date. 🤷

Does this mean you’re not going to face some side eyes or razzing?  Absolutely not…in fact, you should expect it…but rest easy knowing everything can always be fixed. 👍

3.  Never forget what you’re really doing here

Again, it’s so easy to get caught up in how busy you are on a daily basis that you forget what you’re actually doing for a living…and that is helping people and changing lives.  In fact, let me tell you a story… 📖

About a month ago, I attended a retirement party for an old supervisor of mine in recruiting a few years back.  About an hour into the party, a familiar face arrived in the form of another guy I had hired around nine years ago or so.  As he gazed across the room and spotted me, his face lit up with excitement, as had mine, and we exchanged a nice hug and a warm hello. 🤗

I congratulated him on his promotion to Sergeant a couple of weeks prior and told him how proud I was of him and his accomplishment.  He was excited too and told me about where he was going to be working and who he would now be supervising. 😄

We introduced our wives to each other and then he told his wife…“this is Tom Sye”.  Her head snapped towards him as if to say ‘is he the one’ as he confirmed, “he’s the one who hired me”. 🫡

A giant smile came over her face, as she turned towards me, raised her right hand, planted a high five on me and warmly said ‘thank you so much’.  🫸🫷

You see, even though nearly a decade had passed since he was a new hire…all these years later, they were still so appreciative and happy for the opportunity a position with our agency had provided for their family. 👏

That, my friends, is what this job is all about.  Never lose sight of that.  Every single day, you have the opportunity to change someone’s life for the better.  Keep that in the forefront of everything that you’re doing, and watch the stress and pressure simply melt away. 😎

Need more mindset shifts like the ones in this video to get you back on track and attracting high-quality applicants again? 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️

My Road to Better Recruiting course is enrolling right now and will teach you how to adopt the perfect mindset for recruiting, how to evaluate others in your charge, and will give you all the tools you need to start recruiting like it’s 2025.  Check it out now on my website by visiting: www.forcopstraining.com. 

Know someone in recruiting who’s been struggling with the stress and pressure of everything our job entails?  Share this newsletter with them so they can breakthrough too!  They’ll be sure glad that you did, and I’d appreciate it too. 🤝

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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