What You Can Learn From ICE About Police Recruiting!

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Have you seen the recent Homeland Security recruiting campaigns?  Of course you have…they’re all over social media and everyone is seemingly talking about ICE and their recruitment all of a sudden! 🗣️

Wanna know what you can take from their campaign to help you attract applicants too?  And no, it’s not a 50 thousand dollar hiring bonus either...keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO, and this week, let’s talk about ICE and the recruitment campaign that has taken both social media and television advertising by storm!  These ads have been everywhere the past month or so with unbelievable calls to action asking people to help defend the country while also offering a massive $50K signing bonus to newcomers. 🤯

Now…before I get to telling you about what you can recreate from this genius campaign to attract applicants to your agency, let me address a really common misconception that is stemming from all of this and that is the thought that you need a really big hiring bonus if you want to compete and solve your long term retention problems.  🙄

Here’s the truth…and I’ve talked about this before, but that hiring bonus, and I don’t care how big it is, is nowhere near as powerful as you think it is.  It really only attracts one type of person.  Someone interested in money.  And when someone is only interested in money, how long do you think it will be until they are off to the next destination chasing more of it. 💸

Realize this: people leaving for big hiring bonuses is not a retention problem. 🧠     

Now, as for fearing losing out on recruits because they’re all going to go and work for ICE because they’re giving them 50 grand, let me ask you this.  Would the once upon a time version of you, the one who was going through the hiring process with your agency and wanted this job so bad they could taste it, suddenly turn your back on achieving that dream of being a Police Officer and go work for an agency that really doesn’t do the things you dreamed of doing all because of a hiring bonus? 🤔

That’s right...and neither will your future applicants.  ICE will get the applicants who are right for them, and you’ll keep the ones who are right for you.  No bonus in the world is ever going to change that. 💯

OK…now that we got that out of the way, it’s on to the real reasons why this ICE hiring campaign has caught fire and what you can duplicate to do the same at your agency... 

1. ICE is capitalizing on what makes them…them!

Every single advertisement you see from this recent ICE hiring campaign has one thing in common.  They all highlight the job that ICE does and what makes them unique.  🦄

From the bold ‘protect your country’ headlines to iconic images of Uncle Sam and his famous pointing because he wants you…ICE isn’t relying on the tired and ineffective ‘come see if you have what it takes’ or ‘work for the best’ cliches that we as police agencies seem to be so fond of.  Nope.  They are hitting people right in the feels…telling them they’ll have a chance to do something meaningful and fulfilling…you know, what people attracted to this line of work really desire. 🤩

They’re not wasting their time showing off the air units or tactical teams that applicants won’t be able to qualify for until they have several years of experience at the agency.  Instead, they’re telling people the exact job they’ll be doing and how it will make them feel when they’re doing it.  That’s what you need to be pitching too. 🎯

2. They’re very excited about themselves

The general tone ICE is conveying in their advertising is one of excitement, opportunity, and passion for what they do, and it is resonating with audiences.  Let me give you a real time example of how that works…

If I would have started this newsletter off by saying, ‘ICE has a 50 thousand dollar hiring bonus…you're never going to be able to keep up…and there's no way for you to overcome this' you would have blown right by this thing and would never even begun to read it! 🤷‍♂️

Listen, people like to feel like they’re a part of something big.  Something exciting.  Something so incredible, they don’t want to miss out on it.  If you can’t portray excitement about your agency and its openings and are just going through the motions with your job postings because no one's going to apply any way, why on earth would any applicant ever be excited to work for you?  This is a big lesson to learn from ICE. 💪

3. Portraying positive in your police recruiting no matter what

Despite the negative news stories and constant bashing on social media, ICE isn’t letting any of that rain on their advertising parade.  Again, they’re showing off who they are, what they do, and what an awesome career they have for you to be a part of. 🙌

They don’t care that some people hate them.  They don’t care that some people leave bad comments on their posts.  They only care about attracting applicants who want to work for them and they’re constantly hitting them with an array of positive messages about their agency and the job that is available.  That’s how you gain people’s attention and get them to gravitate towards you. 🧲    

All right.  Want some more tips just like these to improve your police recruiting and start attracting applicants to your agency again? 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️

My Road to Better Recruiting online recruitment training course is open right now and will teach you the exact mindset and strategies that I’ve used at my agency for the past decade plus to keep up with vacancies all without having a massive hiring bonus or dumping endless dollars on recruiting solutions. 😎 

Check it out now on my website by visiting forcopstraining.com/rtbr and start recruiting like it’s 2025. 🚀

Know someone in recruiting who’s feeling like they can’t compete?  Share this newsletter with them so they can learn too.  They’ll be really glad 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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