What should i do in this situation?
Asked by
tedd (
14088
)
November 1st, 2010
A week or two ago I found online and applied for a series of forensics jobs in Pittsburgh (I live in Columbus OH). I have wanted to get into forensics for a while, and graduated college with a degree in Chemistry and a minor in Criminology. Upon graduation I found that my lack of experience and choice to stay in Columbus for at least a year found me no Forensics jobs, so I opted to go to a basic analytical lab where I’ve worked for the last 13 months.
Well I applied to those jobs, taking caution to get the best references I could and such, and directing it to a specific HR persons desk (its a county job, so they have an HR dept. for the entire county). Well I followed up with the HR person today, and the gist of what I got is that they do open acceptance of applications for all of the positions I applied for, so that when they do need one they have a pool to pull from. Needless to say I was disappointed.
Well long story short, I want one of those jobs, badly. I want to get into forensics and I want to get out of Columbus. So the idea has occurred to me that maybe I could e-mail/call/whatever the head Forensics person directly. My current idea is that I would explain the situation to him, tell him I’m dying to get into forensics and really would like to join his group, and ask if maybe we could work out an internship, or even volunteer work (which I would do in a heart beat).
Do you think contacting the guy directly is a good or bad idea? If you did it and you were in my position, how would you ask him about a position, what would you ask him for, etc?
Suggestions please?
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7 Answers
I don’t see how it could help. Most supervisors would simply send it back to the HR. They don’t have time or the interest to do the job search routine.
I would call. It gets your name into his head and if he gets any say in the application process (like HR asks him to pick out of a select few applicants), your name will pop in his head and he’ll know about your enthusiasm. It could also lead to the supervisor asking about your application while they are still accepting applications.
I don’t see how it could hurt. It may or may not help, but it almost certainly won’t do any harm.
Go for it. A lot of times, enthusiasm is looked for more than out and out experience. Enthusiastic people want to learn, become good at what they do, and so are often times very hard workers.
I’d write a brief letter summarizing your training to date and ask them to expect to hear from you within a brief, specified time. Follow up and ask them how to create an opening for you to work and expand your skills within their institution.
If i had my life to go over again and i had you credentials and the desire to go into Forensics, i would first apply to a police department, in a city that you have always thought about becoming your home. i would apply and attend thier police academy. then become a sworn police officer. once this is under your belt, i would eagerly seek to be transferred to a Forensics position. a good example is the TBI in my state. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. they have probably the most up to date lab facilities in the south. you would become a Forensics Criminal Investigator. this position pays really good in my state.
This is just one example and i am sure other people will have more suggestions.
In order to be successful, you might have to transfer to a different location. be prepared for this.
I would approach it from the perspective that you are interested in getting into the field, and would like to know what the optimal qualifications would be to be a successful candidate for the position you applied for. If you have an undergrad degree and most candidates have a master’s, then you’ve identified one obstacle to overcome in order to be a successful candidate. Ask if there things that you can do, or learn to do in your current role that would be highly transferrable to a forensics position. Sometimes landing a position takes a lot of work, and initiative is a desirable characteristic in a candidate.
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