Employment Mega-Sites in Criminal Justice

STARTING POINTS FOR BEGINNERS: See my List of Job Titles if you are unfamiliar with CJ terminology and want a peek at average starting salaries. There are some unusual job titles in the CJ field. Also, be sure to make note of the Occupational Outlook Page for sample job descriptions, working conditions, and salary info. See my How to Get a Job in CJ which walks you through a full-length application, interview, selection, training, and promotion process of a civil service-type job. For law enforcement careers, you might also want to familiarize yourself with the Reciprocity Handbook which contains POST Standards for NC and Other States.

In addition, you might want to visit Dr. Carlie's AdviseNet to find out where the field is going, as well as one of the general advice sites below, or one of the more Insider's Guides such as Policecareer.com or the New Blue Line. Also, consider contacting one of the ASC's E-mail mentors at the ASC E-Mail Mentor Directory, although this resource will be more appropriate for the aspiring graduate student. If you're still thinking about continuing on with school instead of getting a job, then check out my CJ EDUCATION page or the American Board of Criminalists collection of FORENSIC SCIENCE GRAD SCHOOL PROGRAMS. For advice on how to prepare for Crime Lab work, see the FORENSICPRESS site.

How to Apply for Positions Advertised on the Internet: Have your resume and cover letter prepared and stored on diskette in text format, sometimes called ASCII or DOS text format. Word-wrapping, embedded word processing commands, and PostScript characters don't e-mail well, so have your word processor save your resume in text format (resume.txt), and check to make sure it looks good when opened by various programs on your computer (Notepad, word processors, e-mail to a friend, e.g.). Tips: use asterisks (*) or plus signs (+) instead of bullets, use dashes (---) to separate sections; DON'T UNDERLINE ANYTHING; Don't use bold type; avoid italics; and don't try to highlight any headers or sections of your resume. See Internet Resume Tips for advice on what keywords to include in your resume.

When you E-mail a resume to an employer, use the job title as your "Subject" line and include any numerical codes for the position that they use. If you are "cold calling" someone about a possible job opening, put your objective "To obtain a position..." in the "Subject" line. When you are posting your resume with a listing service (see General), make sure your resume is in its final (or generic) form, because once you post it (free), most database providers charge (money) for updates. In all cases, follow any specific instructions from the employer or the listing service. Be apologetic if you are sending "unsolicited" e-mail (it's better to go through your school's Career Center; see Internships).

LAW ENFORCEMENT-RELATED: Related Mega-Sites: U.S. Police Departments where Employment Opportunities are often found on agency home pages; see CALEA for a list of accredited police agencies and APAI for a 1996 list of agencies requiring the 4-yr college degree.

CORRECTION-RELATED JOBS:
Corrections Connections The premiere corrections-related site devoted to nationwide coverage.
The ACA Jobs Bank Job listings from this professional association.
NC Division of Corrections jobs Correctional job openings in North Carolina. For Central Prison Positions (C.O., Food Service, Maintenance) go to 1300 Western Blvd, Raleigh or Call 919-733-0800 OTHER STATES: Massachusetts, Florida.
NYS C.O.'s Information Page Correctional jobs openings/issues in New York State area.
JailNet State-by-state information at this well-organized site.

OUT-OF-STATE:

IN-STATE OR NEAR ROCKY MOUNT:

PRIVATE SECURITY POSITIONS:

Airport-RDU (Security) 919-840-3308, apply in person
Allied Security. Send resume to 100 E. Six Forks Rd., Suite 303, Raleigh, NC 27609
Brinks. 601 Mercury St., Raleigh or fax resume to 919-833-6719
APS (Corporate Security) 919-469-4717
Guardsmark 4601 Six Forks Rd, Suite 130, Raleigh, NC 27609
Wackenhut 4505 Creedmoor Rd., Suite 207, Raleigh, NC 27612, 919-881-2000
Watchdog Alarm/Security 919-484-9797
Wells Fargo Armored Car Services. Call 800-860-3442 or 919-469-5992 or Loomis Fargo 919-469-5992

Federal Gateway to Jobs Quick access to some information which is free (example: the U.S. Marshals when they have an "open period"). This place charges ten bucks ($10) for their exam prep booklets and other stuff, which doesn't seem like a bad deal. Of course, OPM will send you exam prep materials free anyway, which in most cases, is more than adequate, but this place is also starting to sell booklets for state-by-state trooper jobs and correctional officer exams. An even better FREE link is at Govtjobs.com.

Recruitment Pages of Federal Agencies This site claims to index these pages for as many federal agencies that do this, but in most cases, the links take you to the agency page.

State Police Information Center Don't let the name fool you; this site has guides to both state and FEDERAL employment, e-mail services, booklets for sale, and the occasional free information, like when the U.S. Marshal's have an open period.

Federal Jobs at OPM The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the official Personnel Office for all federal agencies. Their HUGE jobs page is at usajobs. You need to make note of the vacancy announcement and any supplemental qualifications statement for each job title you're interested in along with the 6-digit control number for the vacancy announcement. To browse through the announcements, it may help to know that criminal justice careers are split into two categories: both Professional Careers and Entry Level Professional Careers. Another way to browse is via Fedworld's FTP site. If this link works, you should start seeing all federal job announcements for the North Carolina area on your screen. For other parts of the country, try Fedworld's Search Site. If you get caught up on a page that keep asking you for a code number, try a series of nines, like 999, and this should let you in. The database is updated every Tuesday thru Saturday at 9:30am EST. You will need Form OF-612 and a resume to apply for most federal jobs. If you have trouble downloading the form, you may find it helpful and convenient to visit one of the regional OPM Service Centers to pick up the form. The nearest one is located at 4407 Bland Rd., Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 27609 and the phone number is 919-790-2817.

GENERAL SITES:

USENET NEWSGROUPS: (Some of these are set up for posting resumes, but most are not, and you can read the latest flame wars.) Here's some common groups:

WEB SITES: (Internet web sites in this area defy categorization, but generally can be divided into three types: ADVICE sites; JOB DATABASES, and RESUME DATABASES. The advice sites sometimes offer the other two services. Job Databases usually consist of job openings that have been extracted from state employment office listings, other sources, and the occasional headhunter or employer recruitment campaign. Resume Databases allow you to post your resume, and are based on the idea that recruiters browse through these in searching for a pool of applicants. Each site has its own "hype" about how many and which kind of employers browse their databases. I recommend the following full-service sites:)

AfterCollege (ADVICE, JOBS, INTERNSHIPS) A good site for everything from entry-level jobs to post-doc opportunities.

Career Overview (ADVICE, JOBS) A good site for exploring different career possibilities.

HeadHunter.net (JOBS) This is a great place to post your resume for free, and look at over 200,000 fairly executive-level jobs in a variety of fields. The companies that post the ads are usually employment search agencies or executive recruitment firms, but in many cases, it's the agency itself looking to find someone for a hard-to-fill position.

Monster.com (ADVICE, JOBS, RESUMES) A frequently pointed-to large site that allows you to post your resume and do other things that employers will notice (follow the "hype"). They have a geographic-based jobs database, some advice pages, and other unique information. Tends to absorb resume-posting sites like America's Job Bank and the CareerWeb which get their information from state employment bureaus.

NationJob Network (ADVICE, JOBS) An online job listing service rated as one of the top 5 in this area. They have a variety of services for job seekers, extensive speciality sites by occupational area, and job openings and company information for thousands of employers worldwide.

Net Temps (ADVICE, JOBS) A good site for beginners to online job searches. They have an extensive database which is updated every 24 hours.

If you're not into posting your online resume and just want to browse, try one of the HUGE, but lamer sites, such as: Career Magazine (the best of this group), CareerNet, CareerSite, or JobTrak. These will provide you with enough links to keep you busy for days. Career Magazine, for example, scans Usenet Newsgroups and provides Forums to ask questions. JobTrak might require you contact your College Career Office for a password.

If you're ready to POST YOUR RESUME (congratulations if you are, because 80% of people wimp out at this stage), then here are the places to go. Don't dismiss the ones I've listed as "partially fee-based" because they might be free to you, but cost the employer to look. Sites with revenue sources usually do a better job of presenting your stuff.

INTERNSHIPS: One of the worst mistakes you can make when seeking an internship and/or job with a CJ agency is to call them yourself via telephone. Most agencies tolerate the usual calls about job openings ("We list through the State Employment Office" or "See our Recruitment Page on the Web"), and some agencies actually do process the unsolicited resumes that are sent to them via e-mail. PHONE CALLS are another matter, especially when asking about internships. In almost all cases, it's best to initiate the process of obtaining an internship through your college or university's internship officer or other official, or if inquiring in North Carolina, you should contact the Director of State Government Internships, 217 West Jones St., Raleigh, NC 27603 (919) 733-9296.

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