Advice needed - Rejected by Police.

calnen

calnen

calnen

Soldato
Joined
5 Jan 2004
Posts
4,063
Location
Chester
This seriously sucks.

I (was) applying to join the police after my degree. I'd passed the papersifts and initial vetting, and had been given an interview date. That took about 7 months. (I applied last october)

I joined a forum with other applicants going through the application process to trade tips etc. (I wont say where.) There was one thread about applications to my specific force which I posted in a few times. One of these posts was just after a phone conversation with their recruitment people, in which they had said they wouldnt be able to confirm the date of my interview until a week beforehand. (Seriously!) This was for a 9-5 assessment day in another county, so required booking trains and a hotel room.
I posted on the forum after this, and followed my explanation of the conversation with " (Useless people!) " - written exactly as there.
People commented afterwards about how it wasnt clear whether I was joking or not - which is true, it wasnt clear.

Earlier today I phoned the police again to confirm the details of my interview, and was told in no uncertain terms that my application had been rejected because of unsuitable behaviour. It turns out that they'd been reading the forum (but not posting), had seen my comment and done some internet snooping (including on this site - he mentioned it as somewhere they'd got some of my details from). They then worked out which applicant I was and rejected me.

This was on a website that specifically says is unaffiliated with the police - its just a neutral discussion board.

What do you people think? I'm in shock to be honest. I was in the middle of preparing for my interview day. I've been in their application system for so many months now that to be rejected like this has just blown me away.
I want to appeal, but dont know how. The man I spoke to on the phone said they've sent me a letter, but its gone to my university address so I cant read it for another week.

Do I deserve a rejection for that? Should they have been reading? Is it actually legal for them to reject me for (perfectly legal) behaviour thats nothing to do with my application, when I wasnt even aware they were reading?

As I said - advice needed please.
 
You Owned yourself don't be clever, take it on the chin. Unlucky.

Thats my cold hard truthful advice.
 
You posted on a public forum attacking your prospective employers.

You're responsible for what you've posted, and they are free to take offense to it. Is it any different from you writing a letter to a newspaper complaining about them?

When you make public statements, you have to remember that anyone can read them, and use them to judge you.
 
Well within their rights imo. Bit of a silly thing to do whether you thought they were useless or not. Just goes to show that posting on the internet does have consequences so maybe you should learn from this and move on.
 
Efour2 said:
You Owned yourself don't be clever, take it on the chin. Unlucky.

Thats my cold hard truthful advice.
Click to expand...

I'm trying to. I'm not trying to shift the blame onto anyone else, just make sense of it.
The main thing I want to know is whether they're allowed to do what they've done. The man on the phone was making a big deal about how I would have failed if I made a comment like that at the assessment centre - and I said fine, but I wasnt at the assessment centre.
Surely its the same in principle as failing me over something I said in the pub?
 
gjrc said:
there must be some recourse....

or apply again next year
Click to expand...

It will be on his file that he has applied and been rejected before.
bad luck, but as has been said, you knew what you were doing.
 
Reminds me when I emailed other astronomers from around the place for help with my dissertation. Word got back to my project turo and he had a go at me, prob getting crap marks now :(
 
I think its pretty harsh tbh - maybe the police should be out catching criminals instead of tracking down what their applicants are writing on the internet :D .

Might be worth seeking legal advice as you have a right to privacy as enshrined in the Human Rights Act, then again, might not be :p
 
Tommy B said:
Write down "gay" on the sexual orientation bit and you're in...

They have to fill Labour's PC quotas
Click to expand...


lol thats a complete myth

but if he wore pink to the interview and wore lipstick guess that would have got him the force lol


harsh mate but you should have kept your head down and not posted on any forum about your application to join the police but can see why

maybe they was afraid you wouldn't keep your mouth shut and may post on here about cases you where working on if you would have joined the police
:D :D
 
Third Opinion said:
Worrying that the Rozzers take such an interest in this forum TBH.
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No. Read the post again and you will see they used his information to trace him to hear which was used to work out his identity.

It does sound like you have been incredibly unlucky but making comments like that was never going to do you any favours. No difference in turning around at an interview and calling the interviewer useless. Would have done you no favours whatsoever.
 
Tommy B said:
Write down "gay" on the sexual orientation bit and you're in...

They have to fill Labour's PC quotas
Click to expand...

Why not cover all the bases and say that you're a gay disabled muslim?
 
calnen said:
This seriously sucks.

I (was) applying to join the police after my degree. I'd passed the papersifts and initial vetting, and had been given an interview date. That took about 7 months. (I applied last october)

I joined a forum with other applicants going through the application process to trade tips etc. (I wont say where.) There was one thread about applications to my specific force which I posted in a few times. One of these posts was just after a phone conversation with their recruitment people, in which they had said they wouldnt be able to confirm the date of my interview until a week beforehand. (Seriously!) This was for a 9-5 assessment day in another county, so required booking trains and a hotel room.
I posted on the forum after this, and followed my explanation of the conversation with " (Useless people!) " - written exactly as there.
People commented afterwards about how it wasnt clear whether I was joking or not - which is true, it wasnt clear.

Earlier today I phoned the police again to confirm the details of my interview, and was told in no uncertain terms that my application had been rejected because of unsuitable behaviour. It turns out that they'd been reading the forum (but not posting), had seen my comment and done some internet snooping (including on this site - he mentioned it as somewhere they'd got some of my details from). They then worked out which applicant I was and rejected me.

This was on a website that specifically says is unaffiliated with the police - its just a neutral discussion board.

What do you people think? I'm in shock to be honest. I was in the middle of preparing for my interview day. I've been in their application system for so many months now that to be rejected like this has just blown me away.
I want to appeal, but dont know how. The man I spoke to on the phone said they've sent me a letter, but its gone to my university address so I cant read it for another week.

Do I deserve a rejection for that? Should they have been reading? Is it actually legal for them to reject me for (perfectly legal) behaviour thats nothing to do with my application, when I wasnt even aware they were reading?

As I said - advice needed please.
Click to expand...

Sounds reasonable, tbh. Your comment showed a distinct lack of judgement, which is a vital skill for an officer. Suck it up and move on, im afraid.
 
spike's said:
It will be on his file that he has applied and been rejected before.
Click to expand...

More important is the reason - it'll probably go down as gross misconduct or something, and I wont stand a chance if I re-apply. I was planning on this being my career for *****'s sake, all because of two words when I was at home, in a bad mood.

spike's said:
bad luck, but as has been said, you knew what you were doing.
Click to expand...

I didn't know that they read the forum, or that they could reject me for things that go on in my life outside.
 
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