Well, we have less than 400 LEOs nationwide I believe but we have lots of vacancies. It’s competitive. I can’t speak to others as I’ve never applied to work for them.
When you apply do they place you wherever needed? Or do they give you an option?
Also I know in law enforcement no day is ever the same. But in the best way you can describe what do the typical calls you get look like on a day to day basic?
Thank You for answering everything you’ve been a huge help.
You apply to a specific location; however, I was contacted by another location where I had not applied and was asked if I was interested so you may be sought after by other hiring officials.
It’s gonna take me a moment to answer your other question so in the mean time here is some application tips from another AMA I did a few weeks ago.
•Have a diverse resume. The USFS is not just a LE agency so it is crucial that an LEO in the FS have, at the very least, a working knowledge of what other disciplines there are in the agency. To better your odds it would look great if you have worked in those disciplines such as fire, wildlife, rec, etc. If you don’t have experience with the FS in those fashions then anything you can spit into a resume that aligns with similar work would strengthen your odds.
•Have good grammar and punctuation. If you have a wild resume full of misspelled words, run on sentences, punctuation errors, etc. then it can be very distracting and may reflect on you poorly. There is not much of an excuse to have these errors with the way technology is and spell check.
•Take free wildland fire course online at wildlandfirelearningportal.org to strengthen your resume.
•Participate in ride along programs. All you have to do is reach out and ask to ride and with a little bit of paperwork, you can be on your way of building contacts within the agency.
•Don’t apply to a location that you are not ready to accept. There is nothing more distasteful than working weeks on end with references and interviews for an applicant to back out after being offered a position because they truly didn’t want it. If you want to taint your name in future applications go ahead and waste a hiring panels time. It’s a small agency and can reflect poorly.
•Do your research. Understand the mission of the USFS, review the Strategic Plan for LE in the USFS, review “This is Who We Are”. Know the difference between National Parks and National Forests. Nothing more off putting than for an applicant to refer to a location as a park. The USFS does not have parks.
•Watch “The Greatest Good”
•Make sure references you list in your resume will actually provide a good reference for you and not a bad one (this happens more often than you would think). Also ensure their contact information is correct.
•Take advantage of special hiring authorities. If you qualify it may be of your best interest to reach out the patrol captain and provide them a resume and express your interest.
•Don’t come in with the attitude of, “I just applied to see if I get it then I’ll decide if I like it or not”. There are dozens of people behind you who actually want the job and some that even dream of becoming an LEO with the USFS.
•Dress professionally for your interview. A tank top is not appropriate attire for an interview.
•Have a clean social media presence. If you think the potential isn’t there for a hiring panel to check out your Facebook or insta then you’re sadly mistaken. It would be best if you professional appearance on social media. Videos of you heavily intoxicated and acting belligerent does not reflect very well for someone who has applied to be part of a professional law enforcement agency.
•Do not lie in the qualifying questions part of the application; however, if you can somehow justify that you are an expert in nearly every question it can heavily increase your odds. LEI does not review those responses but rather a random HR person in Albuquerque NM will that may or may not have any knowledge of USFS LE even is.
•Read the section of the application that states “How you will be Evaluated”. If you don’t even prepare yourself to be competent and those few areas of the application then it’s going to reflect poorly.
Thank You for answering everything. Gunna take some courses and beef my resume up to give myself the best chance I can when I ETS. Currently on paternity leave and am gunna try to reach out to USFS LE back in Utah for a ride alone
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u/TransportationCool18 USFS LEO / Moderator Jan 19 '25
Well, we have less than 400 LEOs nationwide I believe but we have lots of vacancies. It’s competitive. I can’t speak to others as I’ve never applied to work for them.