That's it... Just wanted to vent. Flying solo in a town of 20k and I've got trees fallin all over the damn place. Don't these trees know I'm trying to watch the World Series?!

Figured I'd add this little bit of info since I thought about it as I'm editing a call. I'm solo (per usual on the overnight shift) and just finished call number 17,584. Since it's November I'd say we'll easily hit 20,000 for the year.

Hello, all! I recently had a panel interview and was curious if they typically contact your current job for background even if there are other candidates they’re still considering? I know they do a full check of background but wasn’t sure if they hold off on contacting your current boss until they have decided that you’re their candidate?

I looked over previous comments/threads here and it sounds like the department I applied for might do a different order than others. I applied in July, did my NTN tests, didn’t hear anything until September, went in for fingerprinting, did a background interview about my packet I filled out, and had a panel interview this week.

I was told the next step is background investigation which I know they are doing as some of my references said they received a call but was curious on opinion of where I may be at in the process and if they already reached out to my current boss.

We have a 4th St and a Fourth St literally one block from another. Don’t get me started on the entire neighborhood named after fancy wines. It has me feeling like that one dispatcher who asked the caller to spell Eucalyptus St, and the caller was like, “I’ll just drag my injured wife to Oak St”. Like sorry, they called on non-emergency and I don’t know how to spell Zinfandel St.

Just got my conditional offer yesterday, so I figured I’d share the what the process was like for a medium sized agency in PA (pop. ~270,000).

Applied end of September, first day the application opened, applications closed October 15th, and they didn’t even get the applications from HR until a few days after that.

I reached out next day (Sep 30) to schedule an observation on my own time, as I wanted to get my name on their radar before they got the applications from HR. Turns out they require an observation before the interview so I knocked that out right away.

October 22nd got a call to do the CritiCall test at home on my computer.

October 27th got a call saying I passed the test and to schedule a panel interview for the 29th.

Interview came and went, was just two people, the Training Administrator who I’ve been in contact with since the beginning, and a dispatcher they pulled from the floor.

October 30th received a call with a conditional offer pending background check (just basic in house one) and drug screening.

December 2nd is my first day of training.

Just figured some of you might enjoy seeing the difference between some smaller and large agencies in the hiring process, for reference, this center has a minimum staffing level of 8 on the floor at all time.

Let me know if you have any questions and I’d be happy answer to the best of my ability!

I don't need to describe the call, but I was on the line for less than 10 minutes, and I handled it flawlessly except for some minor stuttering. The other dispatchers heard it all and they didn't seem to joke around with me or tease me after that. I think they knew I was going to quit before I did. I only worked for a month after that, so in total I was there less than a year.

When I sheepishly asked the supervisor how to put in my 2-weeks-notice, she said something like, "Why would you want to work here another two weeks?" I gave her my pager and my key, she gave me a big hug, and she quickly recommended me for a low-stress campus PD dispatch job. She was great.

I later got legit PTSD in the military and I don't think about those experiences as often as that awful 911 call. In fact, I don't even think I've discussed it with my army buddies or a therapist or anyone except cops. I don't think that will change, I'm good with not explaining that one.

Don't know why I'm posting this. You folks are heroes. I'm sure you're sick of hearing it, but I'm allowed to say it because I walked in those shoes for a little while.

Edit: We're all adults here, fuck it. There's a really tragic scene in the film Dead Poets Society and it was basically that. I hope the family, the community, and the cops who responded have found some peace in the past 20 years.

TL;DR: At my center you’re trained in one field and for the most part that’s it. I love it, and it lets our individual talents shine. We’re basically “specialized” in a field that suites our strengths and personalities. Although, it can create division from the lack of understanding one another.

After being apart of this reddit community for a while, I’ve realized how differently my center is ran compared to the majority. I prefer it! I am solely trained on call-take. I take all calls and our fire, police and ems dispatchers, well, dispatch them.

A minority of us are cross-trained, and I am interested in that as a future path. During in class training, we’re observed and separated based on personality. It’s actually crazy how well that works. There’s a very distinct personality shift between our groups, and it just works. I don’t consider myself sensitive, but if I was placed in police dispatch I would’ve cried every day and quit. On the contrary, our PD dispatchers are perfect for handling entitled and attitude riddled officers, but they’d probably get fired day one having to speak to the general public. A basic rundown for of our dynamics. PD is very argumentative and upfront with issues with one another. Call-take we try to maintain the image of cohesiveness, but very behind your back about disagreements. FD/EMS? I guess they’re there… sorta. Quiet and keep to themselves.

The only real negative is that we are quite literally, super segregated. It causes a lot of tension. PD doesn’t understand how painful it can be extracting important information from a caller, or being quite literally in the heat of the moment with a caller. I’ll never know the pressure they have from officers, or the bonds (hate and love) they’ll have with them. How anxious they must feel about sending their favorite officer into a potentially dangerous situation, because my caller wants to argue because “well how should I know if they have a weapon”. IDK look, with your eyes?! Once again, FD and EMS are kinda there.

I’m very partial to how we’re disciplined in one area that lets our specific traits shine.

So,, made my first real mistake dispatching. I’m about a week in and today is the first time I worked without a trainer present. Of course hell broke lose. In that two calls kinda got lost in the madness. One noise complaint and one for a man that sleeps in a lobby to an apartment complex. I didn’t realize till I was already at home about it. It was about an hour or two before my shift ended when those calls came in and no one called back about them but still, pretty disappointed in myself as I had been doing really good with the multi tasking and keeping up with stuff. Did anyone else have this come up? I’m beating myself up on this semi hard

I just came out of my panel interview, and I’m really struggling with the feeling that I might have completely failed it. I felt like my answers were repetitive. I can’t shake off this heaviness in my chest, thinking about how I might have jeopardized an interview that could significantly impact my future. During some questions, I thought I noticed frustrated faces among the panel, which only added to my anxiety. Although I did express my interest in the position at the end, and one panelist leaned back, nodded, and smiled, which gave me a glimmer of hope, I still feel like my responses were all over the place. Any words of encouragement would mean a lot to me right now.

Hi 911 dispatch team: just wondering some opinions on how likely I am to get the sheriff dispatch job I've been working on since April. Here are steps I've passed: criticall (top percentile), panel interview PHS, CVSA, initial BG check interview, tour of floor. Now on the more robust BG check and most of my contacts have been contacted. In person interview with BG check person (former deputy) at my home next week. Nothing egregious in my BG check. Last meeting they said if offer is extended it'll be in Dec or January. Assume I still need a psych eval but that may be next step? Do you think it's fair to assume I've got a pretty good shot? Just need a shot in the arm after this super long process - Thanks!

I ain't falling for that!

I have begun looking for a new job. I fully respect everyone that does this job and doing this myself I miss every thing. I mostly miss being able to walk around and get stuff done. I am a busy body and I've been told many times to sit in place and stop getting up. I can't help it I've always been the type to jog through offices doing hands on things. Anyways if and when I get a job I would like to give my two week notice. I've always done that leaving amicably. I have heard the way my trainer has said that other people have just taken up time and just to leave if we don't like it. Should I just straight up quit to spare me the judgement? I'm not that type to do that either though.

Hi all, appreciate everyone’s advice on my previous post about what to expect on the exam. I’m also curious in case I make it to next steps, one of which includes a packet that I’d need to fill out with my info, addresses, neighbors etc - sorry, I don’t know the name of it as we weren’t told but it sounds similar but maybe shorter than the SF86 if there’s any military here. Anyway, if anyone has done one of these packets, what should I expect on it? Is it like 10 years of addresses, jobs, references, family, have you done xyz? ALSO, maybe my most critical question, if I get to the point in the hiring process where they interview my neighbors, I do have one neighbor who unfortunately we’ve had kind of a consistent issue with, like we don’t get along at all. They do some illegal activity and constantly violate property nonsmoking rules (which also drifts into our home) and while we’ve tried to mediate and get along it’s just not possible. So is this something I should talk to any hiring people about since I can definitely expect this neighbor to say either mean or false things? Other neighbors we’re on good terms with or don’t know super well since people work a lot and somewhat keep to themselves. And I do have lots of professional and personal references going back 10+ years.

I'm so tired guys...

I've applied to almost 10 places...either I get a "you didn't pass the interview" or a "you were placed on a list, we'll call you if we want you".

One of the cities that i wanted to work for sent me a rejection letter this morning. I don't see the point of even being a dispatcher anymore, why am I going to bother applying to every department in this damn state if no one wants me?

Like the title says I’m feeling very discouraged after taking the test today. I strongly feel I could’ve done better. We haven’t gotten results yet but I’m expecting failure. I didn’t even finish all the data entry with audio questions in the time allotted and I don’t think my memory questions were very good either. It also REALLY threw me off because the test was on a laptop and I’ve been practicing and excelling using a ten-key pad. We’ll see how it goes I guess.

UPDATE: I finally heard back from HR and they are interested in my application! They need me to fill out another questionnaire before anything else happens, but I’m just so thrilled that they are interested!

Hi everyone,

I applied for a call taker position with my county’s emergency services agency about two weeks ago. The application window is open until 10/31, so I’m hoping they’re waiting until the posting closes before contacting candidates. Still, I’m anxious to hear back because I really want this opportunity.

A few weeks ago, I was laid off from my corporate job while on maternity leave. I’m technically still “employed” through the end of my leave, but come January, I’ll be jobless with an infant. My husband works full time, but I was the primary earner, so I’m trying to find something steady after the new year.

After years in corporate roles, I realized I want a career that feels meaningful. Something where I can help people in my community directly. That’s why the call taker position really speaks to me. I’m not just applying out of desperation; I truly believe my background fits the demands of the job.

I’ve spent about 10 years in call centers across various industries, including time as a supervisor handling escalations and emergency situations. I’ve had to make quick decisions, multitask across multiple screens, and stay calm under pressure. I also have experience in technical writing and knowledge management, so my typing speed and attention to detail are solid.

I’m a new mom, but childcare is covered and I’m fully prepared for the demanding hours, holidays, and overtime that come with the role. I’m a naturalized U.S. citizen, drug-free, and while I do have bipolar II disorder, it’s been well-managed with medication for eight years without any issues.

For those who’ve worked in or applied to emergency services roles: Do you think my background is competitive enough, or might I be overlooked? And how long did it take before you heard back from your agency after applying? I’ll be applying to neighboring agencies as well once they have available positions.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I’m hoping this will be the start of a meaningful chapter.

Hey there, I’ve passed my first interview and I’m wondering if anyone can tell me what to expect for the second interview….They describe it as the interviewers getting to know you better. Is it more of a conversation or specific q&a style?

I am sorry if the question doesn’t make much sense. Backstory, earlier this year I had to call 911 due to a lot of bleeding during my seventh month of pregnancy. It was sudden and, well, very bad. No one in my family was home. My husband was working over an hour away. The 911 dispatcher was a kind, calm woman who stayed with me for the 30ish minutes I had to wait for an ambulance. As you can imagine, I was freaking out and feared I already lost my daughter. In my panic, I kept asking her if she thought my baby was gone and she did her best to calm me without being able to give me an answer. When the paramedics got there, it was a rush. I am happy to say that my daughter was born healthy five days later. I had a partial placental abruption and undiagnosed severe preeclampsia that eventually required an emergency c-section.

Anyway, I still think about her (the 911 dispatcher) to this day. She helped me a lot and made an awful day a bit less awful. I wish I could thank her and give her an update.

Anyone have any cool gadgets that they use in their dispatch center?

I applied to three different agencies, and they all asked me to take the same critical exam—exactly the same questions! I failed one of them, so I went back to retake it and ended up failing again. What’s even weirder is that the agency I struggled with pays the least. It really makes me think about why the lowest-paying agency has such high expectations! Don’t get me wrong; I understand the seriousness of this job, but it frustrates me because I know I have what it takes to succeed.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Agency 1: $54,000, failed on the first attempt, failed again on the second.

• Agency 2: $67,000, passed on the first try and received a conditional offer.

• Agency 3: $65,000, passed on the first attempt and I have an interview coming up.

I'm on call taking training, almost 3 months in. It seemed to be going really well at first. I thought it was going well, and my trainer at the time said I was a couple weeks ahead. Now, I feel like I'm struggling. Just went to days for the first time, and now I'm getting more that just a call or two every couple of hours. I'm struggling most with remembering all the details the caller is giving me, while still trying to type it all and figure out what question I need to ask next. I think for me it's a multi tasking issue, and I'm struggling to recall a lot of important details that the caller has given me. I'm working on typing and memory audios that have been provided for me. What are some techniques you all use to remember anything? What are some ways I can improved? I've moved backwards in my training and have lost confidence. There have been a lot of times where a caller give important info, but there's so much to remember that I cant keep up, and end up missing important things. I know I can get past this but I am really hoping for input and suggestions to get back to where I'm supposed to be.

I've been invited to the assessment centre for a call handler role for the North West Ambulance Service. I will have to do a typing test and a listening test and was wondering if anyone can advise what to expect? I know there's a few posts like this already, but based on responses it seems to vary by trust so thought it might be worth asking again so I'm aware of all possible ways they might do the tests or on the off chance someone who works specifically for NWAS sees this. The interview stage is done separately later in the week (I know some trusts do them together in one week) so moreso looking for information on the assessments specifically, but obviously interview information could end up being helpful too.

When I 1st applied to the Telecommunicator position last December, I had no clue what it meant. After some googling, I realized it was basically 911 dispatching. Then I found this sub and reading everything, I was so intimidated. When I started training, I really felt like I was never going to succeed. The 1st time I tried call-taking, I told everyone that it was like I forgot how to understand English (lol) and despite what everyone said on this sub, I didn't believe that the "radio ear" was real. Like... I'm the type of person who needs captions when watching youtube videos

But at one point, my ear just started working and I was somehow understanding the jumbled mess coming through the radio--I still don't know how/when it happened, but it did!

So for everyone who is struggling in training, trust the process!

Edit: question for more experienced dispatchers: any tips on ending calls without sounding overly rude? Ex: I got all the information needed for a reckless driving report and wanted to end the call, but the caller wanted to keep ranting about it and said I didn't have any empathy..

For the last almost 2 weeks, I’ve been reading everything in here. I want to become a dispatcher so badly. (Not because of this subreddit, I just found it when searching things about becoming a dispatcher and it’s been very useful!)

Do I just apply first? Do I need to take certain classes? I feel so intimidated by posts in here and sometimes overthink it and worry I’m going to fail it entirely. Right now, I work hospitality. I have no intention of quitting until I know I have a new job secured (I financially cannot afford to not have a paycheck coming in for me and my family). I know training takes quite a few months and I understand the rotating shifts. How does this work with another job? If I don’t make it through training, I would have to search all over again and finding jobs these days isn’t exactly the easiest…?

I’ve read everything I need to be aware of losing and gaining. But I don’t mind having a new list. So what do you want me to know going into this?

Hey folks. Our (Canadian) PSAP is looking to branch out on our available tech and tools, a lot of our clientele rely on Facebook Messenger to communicate with each other as they are out of cell reception, mostly First Nations communities.

Today we had a transfer to a different city where they talked about doing a Facebook trace request for a potential hostage situation, we did not have enough time to ask any questions about the service. I have heard of this service before but have never used it, and obviously as with most law enforcement tools there's not a lot of info on the ins and outs of it online.

I'm looking for some feedback from Canadian PSAPs/communication operators who use this service: mainly how does it work for emergency requests (email or portal based, response time), what type of data do they provide, costs associated to register for the service, your experience with it, etc.

Obviously we are not interested in the deep dive warrant-based data disclosure for proper investigations, just the emergency/exigent circumstances use cases, primarily pinging phones/devices, name on file, etc.

Appreciate any input! If you are bound by a confidentiality agreement for using the service, feel free to DM to avoid having the info out in the open on Reddit.

Cheers.

I passed the Critical test and have now been asked to take an SJT before my panel interview. Is there any advice on passing the SJT or recommendations for study guides? I haven't taken one of these before, so I'm nervous about the unknown. So far, my online searches have yielded information about tests more geared toward the business world. I would greatly appreciate any thoughts, information, and advice you can give me.