Juvenile Detention Officer 

How did you get your current job?
Referral

What was the application process?
Resume

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
I had one interview which was a group interview.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
They asked me what experience I had, my education, they gave me different scenerios and asked me what I would do, they asked me why I was interested in this particular position.

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. I knew how each shift worked, and specifically how the shift I was going to work ran. Each policy and proceedure was explained to me in detail. I was given a lot of hands-on practice with every aspect of my job before I was allowed to work by myself.

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
I had to do 120 hours of training with a training officer and on the three different shifts at the facility. It was learning about the facility, the policies and proceedures and the way the different shifts worked.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. I feel that it helped me understand how the legal processes worked but I never had classes on how juvenile detention facilities ran so I was not educated about that. I did have several classes in psychology so I was able to understand some of the illnesses some of the children here have and why they have them.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
Yes. I did my internship in juvenile probation so I already worked with troubled youth. I had been to the facility I work in before and knew some of the people that worked here. I had already made some contacts which helped me feel more comfortable in my interview.

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
I would recommend that they tour some facilities similar to the one that they are hoping to work in. Also, having worked in a residental treatment facility, working with children, or in any type of job which relates to children will definatly help you when applying for this type of job.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
They must like children! They must be tolerant, flexible in terms of hours- they will be working shift work, which means working weekends, holidays, birthdays, etc… They must be able to control their temper because the type of children I work with like to test your boundries and see how far they can take you.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
I believe a Bachelors Degree is helpful in being successful.

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Be ready to realize that you don’t know everything! You have a lot to learn, despite your age and experience. The children you will encounter are unlike any children you have ever met. Some will be “normal” and some will literally be “mentally unstable”. You will meet kids you love and kids you hate and you will have to learn to work with each one of them.