Employment Question

[DispatchWannaBe]

I am interested in a Civilian Dispatch/Communications type job.
I have applied and tested and will be interviewing shortly.

I have smoked marajuana twice (Oct 2001 and December 2001) Prior to that, it has been several years before that time that I smoked.  I didn't/don't use any other types of drugs, and at the time I did in 2001, I was not employed. (Lost former job Oct 2001 as result of 9/11...) I'm a very limited drinker..ie 1 or 2 beers per event (family gathering/holiday/social) totaling maybe 10 times a year. (diet coke, well.....that's another story!)

My question is, with my history, do I even have a chance?

Can anybody give me information on what will be on a Psychological exam?

And last question, about polygraph.  A former co-worker who after two tries, got on as a Civilian dispatch told me that on the first test she took, the tester said at the end of the test that he thought he had used a childs cord//tube//(the thing attached to chest and waist to measure heart-rate and breathing) instead of an adult one.  Would that impact the test/test results?

Thanks  

[beech trees]

I am interested in a Civilian Dispatch/Communications type job.
I have applied and tested and will be interviewing shortly.

I have smoked marajuana twice (Oct 2001 and December 2001) Prior to that, it has been several years before that time that I smoked.  I didn't/don't use any other types of drugs, and at the time I did in 2001, I was not employed. (Lost former job Oct 2001 as result of 9/11...) I'm a very limited drinker..ie 1 or 2 beers per event (family gathering/holiday/social) totaling maybe 10 times a year. (diet coke, well.....that's another story!)

My question is, with my history, do I even have a chance?

I would think the answer lies within the department's drug usage policy for civilian employees. That information should be contained somewhere in their information/application packet, on their website (if they have one), or it could be answered by the department's information officer or Human Resources.

Can anybody give me information on what will be on a Psychological exam?

It varies widely, but again that phase of the testing process should be spelled out on the application.

And last question, about polygraph.  A former co-worker who after two tries, got on as a Civilian dispatch told me that on the first test she took, the tester said at the end of the test that he thought he had used a childs cord//tube//(the thing attached to chest and waist to measure heart-rate and breathing) instead of an adult one.  Would that impact the test/test results?

Apparently not enough for the polygrapher to be concerned. I'm not sure what the difference between an adult or a child's monitor is, but I suspect it's simply the size of the device.

[x5bmwx5]

If I were you, I would not mention it. Most dept. have a 1year minimum for drug use. Although different dept have different standards, 1 year seems to be the norm. Good luck.

[DispatchWannaBe]

Nothing in the application/information packet on the departments policy...and I guess I would be afraid to call and ask Human Resources.  But a fireman friend said "one year" is a good/general time line.  Currently I'm in the application/hiring process for three local departments.

As far as not mentioning it, isn't that the type of question that would be involved in a polygraph and if I didn't answer truthfully, have the "negative" reaction? I thought it might help to advise I was unemployed at the time, and would not have made the same choice had I been employed.  

Thank you to both of you who responded.  I'm proceding through the hiring process and hopefully will be successful.