# How do you know which towns?



## JeepinWeezle (Dec 9, 2004)

Hello,
How do you know which towns to put on your Civil Service test? Like how do you know which ones are hiring? Like i know Boston is looking....who else? How do I find this stuff out? Thank you.

-Eric


----------



## Officer Dunngeon (Aug 16, 2002)

Boston has a residency preference. Not only that, but you are going to be competing against vets and cadets for a job. They don't hire as much as you think.

The best way to find out who's hiring is through word of mouth. I would just put down the towns you feel that you would be most comfortable working in, including the one in which you live.

Remember, you only have 4 choices and after the scores come out you can change them if you put it in writing.


----------



## frapmpd24 (Sep 3, 2004)

If the town you live in is civil service, I would choose that one; if you have lived there for a year prior to the test you can claim residency. Many towns give residency preference. Having said that, do your homework with the three other choices. If you choose a larger city or town like Worcester, Springfield, Framingham, Saugus, Lynn, etc without having residency, even with a high score you will find yourself behind vets, and residents, and very low on the list. Infact, you'll probably be so low that even if they got rid of the whole department, you would not get a card if they were hiring. 

My suggestion would be to select a smaller town (generally less people to compete against). Some also hire reserves or intermittent officers to suppliment their force and work part-time or details. Then when it comes time to fill a full-time position they hire from the list of reserves and go to the current list for replacements, etc... Just my suggestion, don't take it as gospel, there are many opinions about how to go about the process, but make educated choices, that's my advice. Also, don't hold your breath either, nothing is quick or easy with civil circus. Don't be afraid to look toward non-civil service departments, dispatch positions, auxilliary's, etc... it takes some time and effort to get there, not usually one test.


----------



## JeepinWeezle (Dec 9, 2004)

thanks


----------



## SEABASS (Mar 29, 2004)

You should also put communities which would be considered very affluent. Many times there vet and resident list is small compared to blue collar towns.


----------

