GENERAL EMPLOYEES – NON FIRE and POLICE EMPLOYEES:

When an opening exists, the hiring department will notify Human Resources.

All openings are posted outside the Human Resources Department. At the request of the hiring department, the opening may also be advertised in local or other newspapers or publication, as well as with other sources such as the City’s website, the City’s local cable channel 40, the Career Development Center, etc. The opening will be posted for at least five working days. Applications are accepted only for openings that are posted. Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on the closing date in order to be considered. If an application is post-marked by the closing date, the application will still be considered. If the position has been difficult to fill, the posting may indicate that it is “Open Until Filled”. Applications may be reviewed and interviews scheduled at any time for these type of positions.

Departments will inform Human Resources whether the department wants Human Resources to do the initial screening of the applicants or if the hiring department will do the screening. Once the position closes, the applications/resumes that were filed timely, will be reviewed. The department may do some further screening to determine which candidates they want to bring in for an interview. Once it is established which candidates will be contacted for interviews, the candidates will be scheduled for an interview. The department will generally use an interview panel for the initial interview process. Candidates may be brought back for additional interviews, as needed. Candidates are evaluated to determine their skills, qualifications and abilities and who best meets the needs of the department. Once a candidate is chosen, they are notified to determine if they are interested in employment with the City of St. Joseph and if so, a contingent job offer is made. The offer is contingent upon successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen. The department will complete a Contingent Job Offer form and forward it to the Risk Management Coordinator for scheduling of a pre-employment drug screen. The Risk Management Coordinator will contact the candidate to schedule the testing. When the results are known, the department and the candidate will be notified. If the drug screen is negative, the department will contact the candidate to establish a start date.

FIRE:

Applications are taken on a continual basis. The written test is scheduled (three different times during the year) on a frequent basis. Check with Human Resources at 816-271-4670 for test dates and times. If the applicant is at least 18 years of age and meets the minimum qualifications to test (have their Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2, Hazardous Materials Awareness and Hazardous Materials Operations certifications or have those certifications finalized by an established date, check with HR on the date. Proof of completion or enrollment must be presented at the time the application is submitted to participate in the written test. If the candidate passes the written test with at least a 70% score then they are eligible to participate in the physical ability testing. Passing of the physical ability then qualifies the candidate to participate in the practicals tests. Effective 9/1/07 you must have an EMT license from the State of Missouri or National Registry by date of appointment and must maintain the licensure throughout your career as a firefighter. A Paramedic license is also accepted.     Information is provided to the applicant at the time they apply regarding the minimum qualifications for a firefighter, steps in becoming a firefighter, pay, hours, written test date/time, additional points (until the June 2008), physical ability examination and practical test. The physical ability test consists of two exercises and each must be passed before the candidate can go on to the next exercise. The first exercise is the blackened face mask drill. Candidates put on a firefighter’s coat, helmet, air pack and a darkened face mask and then navigate through a maze on their hands and knees. Removal of the facemask before completing the facemask drill will result in immediate disqualification and failure of physical agility test. The second exercise is a physical strength drill. Candidates still dressed in fire gear complete an obstacle course consisting of various drills along the way. Drills consist of a ladder carry and set up, dragging a 4 inch water supply hose and connecting it to a hydrant, pulling and discharging a fully charged hose, using a sledge hammer to drive a weighted sled 5 feet, unrolling and rolling a 50 foot section of hose, carrying a bundle of hose, hoisting or lifting hand over hand a rolled hose up 2 stories and dragging a 165 pound dummy 100 feet. The physical strength drill is timed but does not have a time limit. The physical ability time will be used as a tiebreaker when necessary. *The City has the right to add exercises or change the exercises mentioned above at any time without prior notice. Candidates, who successfully complete the physical strength drill, advance to the Practical Test. Candidates are tested on 10-15 Firefighter 1 and Firefighter 2 practical skills. After the testing is complete, the candidates who passed are listed according to written score. Extra points are being awarded to those who have passed the written test and also hold an EMT or Paramedic license. The Fire Department will then request a specific number of applications. The top applications are sent based on written score and interviews are scheduled. Background and Police Records checks are also conducted at some point in the process. Information obtained during these checks could warrant the candidate being eliminated. Candidates will be contacted by the Fire Department to come in for an interview. The oral board consists of a panel of people from the Fire Department and Human Resources. Each board member will score the candidate and the scores of all the board members will be averaged for a final score. The oral interview score will be added to the written score and the candidate ranked to create an Eligibility List. An eligibility list will be created to list applicants for further consideration to fill vacancies as requested by the Fire Department, however, the department reserves the right to hire anyone from the list, not necessarily in order. When the department is ready to hire, the selected applicant will be contacted and a Contingent Job Offer made. The offer is contingent upon successful completion of a medical examination including a drug screen. Applications are valid for up to 12 months from the date of the physical ability testing.

POLICE:

Applicants must be at least 21 years of age. Applications are taken on a continual basis. The written test is scheduled on a frequent basis. Check with Human Resources at 816-271-4670 for test dates and times. Information is provided regarding the minimum qualifications for a police officer, steps in becoming a police officer, the process overview, the pay, written examination date/time and the physical agility examination at the time of application. The written test is a four-part test with testing on mathematics, reading comprehension, grammar and incident report writing. Applicants must score at least a 70% on two of the four sections and a 70% overall. Applicants who pass the written test will be placed on an alphabetic listing. Applicants must also pass a physical ability test that is generally scheduled on an annual basis in late summer (more often if needed). Those who passed the written test will be notified when the physical ability test is scheduled. The physical ability test is a pass/fail test and while timed, there is no time limit. The time is used for a tiebreaker when necessary. The physical ability is set up like an obstacle course where the candidate runs laps, jumps hurdles, jumps a simulated ditch, vaults a simulated wall, traverses a balance beam, crawls through a simulated window, goes up/down steps, drags 175 pound body, carries a 25 pound box and sprints to the finish. *The City reserves the right to modify the physical agility test without prior notice. Those that pass both the written and physical ability tests will be put on waiting list. As the need to hire arises the police department will review the applications of all those that have successfully completed both the written and physical ability test and determined which applicants they want to bring in for an oral interview. Other steps include a police records check, background investigation, and polygraph examination (as needed). Information obtained during these checks could warrant the candidate being eliminated. A panel of employees from the police department will interview the candidate. The Police Department will determine which candidates they want to extend a job offer to. When the department is ready to hire, applicants will be contacted and a Contingent Job Offer made. The offer is contingent upon successful completion of a medical examination including a drug screen and psychological examination. The prospective employee must also establish residency in the State of Missouri by date of appointment and obtain POST certification, if not already certified within the one-year probationary period. Continue employment for those hired that are not POST certified is contingent upon successful completion of the POST certification. Applications are valid for up to 12 months from the date of the written test.