On the day of your exam make sure that you are well rested. Experts tell us the the best thing we can do is get a good night’s sleep. Fatigue is one of the main barriers to successful test performance. Get a full nights sleep and eat a good breakfast. And remember get there early! Give yourself plenty of extra time to get to the test center and to park.
Once inside, listen to the test monitors and follow their instructions carefully. They will be providing you with important information about …

Ok, let’s get you ready for your first Civil Service exam.
The written examination is your first step in the screening process for Police Officer candidates and is used to identify unqualified candidates without any possible accusation of favoritism or prejudice. The Civil Service System was established to insure the maintenance of a merit personnel system to recruit, employ, promote, and retain qualified persons for employment. Entry-level examinations do not presuppose knowledge. You will not be expected to know police rules, regulations, or procedures, but rather to reason and think like …

Over the next few weeks I will begin by covering the hiring process and what you can do to best prepare yourself to succeed. First I will cover the Civil Service written exam. We will discuss test taking strategies, what to study, and how be at your best on test day. Next we will get you prepared to take the physical agility test. You would be surprised how many potential candidates fail out at this stage. This is due to only one thing, lack of preparation. Lastly we will cover …

There are many things that figure into out decision on where to retire. Family, climate and activities all weigh into the decision. With a 50% or higher retirement benefit, plus possibly 457 or deferred comp payments, it would be nice to make our dollar stretch as far as we can. There are only a few states that offer us the following benefits:
No Income Tax
No tax on our NYS Retirement
No tax on 457 or deferred comp
No tax on Social Security
These states are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
So …