So, when can I interview?
A rough time frame for the hiring process to become an Idaho conservation officer. Because this is a law enforcement career, our process is lengthy and exhaustive. We want to hire the best!
Summer/Fall
- Applications for Conservation Officer positions are accepted over the course of several months with the deadline usually being September 30th. When application period is open, a link to the written application can be found on the Idaho Fish and Game Website under About Us/Employment.
- The application process does not open if no vacancies exist, but most years it is open.
- After the closing date, all applications are graded to establish a hiring roster. New Idaho Department of Human Resources laws do not allow score results to be released to applicants.
Winter
- In mid-November, applicants who score high enough on the hiring roster are invited to participate in a remote video interview with enforcement staff - a short opportunity for us to meet potential candidates.
- Top performers in the video interviews are invited to the mid-December assessment center; our formal interview process which occurs at our Boise headquarters. All candidates spend a full day getting various skill sets tested.
- At the conclusion of the assessment week, conditional hiring offers are made to fill existing vacancies. A comprehensive background check on each candidate starts as soon as conditional hiring offers are made.
- In January the following year, conditional candidates spend a week in Boise undergoing a polygraph exam, a psychological exam, a medical exam and taking a physical fitness test which includes a 1.5-mile run, 300 yard dash, vertical jump, sit-ups and push-ups.
- Upon successful completion of those tests and the background check, formal hiring offers and duty locations are extended to candidates.
Spring
- New hires start a week of orientation and training in March and report for duty to their assigned areas.
- POST academy in Meridian starts in early to mid-May and new hires are there until August (14 weeks).
- Upon the completion of the POST academy, probationary officers start a ten week long Field Training and Evaluation period to specifically address the skill set of an Idaho Fish and Game conservation officer. The FTO training usually concludes in December, a year after the job interviews took place.
