my first police interview

[bluewaveschool]

I need some advice. I'm going up against 40 or so other people for 6 to 10 positions. I've been told not to use words like 'agressive' and that they can tell if you are giving them a line of BS. Any other advice out there would be much appreciated.

 

[Steve]

I have no specific advice for you, but I wish you the best of luck!

 

[jks9199]

What format will the interview be? Panel interview, one-on-one?

Be honest, and be yourself. Yes, they will expect "I want to be a cop to help people." And it's probably true -- so go beyond that. What else makes you want to be a cop? Why should they hire you instead of one of those other candidates. If they pose scenarios to you, take your time, think through them. They don't expect you to know the "cop answer." They want a feel for how you think and deal with those sorts of situations.

Be on time. In fact, be early. And dress appropriately; coat and tie is the minimum unless they very specifically tell you otherwise. Be neat; I'd discourage any facial hair, though a neatly trimmed mustache is probably OK. If you've got tattoos -- cover 'em. No ear rings for guys. Especially no other visible piercings.

Don't make a big deal out of the martial arts. It's a hobby, it's something you do -- but it doesn't mean that you don't need the DT classes or should be teaching them. Especially in an interview. Present as a hobby and a way you stay in shape, IF it comes up. Don't bring it up.

 

[bluewaveschool]

It's panel style, and I won't be able to avoid martial arts. I'm head of the program, and the application required listing all volunteer work under jobs. I'll just steer the answer towards workings with kids, teaching self confidence, etc. I've done TKD long enough to know that I don't know everything, not even close. Plus, DT and TKD most likely aren't even close, so DT is a learning opportunity, not something that I should be teaching.

 

[Carol]

Run, don't walk, to the nearest book store and pick up a copy of Martin Yate's book Knock 'Em Dead. If you follow his advice to the letter, you WILL get a job.

Pullin' for you! :asian:

 

[jks9199]

Run, don't walk, to the nearest book store and pick up a copy of Martin Yate's book Knock 'Em Dead. If you follow his advice to the letter, you WILL get a job.

Pullin' for you! :asian:

I'm not familiar with the book -- but the panel interview for a police job is a bit of different sort of interview, so I don't know how much help it'll be. Still -- can't hurt.

With a panel interview, this is what you can expect:
3 to 5 evaluators, probably reading a scripted set of questions. Many of them will be scenarios. You can expect one that'll have you prioritize what you respond to, and justify the reason. Something like this:

You're dispatched to a larceny in progress, shoplifting at the QuickMart. En route, you're advised that there's a lost child at a mall you're close to. At the same time, another officer is requesting assistance on a traffic stop, no emergency.

There's also likely to be an integrity question:

You're with Officer Smith when he receives a found wallet. Officer Smith opens the wallet, and it contains $1000. At the end of the day, you notice that he his report does not mention the money, and in fact, says there was no money in the wallet.

If you confront him on it, you can expect a wrinkle like him offering to split the money with you. There'll also probably be the usual sort of questions about why you want to be an officer, what attracts you to that department, and so on. Probably also a little bit of a warning or reality check about working holidays and weekends, too. You might get asked to describe a time you failed, and how you handled it, or a time that you handled dealing with someone who was angry.

For the personal stuff -- be yourself. That'll let you be sincere. You're on the right track with handling the martial arts, I think: show what about might be useful, but stay away from anything that makes you sound like you think Walker: Texas Ranger shows real police fights. It taught you leadership, discipline, etc.

 

[MJS]

JKS already gave some damn solid advice, so I probably can't add much more to that. I've taken a few oral boards, so to echo some of the things that he already said: The ones that I've done were a panel of people, mainly consisting of officers in a Supervisory capacity. I'd say the most important thing and I know it's easier said than done, but do your best to relax. Be honest. The sample questions that JKS gave were similar to ones that I was asked, especially the one about seeing a fellow officer doing something illegal. When asked what I would do, I was honest....I said that I'd bring his actions to the attention of the supervisor. The guy who asked me that question said, "So you're telling me that you'd turn in one of your fellow officers, the guy who you work with, the guy who's locker is next to yours. You'd turn him in??" I dont know if that was the nail in the coffin, so to speak...lol...as one of the reasons why I didn't progress from that point...lol...but I was honest. Deep down, I'd like to think that the answer I gave was the right one. I mean, who the hell wants to work with a dirtbag? LOL.

Of course, there will be decision making situations as well. While I'd like to think that if faced with the multiple call scenario, the Sgt on duty would be directing people where to go, if you were faced with those same situations, I would reroute to the lost child, followed by the officer assistance, then the larceny. **This is what I would do. I'm not saying this is the right answer.**

Dress: Suit and tie. Be on time. I'd arrive at least 15-20min early. If you're not familiar with the location of the interview, definately do a trial run prior to the actual day.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll do fine.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

When offered a scenario involving prioritizing threats, a direct known threat to the public is highest priority. One question they love is to offer you a choice between responding to an officer down call and something like an armed robbery in progress call. Regardless of how things really get prioritized, the danger to the public is the first priority.

If offered a 'real life' scenario where a person sits in a chair and pretends to be a driver you just pulled over and you're the officer approaching them, they are instructed to resist verbally complying with any of your instructions for as long as possible. The goal is to get you to engage in argument and to begin trying to justify your actions to the 'driver'. The scenario continues until you move to make a forceful arrest. Don't engage in argument. Ask 'em, tell 'em, take 'em. No explanations, no argument.

Best of luck!

 

[Buka]

Be boring. Unemotional, matter-of-fact, drab.

 

[oftheherd1]

Be boring. Unemotional, matter-of-fact, drab.

I am not sure I would want to hire anyone for any job who presented themselves that way.

YMMV

 

[bluewaveschool]

So I went over to see my grandfather about borrowing a sports coat, and he had a $300+ Jos. A. Bank black w/ blue pin stripe suit that didn't fit him anymore that he gave to me. Paired up with a nice tie (he wants that back), all I have to do is go buy new black shoes. If we wore the same size shoe, I'd be sporting some $150 wing tips. The man dresses nice and will put out the $$$$ to do so. I certainly don't have that kind of money for a suit, so I lucked out big time. So I've now got the threads covered, got a hair cut, I just have to show up tomorrow and knock it out the park.


I've been going over the values and mission statement, organizing how I can tie those into my answers. The Major over the admin side of things (who MIGHT be on the panel, I'm not sure) recommended I do so when I took the citizen's class. He also told me the chief is big on education and continuing training classes every year, so I'm going to get that in too. I think I've got my 'why do you want to be a cop' answer down too. A bit nervous really, I haven't had a job interview in 9+ years.

 

[oftheherd1]

Glad to hear things are going well for you. Again, good luck.

 

[bluewaveschool]

Other than almost flipping out of the chair when I sat down, I think it went well. There was the talking about the education and work background, there were ethics questions relating to previous work history. There was a 'what would you do' question, there were the 'what are important traits' questions, etc. I answered the 'important traits' with the values of the department listed on the website I was advised to do that 6 months ago by one of the people on the panel. 3 person panel, 2 Majors and HR. And they ended with a customer service question... I've been in retail 9+ years, I nailed that one.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Fantastic, I hope it all goes well for you!

 

[bluewaveschool]

I got my 'You are not being eliminated, but other candidates are moving forward at this time' letter today.

 

[Carol]

I got my 'You are not being eliminated, but other candidates are moving forward at this time' letter today.

I am sorry to hear that. Keep trying, you have something that they like for you to go as far as you did.

 

[bluewaveschool]

Thanks Carol. Pretty down about it right now, especially given that I had some support from people that know people. It makes me wonder what I did wrong in the interview.

 

[dancingalone]

Sorry to hear the bad news. I know there's little solace in this, but hiring is very competitive right now for entry level law enforcement positions. I believe the local PD here received 400+ applications for something like 8 rookie slots. You were likely a very strong candidate if you even made it to the interview stage. Keep applying to any opportunities that come up, and good luck!

 

[MJS]

I got my 'You are not being eliminated, but other candidates are moving forward at this time' letter today.

Sorry to hear that. However, don't give up hope yet. Who knows, perhaps your name will surface on that list at a later time. In the meantime, keep training and applying.

 

[Carol]

Thanks Carol. Pretty down about it right now, especially given that I had some support from people that know people. It makes me wonder what I did wrong in the interview.

My gut/experience says nothing wrong. People that do something wrong in interviews typically get eliminated...the wring becomes a clarion reason to eliminate the candidate...which is especially crucial in public sector candidacies where hiring and firing is scrutinized more than in the private sector.

Sometimes the competition is just a better. (migosh I wish that sounded more comforting than it does.)

If you can do anything to improve your candidacy, whether it's better cardio fitness, learning Spanish, etc...do your best to achieve that while you keep trying. A candidate who is steadily working at improving themselves is going to be noticed.

I wish I had some better words for you. If it helps, I believe in you