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Preparing For The
Police Interview
Copyright © 2009 ShootDontShoot
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Proper
preparation of the police interview is truly one of the
best things you can do to become a police officer.
Failure to do so could mean years of training down the
drain. |
Understanding the police oral board is crucial to your success, but
how you prepare for it is even more important. Many people seeking
to become police officers don't take the necessary steps to prepare
for the police interview. They get their criminal justice degree and
start applying for police departments, not realizing they've only
become "qualified" to apply. To prepare for the
police
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Police Forums
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forums. Ask
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Police Interview
Learn the techniques needed to pass
the police
interview. Know what they know.
Police Oral
Board
Understanding the police oral board is
the key to
your success. Failure to prepare
is critical.
Police Videos
Check out the latest police videos
from police
chases, training videos and more. |
interview, you need to understand how they work. The main goal
of the police interview is to screen out bad applicants. How do
they do this? They use tactics to see if you're honest, to see
how you handle yourself under pressure, if you have common
sense, if you're a good person, etc, etc. But failure to
understand the tactics used can take a perfectly qualified
applicant and put them on a no-call list in a matter of a 15
minute interview. Don't be one of those people.
Let's
start with some basics
I would
hope that most people know to only wear a business suit to their
police oral board. But I say it because it never ceases |
to amaze
me that there is always a few guys
that come in with dress pants and a polo shirt for example, assuming
it is acceptable. It is not! What you wear to your
police oral board interview tells the panel how serious you are
before you even open your mouth. If you come in with a pair of
jeans and t-shirt, you might as well not even come as you're already
on the no-call list. Only wear business attire, no exceptions.
What type of suit should you wear?
Your
suit should be conservative only. No Ronald McDonald ties, no
fancy jewelry, no fancy multi-colored under shirts, etc. Plain
Jane conservative. Black or dark blue suit for instance.
Studying for the police interview
 You
should plan and anticipate questions, and actually practice how you
answer them in a mirror. You would be surprised how often you
would come to a stop, not knowing how to answer the question while
being fluent. Take for instance "Why do you want to become a
police officer?" Do you know how you would answer this
question? It's the most basic question, but yet it's one of
most difficult to answer. In fact, take a second and answer it
out loud right now as you would if you were sitting in your police
oral board. What would be your answer?
No one
is suggesting that you become a perfect speaker, or a politician.
The point is by answering your questions in a mirror, you actually a
learn a lot of what you don't know how to answer. I've done
this in the past, and would literally be at a stand still on some
questions because I wasn't prepared to answer them.
What are some of the questions you should anticipate?
A lot of
questions you will be asked are scenario based, like "How would you
handle discovering that your partner has been stealing?" or "What
would you do if you stopped your mother for speeding?" etc, etc.
Having a somewhat prepared response, but sincere, is very important
so that you're not caught off guard. Of course you won't be
able to pinpoint each question, but you'll at least have an idea of
what to expect and be prepared for them.
Be Honest
Whatever
you do, do not lie in your interview. Questions in your police
interview are designed to see if you're lying by asking similar
questions later in the interview for instance to catch you off
guard. It is pointless to try to fool these guys as this is
their job, and they are professionals. Consider them human lie
detectors.
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