The interview process can be intimidating. Here’s a few things to keep in mind. Practice giving your responses using a tape recorder in front of a mirror. Alternatively, practice with a friend or a relative. Anticipate Oral Board questions and practice giving responses until you feel confident about your performance. Ask yourself questions like; being a police officer what would you do if you see your partner take a free bottle of liquor? Alternatively, being a police supervisor what would you do, if one of your subordinates reported to work intoxicated? At first you might not like what you hear, but the more you practice the smoother your answers will become and more confident you will get.

Most law enforcement agencies are quasi-military organizations. They have ranked based structures and practice military protocol. Police officials expect police employees of lower rank to address them with “yes ma’am”, “yes sir”, “no sir” and “no ma’am”. Addressing the interviewers with this respectful response will leave a positive impression. Avoid responding with “yeah or ” uh huh”. With the Oral Board conducting so many interviews, sometimes little things make the big difference.

Also, the community expects Police officers to be highly responsive and compassionate. Police agencies are looking for candidates who have good verbal skills and a strong desire to help people. If you can demonstrate empathy and superior people handling skills, your scores will skyrocket.

Hope this helped.

Don

I understand totally. There’s a lot of politics to deal with especially in smaller departments. I was a cop for a long time. I loved the job-hated the politics. You just need to hang in there and keep trying. Your day will come. If you have any question feel free to ask. I’ll do my best to help you out.

Don