How To Excel At Your Police Officer Interview
To become a police officer, you need to go through a grueling round of tests. From psychological, physical, polygraph and narcotics test to background checks. No stone is left unturned while trying to hire a peace officer.
One of the most important parts of this selection process is the executive interview, where you sit down with a high-ranking police officer and he or she interviews you before hiring you or letting you into the academy. This is one of the final steps and thus it can be very frustrating if you fail at this point. But don’t worry, these few interview tips for police officers will help you get hired and into the next round.
Be Honest
Don’t try to hide anything. To a police officer, hiding something is as bad as lying. If they ask you about something, be completely truthful. They have unlimited resources and they will dig deep to find out if you are lying or not. They have results from your background check and polygraph tests to back them up. So be very careful about what you say in a police interview. In any other job, if you admit to a crime, they might let it pass if it’s something minor or they don’t have any business with it. But here, there is literally going to be a jail just a few feet away from you.
Show Your Disciplined Nature
One of the most desirable qualities in a cop is hard work and dedication. You can show that you are disciplined by doing a few simple things. Make sure that the clothes that you are wearing are properly ironed and have no stains whatsoever. Be dressed formally since it shows some respect towards your interviewer and thus your respect for authority. Remember to be a few minutes early to the interview. This way you can make sure you look as perfect as possible before the interview without being even a second late.
Stay Calm And Composed
One of the main objectives for any interviewer, especially a police office, is to make you squirm. They want to see how you will react under pressure and what kind of decisions will you make then. No matter what they say, don’t get nervous. Keep calm and think their questions through. If you do make a mistake, don’t dwell on it but if possible try to correct it. Try to be as level-headed as possible throughout the interview. Some amount of meditation might help you with this.
[asd_program_button /]
Know The Questions And Their Answers
As mentioned before, you need to be very careful about what you say in a police interview. They will judge you on how you answer all your questions. The best way to beat his is to know some of the most common questions and their answers. Here is a list of questions that you may be asked during the interview.
- What do you think of your previous chief?
- Why did you leave your previous job?
- What would you do if you witness a robbery? What if you were a citizen and not a cop?
- What motivated you to pursue this career?
- Do you have a criminal record?
- How have you prepared yourself to be a law enforcement officer?
- What would you do if you found out your supervisor was doing something unlawful?
There are several more interview questions for police officers. But these are some common ones whose answers you must know. One of the important things to remember while answering these questions is to not fumble. Especially, if you receive a question about ethics. Be confident and practice these questions with someone before the actual interview.
Policemen are trained to interrogate criminals who are in turn, trained to resist interrogation. Believe us when we say that they will not even break a sweat while cracking you. The most important thing to take away from this is to remember, to be honest. Keep the other tips in mind before you go for the interview and you are bound to do better than most of the other candidates present there. You never know, someday it might be you on the other side of that table recruiting new people to serve the nation and its citizens.