How to Pass the *Oral Interview to become a Police Officer*

Congratulations on wanting to start a career in Law Enforcement and become a Police Officer!

You already have some of the first qualities that it takes to become a good Cop which are, planning, preparing and searching for the answers and in doing so, you have found my article.

I’ve been a Police Officer for over 28 years and have trained new Police officers for most of my career. I know what it takes to be a good Cop and I know what it takes to pass an “Oral Interview” to become a Police Officer so, I’ve written this article to help educate you on what it takes to pass this very important step in your career…The Oral Interview.

First, you need to understand that the oral interview is without a doubt the most important part in the hiring process and it’s a fact that most Police Departments weigh the oral interview 100% on you getting hired. The other tests such as the written, physical, psychological and medical are all “eliminators” which means you may pass the Oral Interview and the written test but fail one of the other tests which will eliminate you from moving forward with the hiring process.

Let’s get you through the first steps it will take in passing that Oral Interview and I will also go over several questions that are some of the most common questions asked by the panel of interviewers.

It’s going to take practice and hard work. Click on all the information on this page and read all the related articles and as you educate yourself and follow these tips you will be better prepared and stand out above the rest:

MIND SET

Visualization is an extremely powerful exercise in accomplishing anything.

You must see yourself in your mind taking the oral interview. You must feel it, see it and live it so by the time you step into that oral interview room you will have already been through the interview…in your mind.

Visualize sitting in a room across the table from 3 to 5 interviewers, two or three are veteran Police Officers, a Captain, Detective, Sergeant and maybe a civilian from the community.

See yourself answering each question with confidence and control.

See yourself getting a score of 100%...believe that you will get 100% …expect nothing less then 100%....you are prepared and deserve a 100%.

“WRITE IT DOWN / RECORD YOURSELF”

Writing out your answers is a must. Recording yourself is also a must.
Take the questions you will get here in this article and any related articles and write down the questions and your answers. Read them over and over and know them inside and out.

Use a video recorder, tape recorder or at the least speak in front of a mirror.

* It is vital that you see and hear how other people will see and hear you *

Speak clearly, sound confident, and don’t say ‘you know’, don’t mumble and watch your ‘umms and ‘awws’.

PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

THE DAY OF THE INTERVIEW

APPEARANCE

Your appearance will say a lot about yourself. Remember, you’re sitting in front of Interviewers who have been Cops for years and are able to read people like a book. So appear calm, confident, in control and above all, LOOK SHARP
.
Men should wear a dark colored business suit, if you don’t have one then invest in one. Wear a white shirt and tie.
Ladies should be dressed in a pant suit or dress NOT too short and just above the knee.

Shoes should be shined and your hair well groomed. This shows you pay attention to detail and have pride.
Do not wear any cologne or perfume. If you must then make sure it is very little.

When you enter the room you want to have “command presence” about you, be standing tall, appear confident, smiling and full of energy. Watch appearing too confident or looking cocky.

Greet each person with a hand shake and look them in the eyes. They most likely will introduce themselves and tell you their name so respond back by saying “nice to meet you Captain (their name)”.

THE INTERVIEW

You will be told to take a seat. The panel of interviewers will most likely be seated all on the same side at a table across from you.

Your chair may be set 5 to 10 feet away from the table.

* What you do at this point with the chair will tell the panel if you have confidence in yourself or not.*

You may ask if you can move the chair closer to the table but if you don’t move the chair closer and you sit 10 feet away from the table then you are demonstrating to the panel that you are shy and afraid.

Move the chair about 2 feet away from the table. You want the panel to be able to see most of your body because as you speak you body language will demonstrate your self confidence.

You can move the chair right up to the table but if it’s a small table then you don’t want to invade their space or be able to see the panel writing notes.

Men, sit with legs slightly apart (never cross your legs) and your hands on top of each other in your lap.

Woman should not cross their legs but sit with legs together and hands on top of each other folded in your lap.

DO NOT fidget, tap your fingers or foot, twist your clothes or rock back and forth.

When you answer the questions refer to them as ‘Sir’ or Ma’am’ and look them in the eye as you speak.

THE QUESTIONS

The number one question that is always asked is;

“Tell us a little about yourself and why you want to be a Police Officer”.

This is the point where you need to have prepared an *Opening Statement*.

Your answer to this question (your opening statement) will set the mood for the entire interview.

This is your big chance to shine by introducing yourself and telling the board what qualifications you have and why you are the best candidate for the job.

Do not be afraid to use this time to brag about yourself. Talk about your life’s accomplishments, your educational achievements, your community involvement, if you’re an Eagle Scout then tell them. If you were president of your high school class then tell them that. If you have family members that are in Law Enforcement then say so.

Remember, the interviewers hear all day long the same old things like;

“I’ve wanted to be a Police Officer all my life and I want to help people” or “I want to make a difference in my community”.

If you say those kinds of things in your opening statement (and it’s ok to say that) then be prepared for the follow-up question to most likely be…”Tell us what you have ALREADY done to help people and to make a difference in your community”.

The interviewers want to hear genuine and real reasons why you want to become a Police Officer.
They want to hear that you want an honorable career that will help support a family and give you and your family a great quality of life throughout the next 30 years.
They are looking for stable individuals who know what they want in life and have prepared themselves to get it.

OTHER COMMON QUESTIONS

*What have you done to prepare yourself for a career in Law Enforcement*?

This is an important question and the longer your answer is the better. The panel wants to hear all the good things you have done in your life to prepare. Whatever you didn’t say in your opening statement you can add here if this question is asked.

The panel wants to hear that while growing up you have stayed straight and involved yourself in various activities such as sports, scouts, and healthy clean activities. They want to hear how you were involved in the “Junior Police”, “Explorer Program” or “Police Cadet” programs.

Talk about your Military service, Church Mission service or any other major service you have done which involves helping and serving other people.

The panel likes to hear how you have always stayed physically fit and have a regular work out routine.
They want to hear you have taken classes, read books on criminal justice and other Law Enforcement related areas, how you involved yourself in community activities and have prepared yourself all of your life to become a Police Officer.

There will be a question that will deal with describing a bad situation that you have encountered either at school or at the work place and how did you handle it?

The panel will ask you to tell them about a situation where you had to take charge of a stressful or bad situation or conflict in your professional life and how did you resolve the crisis or problem.

The panel is looking for *Problem Solving* skills.

They want to hear the steps you took to resolve the problem, they want to see what you did, how you did it and why you did what you did to resolve the problem.

Always follow up with how you educated yourself on the matter by reading policy or studying the manual so that if you ever were faced with that situation again you would know exactly what to do and not do.

You will be asked what your biggest weakness is and asked what you are doing to resolve it.

The best answer to this question is to say something like; ‘you consider yourself a person who loves to do his best and your weakness is that you sometimes are too hard on yourself’. You are resolving this by studying more about the subject, practicing more and realizing that you’re dong the best you can.

You will be asked a *Moral and Ethical* question such as,

‘What would you do if as a Police Officer you catch your friends doing something illegal’ or ‘what would you do if you pull over your mother for speeding’.

The best way to answer these types of questions if to say something like, “First of all, I would not have friends that would do anything illegal but if one of my friends did do something against the law then he would no longer be a friend of mine and I would encourage him to contact the authorities and clear up the situation”.

Your mother speeding question. No Police Officer would ever give their mother a ticket and the best way to answer that question is, “first of all, my mother would not speed knowing her son is a Police Officer but if I did pull her over we’d probably have a good laugh and I’d let her go”.

Other questions could be questions like;

“how do you feel about carrying a gun”?
“How do you feel about maybe having to take someone’s life?
“What stresses you out?

You will be asked about your personal life if you have any medical problems, how much alcohol you drink, do you smoke, your financial situation, your back ground, your past work history and your marital and family history.

The key to taking a Police oral interview is to be truthful, positive, and genuine and up front. The panel will be able to tell how serious you are about wanting this career and how much you are prepared.

They will be able to tell by your answers what kind of person you are which will determine what kind of Police Officer you will be.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to prepare. Go and talk with other Police Officers and ask advice, read everything available to you and educate yourself.

Most of all, stay confident, stay positive and never ever give up.

You will make it… and join a family of Law Enforcement Officers that are the best in the world…be careful and we’ll see you out on the street.

Article also found on ehow.com by, Kaoss