Oral Board Interview

[nickt916]

Here is a list of questions that might be answered at the oral board. It would be interesting to see how you guys would briefly answer/answered these. i will answer these as a practice for myself, and i will ask a few questions with my answers in hopes of getting some pointers. please free to critic my answers as thats how i will learn

1. Tell us about yourself
would they be interested in hearing mostly about how i look at myself as an individual. Tell them that im a honest working individual and that i like to help others?

2. Why do you want to be a police officer
would an answer like, to protect and serve the people in our community be something they are looking for?

3. When did you decide on this career
i decided not to long ago, but have been thinking about this opportunity for a long time

4. What does a law enforcement officer do
They patrol their assigned locations, respond to emergencys, traffic accidents, house calls and other things to protect the public

5. Do you think you are qualified
(during the oral review) I believe i am qualified to perfect the job as a police officer yes.

6. What are the attributes of being a police officer
To have professional image and make the public feel protected? im not sure how to answer this one.

7. What are your strengths and weaknesses
Strengths, being a great drivers, ability to evaluate the situation well and react in a timely manner, weaknesses, feeling stressed under pressure and sometimes feeling slightly intimidated but larger individuals (or would that be telling more than i should?)

8. What have you done to prepare yourself for this position
Prepared myself physically and mentally how ever i could. Studying and trying to find as much information on becoming a cop as i could.

9. What can you bring to this job
hopefully safer streets and less bad guys? im not sure here...

10.Why do you want to work for this city
Because i live here and being a little familiar with the town will give me an advantage on the streets. with no experience or any degrees, smaller departments wont give me a chance

11.What do you like to do
go places with friends, play sports, work on cars.. etc etc..

12.What are your hobbies
work on cars and bikes, ride jetskis, snowboard,

13.What would your employer say about you
that i was a hard working individual and always got the job done no matter how hard it was.

14.When can you start if we offer you a job
after i can put in my 2 weeks notice at my current job (if im working at the time)

15.How far do you want to go in the police service
as far as i can with the knowledge that i will be able to pick up on the way

16.Where do you see yourself in 5 years
possibly a rank or 2 higher as a police officer

17.How do you resolve conflicts
by getting the facts straight first, then making the necessary actions



please do tell me your opinions, i would like to get as much criticizing from this as possible, would i need to be more descriptive on the answers or the shorter the better?

[IMachU]

You forgot your strength, weakness, and what you are doing to correct your weakness.

[nickt916]

You forgot your strength, weakness, and what you are doing to correct your weakness.

what do you mean i forgot, and to improve it, i just simply try to deal with it and with time the more i face it the more ill improve

[Se7en]

Here is a list of questions that might be answered at the oral board. It would be interesting to see how you guys would briefly answer/answered these. i will answer these as a practice for myself, and i will ask a few questions with my answers in hopes of getting some pointers. please free to critic my answers as thats how i will learn

1. Tell us about yourself
would they be interested in hearing mostly about how i look at myself as an individual. Tell them that im a honest working individual and that i like to help others?

2. Why do you want to be a police officer
would an answer like, to protect and serve the people in our community be something they are looking for?

3. When did you decide on this career
i decided not to long ago, but have been thinking about this opportunity for a long time

4. What does a law enforcement officer do
They patrol their assigned locations, respond to emergencys, traffic accidents, house calls and other things to protect the public

5. Do you think you are qualified
(during the oral review) I believe i am qualified to perfect the job as a police officer yes.

6. What are the attributes of being a police officer
To have professional image and make the public feel protected? im not sure how to answer this one.

7. What are your strengths and weaknesses
Strengths, being a great drivers, ability to evaluate the situation well and react in a timely manner, weaknesses, feeling stressed under pressure and sometimes feeling slightly intimidated but larger individuals (or would that be telling more than i should?)

8. What have you done to prepare yourself for this position
Prepared myself physically and mentally how ever i could. Studying and trying to find as much information on becoming a cop as i could.

9. What can you bring to this job
hopefully safer streets and less bad guys? im not sure here...

10.Why do you want to work for this city
Because i live here and being a little familiar with the town will give me an advantage on the streets. with no experience or any degrees, smaller departments wont give me a chance

11.What do you like to do
go places with friends, play sports, work on cars.. etc etc..

12.What are your hobbies
work on cars and bikes, ride jetskis, snowboard,

13.What would your employer say about you
that i was a hard working individual and always got the job done no matter how hard it was.

14.When can you start if we offer you a job
after i can put in my 2 weeks notice at my current job (if im working at the time)

15.How far do you want to go in the police service
as far as i can with the knowledge that i will be able to pick up on the way

16.Where do you see yourself in 5 years
possibly a rank or 2 higher as a police officer

17.How do you resolve conflicts
by getting the facts straight first, then making the necessary actions



please do tell me your opinions, i would like to get as much criticizing from this as possible, would i need to be more descriptive on the answers or the shorter the better?

I would focus on a different answer for why you want to be a police officer. These guys sit on the boards and hear that generic answer all day long. Be unique.

On your weakness you need to find something that you can turn into a positive. Feeling stressed under pressure, which is something you will experience a lot and quite often in LE, is not a good answer, nor is feeling intimidated by big guys. I think a lot of us would feel intimidated by a larger person, but it's not something you tell a group of guys making the decision to send you out in the street by yourself.

Work on the "what can you bring to this job?". Think someone who is very motivated about learning the job and proactive in the community, blah blah.

Work on your why do you want to work here question. Your last answer will make the department feel like they're not the department you wanted to work for, and you're just taking what you can get.

Those are just some that stuck out to me, and only my opinion.

[nickt916]

se7ev,

i appreciate your opinion. Im not sure how else i can answer the weakness part, should i not even mention those 2 and maybe bring up a smaller weakness? for example... "im not as strong physically as i would like to be, but i do try to take care of my body to perform the best to my abilities"

as for being the cop question, i would have to think about it. Trying to keep the streets safe and protecting the public might be the job, and im sure they hear that all the time, twisting the answer a bit and making it sound a little different might work.

[Se7en]

se7ev,

i appreciate your opinion. Im not sure how else i can answer the weakness part, should i not even mention those 2 and maybe bring up a smaller weakness? for example... "im not as strong physically as i would like to be, but i do try to take care of my body to perform the best to my abilities"

as for being the cop question, i would have to think about it. Trying to keep the streets safe and protecting the public might be the job, and im sure they hear that all the time, twisting the answer a bit and making it sound a little different might work.
I'll tell you how I answered when I was asked, and you can take it for whatever it's worth, as we're two different people.

I wasn't asked about a weakness at the two departments I applied with, but at both I was asked for a strength, and I replied that I felt I was a very personable and approachable person and I enjoyed talking to people, which is very important in this profession as it is one of the biggest factors of the job. If I were to be asked about a weakness, I would have answered along the lines of that if I were to have any weakness it would be I was young (21) but that I did feel confident I was mature enough and capable of doing this job and doing it well. This weakness would be something the board would already be thinking of, and it would be something I could address because I know it would be on the minds.

[IMachU]

The "strengths and weakness" part is designed to see if you can objectively self-evaluate. If you cannot look at your own life and evaluate yourself OBJECTIVELY, you may not be a suitable candidate. Most of the time it's not your answer, but HOW you answer.

[Ricky_G]

Can being confident hurt you in the oral board? Please do not confuse this for conceited, there is a difference.

[nickt916]

thanks alonzo,

im yet to get a ride along with a local citrus heights PD of 80 officers, then june 30th i will be qualified to go on a ride along with a roseville PD of 130 or so officers, because i will be an applicant. Otherwise id have to live in roseville to get a ride. Sacramento PD, i tried to stop by there to get an application for the ride, but it didnt work out, so i might get the application online. If i get ride alongs with 3 different departments, this will give me tons more information on what police really is. I have never gone on a ride along before, so im sure my views on things at the moment are a bit different than most of you guys. Im sure ride alongs will help me answer these questions better.

[DagoStar]

2. Why do you want to be a police officer
I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill (Full Metal Jacket, 1987) :D