Oral Board Interview Tips

[CelticSmackdown]

Just to put in my 2 cents, this was a great resource for me as I prepared for my interview 2 weeks ago. I passed and did so because some of these questions here made me seriously pause for a moment to say, "why am I really here and why do I feel I'm a good fit for the job." I thought some of the answers to these questions would be obvious, but then you start thinking about them, and you really start some serious introspection.

I, like many recent posters, wanted to try to get a leg up on possible questions, but I was only asked one of the questions given in the original sticky post. The bottom line folks is that they want you to think on your feet and no amount of prep work can really prepare you for that. If you know who you are as a person and are confident in who you are, you should survive.

Don't overthink either. One of the questions that jammed me up was, "what do you think a police officer does." I gave a really philisophical response and proceeded to hang myself because I couldn't finish the thought. All they really wanted was for me to state to them what I saw on my ride-a-longs. Once I came to terms that they were indeed asking me a question that simple, I moved on.

I passed my interview board by just being honest and being able to correct my mistakes when I jammed myself up. They want to see how you handle yourself in that kind of a situation.

[BarXone]

Just to put in my 2 cents, this was a great resource for me as I prepared for my interview 2 weeks ago. I passed and did so because some of these questions here made me seriously pause for a moment to say, "why am I really here and why do I feel I'm a good fit for the job." I thought some of the answers to these questions would be obvious, but then you start thinking about them, and you really start some serious introspection.

I, like many recent posters, wanted to try to get a leg up on possible questions, but I was only asked one of the questions given in the original sticky post. The bottom line folks is that they want you to think on your feet and no amount of prep work can really prepare you for that. If you know who you are as a person and are confident in who you are, you should survive.

Don't overthink either. One of the questions that jammed me up was, "what do you think a police officer does." I gave a really philisophical response and proceeded to hang myself because I couldn't finish the thought. All they really wanted was for me to state to them what I saw on my ride-a-longs. Once I came to terms that they were indeed asking me a question that simple, I moved on.

I passed my interview board by just being honest and being able to correct my mistakes when I jammed myself up. They want to see how you handle yourself in that kind of a situation.

Interesting story - thanks for the input. The truth is they probably ask different open-ended questions to different people and see where the applicant leads them. This is all character judgment and to see hypothetically how one would react in given situations.

Good luck to the rest of the process !

[Mr.Cellphone]

Here are some scenerio questions I was asked during my oral interview.

1.) You are in a high speed chase when you come upon railroad tracks. The railroad lights are flashing and the crossing bars are moving down with a train at full speed closing in. You see the suspect barrel through the crossing bars. Do you proceed in the chase?

2.)You are off-duty at a friends party. While at this party you observe several individuals who you do not recognize using illegal substances. What do you do?

3.) You respond to a call about an alleged suicide attempt. You walk into a room where you see a person seated holding a gun to there head. The person states that if you leave, he/she will shoot themself but if you stay he/she will shoot you. What do you do?

Hope these help.

[Torey]

Good stuff

[MichaelM718]

Here are some scenerio questions I was asked during my oral interview.

1.) You are in a high speed chase when you come upon railroad tracks. The railroad lights are flashing and the crossing bars are moving down with a train at full speed closing in. You see the suspect barrel through the crossing bars. Do you proceed in the chase?

2.)You are off-duty at a friends party. While at this party you observe several individuals who you do not recognize using illegal substances. What do you do?

3.) You respond to a call about an alleged suicide attempt. You walk into a room where you see a person seated holding a gun to there head. The person states that if you leave, he/she will shoot themself but if you stay he/she will shoot you. What do you do?

Hope these help.

Wow the third scenario is really a hard question. May I ask how did you answer that question? I would be completely indecisive and I have my psych in the next 4 hours.

[ChevySSP]

Wow the third scenario is really a hard question. May I ask how did you answer that question? I would be completely indecisive and I have my psych in the next 4 hours.

No one's gonna tell you how to answer that question. Thats cheatin.


Stick to your gun and give YOUR best answer. Either you have it or you don't.

Good luck

[MichaelM718]

No one's gonna tell you how to answer that question. Thats cheatin.


Stick to your gun and give YOUR best answer. Either you have it or you don't.

Good luck

Well I took my psych already and was given no scenario questions, but when I submitted that post I wasn't trying to cheat. I was just really curious as to what he put, because I'd be completely unable to answer such a question.

[ChevySSP]

Oh you did the psych....thats something different. Must have missed that this morning lol.


The psych just makes sure that your not crazy or that you don't exhibit some type of negative personality trait. Mine was pretty nerve wracking and was to me the hardest part of the entire process for the DPS.

The oral board will ask you scenario questions, and thats where they gauge how well you think on your feet. And they are good at it :cool: