Oral is on Monday 11/17...

[DZL]

I'm starting to get nervous as hell too...

I scored 94% on my written, breezed through the physical agility, now onto the biggest hurdle for me...

Once I get in there, and get my feet under me, I'll be fine, it's just this waiting and thinking about it is starting to eat at me...

Any last minute tips for the oral...? I don't think it's going to be more than 20 minutes, cause they are jamming 23 interviews in on Monday and Tuesday from 6pm-9pm each night...

I think the short time duration will help, but I gotta come off confident and be able to display my true self in that time, cause there isn't going to be any to waste...

[retdetsgt]

Take a six pack. Have one yourself to relax, but offer one to each of the board members....

[DZL]

Ha, the thought never crossed my mind, considering I don't drink... ;)

Here's another question I wanted to ask... Would it be out of line or seem like I am conceding a loss here, if I asked the chief after the interview if he would be willing to sponser me for a pre-service spot in the training academy if I am not one of the applicants selected to move onto the next phase...?

Or should I wait until after I hear one way or another...? This IS what I want to do, and if i have to pay to get my Act 120 training myself I will do it, if that is going to make me more attractive to other depts in the future...

Thanks...

[MarineMp]

I think you should moonwalk into the room. Followed up by a bad case of the hehe's.


No really, just be yourself. Try not to sound like your second guessing yourself. And for your sake don't ask the chief that. If you were to get an offer for sponsorship, it would come up from a chain of command. I am sure the Chief has better things to do than to be approached by an applicant asking for stuff.

[noelchabanel]

Be confident in your responses, no second guessing yourself. Try to minimize the nervousness, or at least minimize the appearance of nervousness. Also, show them you are enthusiastic about working for them and really want this career in this place. Those were the things that tripped me up when I failed....I know because I called and asked for advice later. If you aren't successful, your recruiting officer may be willing to give you some advice if you call back in a week after your nerves have calmed down. Some won't but it is worth asking about. It was worth the call in my case. Even though the criticism was hard to hear since I really wanted that job, it helped me to improve and pass the next one, which I think will be just as good.

Oh, and it goes without saying, but plan to arrive early so you aren't late, eat breakfast (minimal coffee so you aren't so jittery), sleep well the night before, wear a nice conservative suit, shine your shoes, get a haircut appropriate to the job, and shave. I saw a few who looked sloppy.....and sadly I don't expect to see them again.

[retdetsgt]

And seriously, expect some politically correct type questions so give the PC response. When I sat on those boards, they always had us ask at least one that was completely BS, but I had to flunk one pretty good applicant because he said what he really believed and not the PC answer.

Wear at least a coat and tie. It doesn't need to be a suit, but wear shined shoes. Sit up straight and look each questioner in the eye as they ask the question and then address the whole board. Speak clearly, smile like you're enjoying the grilling and appear as confident as you can w/o appearing arrogant.

Good luck. If all else fails, keep the 6 pack in the car for afterwards.;)

[bell4fan]

Think before you speak. If they ask you a situational question, think about it for a minute or two. They want to see you can think through a problem, not just blurt out the first thing that pops in your mind. And when they question you about your answers, dont change your mind, just tell them your thought process behind your decision. As said above, be PC, then pretty much follow your normal interview techniques. GOOD LUCK!!!

[DZL]

Thanks for the input fellas...

I plan to show up 30 minutes before my scheduled time, and am wearing a conservative suit...

[Pookie44]

Good luck:D

[DZL]

Well, I had my interview last evening, and I must say I felt fairly comfortable in the setting... I sat in front of the Civil Service Commision Board, consisting of one male and two females...

I was shocked at the amount of time that I spent in there... I was in and out in less than 10 minutes, which really caught me off guard...

They only asked me 4 questions...

-Tell us about yourself, your experience in security / LE, other work history...

-Tell us what you think the 3 most important traits a police officer must display, how you have shown these, and how you are trying to improve upon them...

-Situational: You are on patrol, you see a group of youths beginning to form sides in a park, how do you handle this situation...

-Situational: You come across a person lying on the sidewalk, and you do not recognize the language the person is speaking, how would you help this person...

They finished the interview by asking me why they should hire me out of the other 22 applicants, and asked if I had any questions for them...

It was funny cause the male member of the board asked me if I went to a certain elementary school, and I said yeah, that I remember him being my principal... He said he remembered my name, and everyone had a little chuckle, cause we weren't sure if that was good or bad...

They are conducting the 2nd group of interviews this evening, and they want to make a decision quickly after that...

My question to you guys is, would it be prudent to take in a thank you letter for giving me an opportunity to interview, or would it in any way hurt my chances, and look like i'm too eager...?

[noelchabanel]

Although it is a normal courtesy for other professional jobs, they do not expect one. Maye if you fail or are otherwise later disqualified or not selected it would be the polite thing to do. Otherwise they might see you as trying to ingratiate yoursef toward them, which could be seen as a possible fairness issue. I just thanked them politely for the time at the end of my interviews, and then called and thanked the recruiter again when I found out I didn't pass two of them.

[dkl1986]

here's some of my scenario questions (from 3 oral boards):

1- you respond to a burglar alarm at a store. after you and another officer arrive, you see the front door window is broken. after the scene is clear, you notice your partner is loading boxes of cough syrup into their vehicle. you inquire as to what they are doing. they say they like cough syrup and offer you some. what do you do and why?

2- you are patroling outside of xyz hospital (county position). you observe a male/female couple in a verbal argument. you inquire as to what the situation is. the female tells you her husband hit her. you observe a red mark on her face. the male then tells you the situation is none of your business and that you need to leave. you tell him it is your job to investigate situations like these. at that point, the male pulls out a large knife and begins coming toward you. what do you do? what is your main concern in this situation?

3- you pull over a motorist for failing to stop at a stop sign. as you begin to write the motorist a ticket, they acuse you of racial profiling. what do you do? (gave my response) at that point, she appears to become even more aggitated and says she wants to file a complaint against you. she demands your name and badge number. what do you do?

from what i've been told when asking other cops, in integrity situations, you always bring the issue up to the person's supervisor (e.g. sgt. steals a candy bar, you inform lt.), 2- in use of force questions, if they have a weapon and come within a certain amount of feet of you (20 i think), you open fire. this is assuming you've already ordered them to drop their weapon. other than that, i'm told give the best answer based on common knowledge and don't second guess yourself. so far i haven't failed an oral board and i've taken 3.

[DZL]

in any situation concerning a fellow officer and an integrity issue i would always talk to the officer first if I felt he was in the wrong... if after that there was still a disagreement, ONLY then would i go to the supervisor... you should always try and handle things "in house" before bringing management to the table... Noone likes a rat, and you're gonna need that guy to watch your *** down the road... do you really want him to think back to that time when you snitched him out over some cough syrup...?

I understand it's an integrity issue and if you talk to him, maybe he'll make the right decision...

at least that's the way I've always dealt with issues when dealing with co-workers...

i obviously don't knoow police tactics in a situation when you are being approached with a knife, but my common sense tells me that I am not allowed to open fire on a guy that is 20' away from me with a knife... anyone...?

3rd one seemed to be common sense...

[dkl1986]

in any situation concerning a fellow officer and an integrity issue i would always talk to the officer first if I felt he was in the wrong... if after that there was still a disagreement, ONLY then would i go to the supervisor... you should always try and handle things "in house" before bringing management to the table... Noone likes a rat, and you're gonna need that guy to watch your *** down the road... do you really want him to think back to that time when you snitched him out over some cough syrup...?

I understand it's an integrity issue and if you talk to him, maybe he'll make the right decision...

'Maybe he'll make the right decision... Any maybe he won't. If you witness your fellow officer do something like that and you do nothing about it, are you not as guilty as he is for stealing that candy bar? "You're fellow officer puts a candy bar in his pocket and waves to the cashier, what do you do?" I first ask if they have a running tab with the store. If not, I tell them that they need to put the candy back back or pay for it. If the situation isn't resolved, then the officer will either have to notify the supervisor, or I will. I prefer to do it together since comradry (sp?) is very important.

at least that's the way I've always dealt with issues when dealing with co-workers...

i obviously don't knoow police tactics in a situation when you are being approached with a knife, but my common sense tells me that I am not allowed to open fire on a guy that is 20' away from me with a knife... anyone...?

The way I answered that question is this. They come at me with a knife drawn. I reach for my gun, and order them to drop their weapon. If they do, I arrest the individual. If they do not, I continue ordering them to drop their weapon. After repeated requests, if they do not drop their weapon, I open fire. I don't know if it's exactly 20 feet, but it's something to that extent.

So if you don't shoot them and they come at you with a deadly weapon, what do you do? When I was an explorer, our advisor told us. "If you're in a fair fight, your tactics are wrong. They come at you with fists, you pull out your baton/mace. They have a bat/knife, you pull out your gun. They have a gun, you pull out your shotgun. And so on and so forth.

3rd one seemed to be common sense...

I tell them I pulled them over for not stopping. I can go into more detail to state how exactly I go about observing them not stopping, if I feel it's needed. The reaons I stopped you has nothing to do with your race, sex, etc. If they want to file complain, they have every right to. I'm officer XYZ and my badge number is 123. Have a glorious day!

And keep in mind, I've passed all three of my oral boards. Not saying I'm an expert of anything, but I do have a little experience.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

my common sense tells me that I am not allowed to open fire on a guy that is 20' away from me with a knife... anyone...?

From Dennis Tueller, and popularized by the Street Survival Seminar's instructional video "Surviving Edged Weapons"

In the time it takes the average officer to recognize a threat, draw his sidearm and fire 2 rounds at center mass, an average subject charging at the officer with an edged weapon can cover a distance of 21 feet. Thus, when dealing with an edged-weapon wielder at anything less than 21 feet you need to have your gun out and ready to shoot before he starts rushing you or else you risk being set upon and injured or killed before you can draw your sidearm and effectively defeat the attack.