Posted: 3/31/2006 12:21:49 PM EDT
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I'm getting a tad nervous boys. The civil service test, and agility course is next Sat. April 9th. Part of me is optimistic and part of me isn't. The weird thing is, I'm mostly nervous about the written and physical tests. All my cop buddies keep stressing me about the interviews. I understand the interviews are tough, but all I can do is be me. The written and physical parts are what I have to prepare for, and I still feel like I haven't trained hard enough due to issues with my current job. Any words of advice..........for the interviews.......tests..........anything? |
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Sit at attention, make eye contact, give short answers, and don't change them. They'll try to make you change answers, and once you do, you've proven yourself indecisive. Prepare and memorize a speech ahead of time for questions you KNOW they'll ask i.e. 'what have you done to prepare youself for this position, why do you want to become a P/O?' etc.... And thank them for their time when you leave.... For the written, like Mattz said, use common sense; and on the written psych test, be truthful, they will catch lies and after 1000+ questions, you can forget about lies you told 3hrs before, that's where they getcha. Funny story: On my psych eval, the Doc says "You stated here: 'sometimes I feel like breaking things'..." Being a father of young'uns at the time, I says 'Yup, have you ever walked thru the house at 0300 and stepped on a Tonka truck in bare feet....?' She just laughed and said job well done. Run run and run some more this week, eat really well the night before, and get lots of sleep. Race day will come and you will be nervous as hell, which saps energy. |
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From my tacked post above. Try as you may, it is a nervewracking experience and you will be nervous. Period. Just deal with it and concentrate on the questions posed to you. I have sat on more than a few and everyone shows some kind of apprehension. First: Dress appropriately. Your appearance will be your only chance at a first impression. Buisiness suit or shirt and tie as directed. No t-shirts, "club clothes", hats or a tux. (I have seen all of these at hiring boards!!!!) This may sound dumb, but legit canidates have lost the board before they even opened their mouths. Listen to the questions posed. Answer truthfully, don't add or sugarcoat your answers. Take responsibility for indiscrepancies and do not over justify your past. Listen: do not wait to speak. It is normal to pause to formulate a response. Some sneaky board members will insert a "pregnant pause" in the dialogue to get you to keep talking after your answer (it is an interview tecnique). Just take everything in stride. When you respond to a question on a board, address the person that asked the question first, and then scan left to right while you answer the board as a whole. 2 or 3 seconds of eye contact per person works well. the idea is to seem comfortable and forthcoming to the board as a whole. Answer truthfully!!!!!! Looking away, up or repeating the question might be taken as a sign of a dishonest answer. If you do not understand the question or need it repeated, politely say so...try not to "guess". Boards WILL ask you ambiguous or inflammatory questions to see how you handle them. Stay calm and do not get frustrated. They are testing your ability to think clearly under stress and "on your feet". Read the job interview posting really carefully. They might ask a couple of questions where the answer is right there on the posting. Things like "What are your duties as a police officer?" Do not pander to the board, but keep your sense of humor. Thank them for their time and excuse yourself when directed. Cheesy stuff like handing out buisiness cards to each member or "a parting shot" never work in your favor. They know where to find you when the time comes. |
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Woohoo! I rocked the physical test, and I think I did fairly well on the written exam. The written wasn't too bad at first, but towards the end, my lack of sleep started setting in, and I struggled through the last 20 questions. I should have taken my wife's advice and brushed up on my math skills. I didn't realize how much I rely on a calculator now-a-days. Anyways, I got through the written test fairly well, but finished towards the end of the group. Went outside for the physical agility course, and had a blast. To make a long story short, the weather was pretty crappy out. I went from light mist, to sleet, and then to pouring rain when it came my turn to do everything. Alot of guys were bitching and whining, which was definitely to my advantage. I took my time on the mile, and blazed through the agility course. In fact, I did it a minute faster than the time required for max points. Now, I just cross my fingers and play the waiting game. It takes 30 days for the background check, which I'm not worried about. I have a pretty clean record.....just tickets, mainly. Next is the "assessment" phase. That's gonna be tough. I hear they really screw with your head, but I'll just grin and bare it, I guess. Like you guys said.......try to be level headed, and stick to your guns. Wish me luck. |
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I got my packet in the mail the other day. LOTS of personal background stuff to fill out. I amazed at how much I've forgotten about myself, and how many stinken places I've lived in the last 10 years. Geeez. We're supposed to have a meeting on the 25th where we turn in this paper work. I'm not sure what that's all about. I don't think it's the actual assesment center, but I'm going to ask around to be sure. In the mean time, I'm digging around everywhere to figure out old addresses, old landlords, and so on. Some of this stuff is dang near impossible to find, and some of it I flat out won't find. I'm going to try to get close, at least. I hear these packets aren't just for their information, but also something they'll critique us on later. The pressure is on, boys. |
They'll use it in the polygraph if they do that there. + many other reasons. |
What department are you applying for? |
Your story looks a lot like mine. If the agency you're applying to does polygraph. They will use some of the stuff to see if you are truthful. And part of what they'll look at is do you pay your bills, meet your obligations, are you a responsible guy. From what you've posted I'd say, no worries. Good luck. |
| I saw where one poster advised you too not change your answers during the oral board....I have to slightly disagree with this. If they give you a scenario, you answer, and then they add more facts to the scenario and those facts would change how you would handle then scenario, then by all means change your answer and tell them why you would change. |
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Well boys........... Any day now. We turned in our background info packets Tues., and we'll just sit now, waiting for a response. I'm supposed to do the polygraph next week. I'm a little nervous about that, cause I've never had one, and I don't know if just nerves in general would make me fail it or not. As for the assesment center..............I'm really nervous about that. I have to admit, the guys I'm competing with seem like a fairly sharp bunch. To add to that, several have been interns throught the CJ program at the local university. So, that means their faces have already been around, and have a better chance of getting hired. I hope I'll have something to say that sticks out in front of everyone else. It looks like they're hiring 4, and possibly up to 7. I'm 12th on the list, last I heard. So, I guess we'll see. Any suggestions? Any way to prep for this? |