The Interview

Interview…This word strikes fear in most people. It’s akin to public speaking. Before I get into it, let me mention that you submitted your application and may have done the written and physical agility test unless you are a recent academy graduate. The written test is to determine if you can read and comprehend and write to communicate to whoever reads your writing. There are no secrets to passing these. On the written test, if you got a C or better in school, you’ll be fine. To prepare for the physical agility test, make sure you are physically fit. Some agencies will help you practice for it. So there is not much else to say about those tests.

Back to the interview, I have a lot of side stories for this subject. I know this goes without saying but dress appropriately. A suit is appropriate for men or women, and also business attire for women. I have been at interviews when a candidate told us he did not own a suit. I have had candidates come with not-so-perfect fitting suits that they obviously borrowed from someone. I respect the latter. They may not have the funds to purchase one, but they have enough sense to know they should wear one.

Be on time, or even early would be better. I worked at an agency where we would add to the score depending on how early they arrived to their appointed interview. They didn’t get points off for arriving on time, but they got bonus points for being early.

You may be directed to handwrite a brief autobiography or an essay on why you want to be a police officer. That way, we can see how well you can write without having time to edit or have someone proofread it for you.

Let me stop right here and say that we never look for perfection. We don’t expect to hire perfect people, as those do not exist. Instead, we want to hire competent, honest people.

Time to meet the panel. There are usually three to five people on an oral interview board. They try to have a cross-section of people on the board; ones from the department, from other parts of the city (or?), and outsiders. I have been an outsider on many oral boards, and they all are different, with some similarities. Introduce yourself to the members. Try to remember who they are, as you may be asked later. Don’t sit until you are directed to. The panel will be behind a table, and you will be in a chair in front of the table, exposed. Women, please keep that in mind as to what you wear to the interview, so you are not uncomfortable facing many people in a short skirt. I have had to get a blanket for some candidates, so they are not so embarrassed. But that’s not a good start to the interview.

HR may be there as well to proctor the interview. It may or may not be recorded. Everyone is asked the same questions, although follow-up questions may be different for each candidate. The oral board members are all provided with a question sheet and a score sheet for each candidate. Before the interviews for the day, the board decides who will ask which questions, and any of them can ask follow-up questions. The process is explained before the interview starts.

Usually, the interview starts with you being asked to tell us about yourself. We cannot ask you about your sexual preference, ethnicity, marital status, children, etc. You can volunteer any of that if you want to.

If this is a trainee position, you won’t be expected to know police procedure, etc. They will likely ask you a series of questions about what you would do in certain situations. Here is a hint; very few have right and wrong answers. They are asked to find out how you think, your reasoning abilities, and if you can make a decision. You will not do well if you cannot make a decision. One of the panel members may ask a follow-up question, “Are you sure that’s what you would do?” Don’t worry about it, just answer it. There are usually plenty of integrity situation questions.

What do you know about the department? Don’t just Google it for how many square miles the city is, how many officers, etc. Talk to some of the officers to get a feel of the department, its good aspects and maybe some problems. Try to arrange to go on a ride-along before the interview because you will likely be asked what you have done to prepare yourself for this interview. Don’t just do it for that reason; you want to go on a ride-along or more to find out if this department is a fit for you. It may not be. It also may be the place you’ve been looking for all your life!

I required the candidate to bring their PHS (Personal History Statement) to the interview for two reasons. One, so that I could go through it quickly and ask some questions about it. Two, if we discover we want a particular candidate after the interview, we can get started on their background before another department picks them up.

I had a candidate answer that question by telling us he was concerned because he got a DUI arrest when he got back from Iraq. He said he was placed on a two-year probation and successfully passed probation, and had stopped drinking. OK, we can work with that. Later, during the background interview, he confessed that he violated his probation hundreds of times by driving drunk but was not caught. I said, but you told us you had stopped drinking. He said he did three weeks ago. Bye, bye…

A common question is what is a difficult situation you’ve had in your life and how did you deal with it, or something like that. It is incredible to me what people may consider difficult, and some are just heart-wrenching. Remember, if it is too personal or challenging, you don’t have to tell us. I have heard answers like I was in Afghanistan, and my buddy was shot and bleeding. I had to choose between immediately administering trauma aid to him or taking action to prevent the deaths of the other men in my unit. I chose the latter, and my buddy died, but the rest of the men lived. Or, my mother was in a coma, and I had to decide whether to take her off assisted breathing. Or my husband was physically abusive to my child and me. I had to decide whether to leave him or not.

As a comparison, I have had answers like, “Well, it was time to get a new cell phone, and I had to decide between getting an Android phone or an iPhone….” That person’s answer should have been, “I am fortunate not to have had difficulty in my life.” But they really thought that was so difficult.

At the end of most interviews, you are asked if you have any questions of the panel. DO NOT ask, “How’d I do?” You will not get an answer, and it does not look good for you. You can ask what the next step in the process is, or when the candidates will be notified. Be sure to thank the panel for their time and, if it seems appropriate, shake their hands before departure.

Good luck to you.

A side story. I had a candidate, who I attended different department’s interviews on and did some polygraphs on, tell me that he felt he has not been hired because he is gay. I had personal knowledge and told him that was not the case, and in fact, the departments he applied to considered him a mediocre candidate, which was why he was not hired. There were better-qualified candidates. He didn’t realize that they would have liked to have hired him because they wanted diversity in the department. His being gay was a plus as they wanted officers who represented the community make-up. I told him my department would be interested in hiring him since I was now the police chief. He said he wasn’t interested in a smaller department. Oh, well…his loss…