I'm fast tracking this article because a lot of you are applying now and will soon be having this interview, I'm literally going to go through every single competency and address each of them to make sure you understand them! Please, email: testreadyhelp@gmail.com if you're having difficult and as always I'm going to recommend contacting myself at (905) 516 4981. The material I'm covering here is very similar to what I talk about during the Test Ready Pro workshop however, in one-on-one mentoring sessions I offer a far more comprehensive look at the competencies and work on the actual questions with you in addition to developing your interview answers with you to prepare you for the interview.
There are eight unique essential competencies which you must know and fully understand. Although the names of each competency seem self explanatory I’m going to break each down and relate how they’re each perceived specific to policing and your potential to fit the skill set necessary for a future career in policing. I also feel that it’s necessary to include a disclaimer here, I will not release the specifics of my own interview questions that I was asked and answered during my Essential Competency and Developmental Competency interviews or any services specific interview questions. I will however guide you through understanding each competency and give you examples of how to go about articulating an answer. Keep in mind my answers may seem goofy at times but they follow our prescribed technique for answering behavioural questions. Also, note that my questions here are often answered with non job, school or volunteer related experiences. During your own interviews with any Police Service you must use examples from work, school or volunteering.
Analytical Thinking is the ability to analyze situations and events in a logical way, and to organize the parts of a problem in a systematic way. Analytical thinking is a competency demonstrated during your OACP Stage One testing, the Police Analytical Thinking Inventory (PATI). I do not suspect you will ever be asked a question on this competency.
Self Confidence is described as a belief in your own abilities and judgement, and recognition of personal limitations and development needs. Lets break this down, a belief in my own abilities: I believe I can do something, recognition of personal limitations: perhaps I bit off more than I could chew. Lastly, development needs: I know I need help here, I’ve recognized what’s wrong and will ask for assistance.
Example: I’ve always to build my own computer from scratch. This past spring it was cold out and I found myself not taking part in as many activities as usual so on May fourth I made the decision to go out and start buying the parts to make my own computer. I had some help researching which components were compatible through a few of my friends and felt confident that the only tools I needed was a single screw-driver. After getting home from collecting everything I needed I was excited and couldn’t wait to start working on my new project. I spent four hours carefully unpacking each part, reading the documentation that came along with it and hooking it all up together. Finally it came time to proudly press the On button. To my dismay when I plugged the computer in and press the power button nothing happened, I waited a few seconds and began to smell something burning, I knew at once it was the computer as it was the obvious scent of burning plastic. I was curious and couldn’t imagine what was going on. I quickly unplugged everything and opened the computer case up to see where I went wrong, I couldn’t figure it out. For fifteen minutes I checked each wire to make sure it was connected properly and in the right place, I checked each screw making sure they weren’t in too tight, cracking the casing… I just couldn’t figure it out. By this time it was well after eleven at night but I had to call my computer savvy friends and get their input on what I could do, I spent a half hour on the phone and no one could give me any idea of what was wrong, I was frustrated but I began to have a sick feeling in my stomach when my friend Matt told me the burning smell could have been the motherboard or power supply frying, I felt like all this money was spent on nothing, just totally wasted. I set my alarm for early the next morning so I could get to a computer repair shop first thing when they opened. I had a hard time sleeping that night. When I finally brought the computer in I found that problem wasn’t with how I connected the wires but that I didn’t use a spacer between the motherboard and the case, this was causing friction amongst the metallic parts which did not allow for the computer to power on. Only a few hours later I was out the door, back at home and set-up with my new that I had practically built all myself. I learnt something new that day and I kept the repair shops number and knew in the future I had one more resource at my fingertips if I needed technical support for my computer.
Starting a career in Emergency Services? You know you have to pass the Entrance Test! Pass the first time and also access complete learning materials plus Fitness, Application, Resume and Interview prep. For Firefighters OFAI FACT, CPS, OS Test Prep, FORCES CFAT,eCFAT, Police OACP CSS Certificate, Paramedic A-EMCA prep, Security Guard License, Special Constable GATB, Mental Health and more! Your career starts with the right training. Prepare the right way!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Behavioral Interview Techniques
Last week I wrote about behavioral interviews and tried to clear up misconceptions. This weeks blog is again on behavioral interviews but specifically techniques for answering questions.
Last week I gave a very vague example of a behavioral interview question, this question was open-ended. That question: "Tell me how you would handle a situation where ______________." Is a perfect example of what you're up against in most behavioral job interviews regardless of whether it is with a Police Service or a corporation.
Be a S.T.A.R. STAR is an example that is most often used for behavioral interview responses. It follows the following formula, S: Situation, describe briefly when and where the incident occurred and who was involved. You are setting the scene. T: Task, what were you trying to achieve, what was the problem or issue to be dealt with. A: Action, what action did you take independently or to assist others to get to a positive outcome. R: Result, what was the outcome of your actions, state your success and any positive feedback received or what you learned if the outcome was different to what was anticipated. Explain what you would do differently in the future. Alternatively you could include information sharing as a competency here for result. For instance, how I shared this experience to better my co-workers.
STAR is a good formula and is an excellent way to get used to answering behavioral questions, if you cover all your STAR basses in the order they appear: Situation, task, action, result. Result is the one most people overlook. Result could be hyphenated as follow-up. The reason for this is because it's very important to articulate what you learnt from the situation you described and how you curbed your approach to similar problems or thought processes after that event.
A good example of Star in action taken from www.ssu.uts.edu.au You are asked: 'Can you tell me about a time when you had to organise a major event?' Using the STAR model, your answer might be something like this:
Situation
'Yes - earlier this year I had to organise the UTS Careers Fair.
Task
'To do this, I was required to market and advertise the Fair to both students and employers. I also had to organise venue hire, catering and booth construction, and exhibition equipment.
Action
'To market the Fair to students, we had a postcard designed and mailed out to our target audience. We also used banners, flyers and posters to advertise. In the week leading up to the Fair, we used a video wall for the first time.... [Describe succinctly each of the other tasks for which you were responsible.
Results
'We had 65 employers at the fair, which was the largest number of employers to attend to date. And there were over 2500 students, which was also a record number.'
The above example is a perfect, smooth example, all it leaves out is sufficent information about the exact time, which is a detail you would input yourself, specifically who was involved and also a really concrete follow-up, "In the future, I did __________ to make sure other volunteers and organizes knew of this successful method to bring more people to the job fair."
Again, simple but very effective, this formla for answering questions will become very natural for you eventually, with practice.
Next week we'll have more on behavioral interview techniques so send in your questions, the forum is down right now but I will answer emails, private messages and feel free to leave questions in the "comments" section of this blog.
Last week I gave a very vague example of a behavioral interview question, this question was open-ended. That question: "Tell me how you would handle a situation where ______________." Is a perfect example of what you're up against in most behavioral job interviews regardless of whether it is with a Police Service or a corporation.
Be a S.T.A.R. STAR is an example that is most often used for behavioral interview responses. It follows the following formula, S: Situation, describe briefly when and where the incident occurred and who was involved. You are setting the scene. T: Task, what were you trying to achieve, what was the problem or issue to be dealt with. A: Action, what action did you take independently or to assist others to get to a positive outcome. R: Result, what was the outcome of your actions, state your success and any positive feedback received or what you learned if the outcome was different to what was anticipated. Explain what you would do differently in the future. Alternatively you could include information sharing as a competency here for result. For instance, how I shared this experience to better my co-workers.
STAR is a good formula and is an excellent way to get used to answering behavioral questions, if you cover all your STAR basses in the order they appear: Situation, task, action, result. Result is the one most people overlook. Result could be hyphenated as follow-up. The reason for this is because it's very important to articulate what you learnt from the situation you described and how you curbed your approach to similar problems or thought processes after that event.
A good example of Star in action taken from www.ssu.uts.edu.au You are asked: 'Can you tell me about a time when you had to organise a major event?' Using the STAR model, your answer might be something like this:
Situation
'Yes - earlier this year I had to organise the UTS Careers Fair.
Task
'To do this, I was required to market and advertise the Fair to both students and employers. I also had to organise venue hire, catering and booth construction, and exhibition equipment.
Action
'To market the Fair to students, we had a postcard designed and mailed out to our target audience. We also used banners, flyers and posters to advertise. In the week leading up to the Fair, we used a video wall for the first time.... [Describe succinctly each of the other tasks for which you were responsible.
Results
'We had 65 employers at the fair, which was the largest number of employers to attend to date. And there were over 2500 students, which was also a record number.'
The above example is a perfect, smooth example, all it leaves out is sufficent information about the exact time, which is a detail you would input yourself, specifically who was involved and also a really concrete follow-up, "In the future, I did __________ to make sure other volunteers and organizes knew of this successful method to bring more people to the job fair."
Again, simple but very effective, this formla for answering questions will become very natural for you eventually, with practice.
Next week we'll have more on behavioral interview techniques so send in your questions, the forum is down right now but I will answer emails, private messages and feel free to leave questions in the "comments" section of this blog.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Understanding Behvaioral Interviewing.
Behvaioral interviewing became popular fifteen years ago. The basic concept of behvaioral interviews is that requires candidates to draw upon past experiences, think of behvaioral interview questions as practical experience based questions. It is here that the answers are absolutely objective. The interview is about probing and works very differently from traditional job interviews. The basic rule of behavioral interviews is that past actions or behavior are indicative of future actions and behvaiors. Behvaioral Interviewing predicts 55% of on the job behavor which far exceeds traditional interviewing which only predicts 10% of future job behavior.
In knowing this we can see why Police Services are so big on doing these interviews. Policing is a service and very much about how you perform individually, how you will represent that Service infront of the public and professionally amongst your co-workers.
Uniquely though, Police Services right across the board seem not to offer a traditional job interview at all, as in: "Tell me about yourself?" Here, you could get away with telling the interviewer what they want to hear or embarrass yourself by telling them what you think they want to hear: you're a quick learner, motivated, especially if you're lying this is an easy spot to get away with it. Also, understand that these questions are very open ended, they don't contain any specific structure, ideally you could manipulate your answer to go any route you want. Alternatively, imagine you're instead asked "Tell me how you would handle a situation where ______________." This type of question is usually preceeded with a very specific set of ground rules about how you are to answer the question, they aren't complicated ground rules but guidelines on how specific to be, what kind of pace to speak in as the interviewer may be writing everything you say in short hand, which is the case with Police Services for posterity. Your answer is simple until the Interviewer begins to pick apart your answer, perhaps they want specific dates and times, who was there specifically? Furthermore, to get to know your true character you may be asked how you felt when something particular in your story happened, you may be asked to articulate many fine details and your reactions to them, the other parties involved reactions and of course, the outcome. Also, don't think it's as easy as regurgitating an answer, you could be stopped mid-sentence and asked to articulate your previous point more or talk more about the last point you made. This is all pooled against your chances for success in Policing. Luckily for Police Recruits, we know specifically the exact characteristics a Police Candidate should possess (competencies) and we have their definitions! Competencies are listed on every Police Service's website that follow the standardized Constable Selection System (the majority of Police Services). How many other careers give you a study path for your interview??
Let's go back to the original question, ""Tell me how you would handle a situation where ______________." One of the ground rules may be before you're able to fully give your answer, you need to give a quick overview or synopsis of what you're going to say in your answer. This gives interviewers a chance to see if your answer has the potential to give them what they need to draw from your answer. If not, you need try something else. It's wise not to question this and understand it's not a technique for interviewers to psyche you out, really, they know exactly which competency they're looking for and in what context it will work, wouldn't you rather know on the spot that the answer you're giving isn't working, try something else. The alternative like the B-PAD is not knowing right then and there, not knowing you're doing something wrong and being able to change your approach and receiving a letter of your failure to meet standard. This, is the single most endearing part about the behvaioral interview, that, you get to work with the interviewer.
Next week we're going to talk about specific techniques for answering questions, in the mean time if you have any questions I'm always available on the forum! www.testreadypro.com/forums
In knowing this we can see why Police Services are so big on doing these interviews. Policing is a service and very much about how you perform individually, how you will represent that Service infront of the public and professionally amongst your co-workers.
Uniquely though, Police Services right across the board seem not to offer a traditional job interview at all, as in: "Tell me about yourself?" Here, you could get away with telling the interviewer what they want to hear or embarrass yourself by telling them what you think they want to hear: you're a quick learner, motivated, especially if you're lying this is an easy spot to get away with it. Also, understand that these questions are very open ended, they don't contain any specific structure, ideally you could manipulate your answer to go any route you want. Alternatively, imagine you're instead asked "Tell me how you would handle a situation where ______________." This type of question is usually preceeded with a very specific set of ground rules about how you are to answer the question, they aren't complicated ground rules but guidelines on how specific to be, what kind of pace to speak in as the interviewer may be writing everything you say in short hand, which is the case with Police Services for posterity. Your answer is simple until the Interviewer begins to pick apart your answer, perhaps they want specific dates and times, who was there specifically? Furthermore, to get to know your true character you may be asked how you felt when something particular in your story happened, you may be asked to articulate many fine details and your reactions to them, the other parties involved reactions and of course, the outcome. Also, don't think it's as easy as regurgitating an answer, you could be stopped mid-sentence and asked to articulate your previous point more or talk more about the last point you made. This is all pooled against your chances for success in Policing. Luckily for Police Recruits, we know specifically the exact characteristics a Police Candidate should possess (competencies) and we have their definitions! Competencies are listed on every Police Service's website that follow the standardized Constable Selection System (the majority of Police Services). How many other careers give you a study path for your interview??
Let's go back to the original question, ""Tell me how you would handle a situation where ______________." One of the ground rules may be before you're able to fully give your answer, you need to give a quick overview or synopsis of what you're going to say in your answer. This gives interviewers a chance to see if your answer has the potential to give them what they need to draw from your answer. If not, you need try something else. It's wise not to question this and understand it's not a technique for interviewers to psyche you out, really, they know exactly which competency they're looking for and in what context it will work, wouldn't you rather know on the spot that the answer you're giving isn't working, try something else. The alternative like the B-PAD is not knowing right then and there, not knowing you're doing something wrong and being able to change your approach and receiving a letter of your failure to meet standard. This, is the single most endearing part about the behvaioral interview, that, you get to work with the interviewer.
Next week we're going to talk about specific techniques for answering questions, in the mean time if you have any questions I'm always available on the forum! www.testreadypro.com/forums
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Local Focus Interviews.
Local focus interview answers will be unique to each service you apply to. Every service you apply to will require that you complete their own Local Focus Interview. If you check, the majority of Ontario Police Service's all say the same thing in their description of the interview. Pre-background questionnaire, suitability, require a knowledge of the region.
The pre-background questionnaire is very standard and covers a surprisingly long length of time into your past, going into this interview prepared with specific dates is essential, think long and hard before you give a date, you need to be accurate and represent yourself effectively, the last thing you want is to pass everything and fail the background investigation because you didn't articulate your past correctly. I think it goes without saying but I'll just say in plain english, don't lie. You'll get yourself kicked out of selection.
Suitability is a little bit of a difficult subject for me to write about. Here it is all up to you and how well you can articulate your skills, experiences, ties to the community, etc. I wouldn't expect to be grilled about why you want the job here so much, save that for your psych!! This portion of the LFI is really to see if professionally you have the skills it will take to become a Police Constable. One section that is well represented here is actually a competency, "Commitment To Learning" although it is more of an attribute this is a good time to articulate how you feel about your commitment to learning.
Finally, requiring a knowledge of the region. If you're applying to the Toronto Police, you should know all there is to know about Toronto. When was Toronto founded, by whom, its geography, population, the diversity of the population, economics, large firms, big employers, attractions, communities, and the official information on the Toronto Police like their history, current Chief, Super Intendents, Inspectors, how the divisions are divided, their borders, crime statistics, specialized units that are in Toronto.
The Local Focus Interview isn't at all complicated if you're prepared for it. Most of the information you need about the service you're applying to can either be found on their own official website, by visiting a local museum, reading the local newspaper/watching local news and using www.wikipedia.com Just type in your city and you may find a plethora of information.
The pre-background questionnaire is very standard and covers a surprisingly long length of time into your past, going into this interview prepared with specific dates is essential, think long and hard before you give a date, you need to be accurate and represent yourself effectively, the last thing you want is to pass everything and fail the background investigation because you didn't articulate your past correctly. I think it goes without saying but I'll just say in plain english, don't lie. You'll get yourself kicked out of selection.
Suitability is a little bit of a difficult subject for me to write about. Here it is all up to you and how well you can articulate your skills, experiences, ties to the community, etc. I wouldn't expect to be grilled about why you want the job here so much, save that for your psych!! This portion of the LFI is really to see if professionally you have the skills it will take to become a Police Constable. One section that is well represented here is actually a competency, "Commitment To Learning" although it is more of an attribute this is a good time to articulate how you feel about your commitment to learning.
Finally, requiring a knowledge of the region. If you're applying to the Toronto Police, you should know all there is to know about Toronto. When was Toronto founded, by whom, its geography, population, the diversity of the population, economics, large firms, big employers, attractions, communities, and the official information on the Toronto Police like their history, current Chief, Super Intendents, Inspectors, how the divisions are divided, their borders, crime statistics, specialized units that are in Toronto.
The Local Focus Interview isn't at all complicated if you're prepared for it. Most of the information you need about the service you're applying to can either be found on their own official website, by visiting a local museum, reading the local newspaper/watching local news and using www.wikipedia.com Just type in your city and you may find a plethora of information.
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