Had enough competency questions yet??

Well, we only covered half of them!! Keep in mind you could have two seperate interviews based on competencies pending on which service you apply to. If not, expect to be asked questions from both the Essential Competencies (which we talked about earlier) in addition to the Developmental Competencies, whcih we will talk about this week.

I like to think of Developmental Competencies as the practical competencies, ones you can use with your B-PAD and ones you can use to prepare for the ECI panel interview. Developmental Competency Interviews (DCI) are often regarded as competencies that can be acquired through training, after a person has been hired as a police officer however, some police services have immediate need for specific skills and abilities that are "developmental" and therefore could be included as questions in the hiring process. The first developmental competency is information seeking; the ability to seek out information from various sources before making a decision. This competency is so obvious in how it applies to policing: would you make an arrest if you only had half of the story, what about witnesses? Information seeking as it applies to yourself could be as simple as:

I was having problems getting my digital camera to work. Unfortunately between me and my friend we couldn't get any of the photos to download onto my computer. I looked for the manual but couldn't find it, I tried googling my camera and found a .pdf version of the manual on the manufacturers website but it didn't have the right troubleshooting tips for getting my photos off the camera and onto my computer. I then went back to the store I bought my camera, they were helpful and explained that it would be easier to remove the memory card from the camera in order to upload the photos however, I would need an adapter that would hook up to my computer. They didn't sell them. I then drove to another local electronics store where I found the adapter and asked about using it. I was proud of myself when I came home and was easily able to get all my great photos off the camera and onto my computer to share with my friends and family. I always try to find a fix to my problems myself via technical phone support, the internet, reading manuals or asking friends but I'm also comfortable in starting back at square one, where I bought the product to ask the store what I should do.

I know the above example is kind of goofy but it really displays the concept of seeking out a solution in a variety of places, I had to because the first source, my friend didn't work, I then tried the manual but had to go on the internet, a new resource, however, again such luck, it wasn't until my third attempt at resolving the issue that I found an information source that would help. Also, pay close attention to my follow-up at the end of that competency.

Concern for safety is the last competency we will look at this week. Concern for safety is the ability to exercise caution in hazardous situations to ensure safety to your self and others. Although policing is seen as a dangerous job, you must be aware and in control. In doing this you will prevent unnecessary injury or harm to come of yourself. A great way to articulate your concern for safety is to demonstrate a time when you saw something unsafe or perhaps were put into an unsafe situation, maybe asked by your boss to use a rickety ladder, operate machinery that wasn't properly maintained. What did you do and say? Did you stand up and tell your boss or co-workers that it wasn't safe? What did you do about it? How did they react?

Again, another simple competency that is easily seen as relating to policing, the trick is making these competencies compatible with your experiences.

Background Investigations

Background investigations typically happen after you've applied, been screened during the application process, are interviewed and are then assessed. This often where applicants with a lack of volunteer involvement, post secondary education or work consistency get turned down. If you're competitive enough you will be put through to the background investigation portion. Some services will just put you through their background when you're successful with interviews however, some will first assess your application/resume and make a decision from there compared against other applicants who are also waiting for their background investigation. If selected to move on to the background investigation, a specific investigator will be assigned to your check, they will check with your school, volunteer, work and personal character references. Now, keep in mind you've offered these references but at anytime you could receive a call saying that you need to supply extra references as the ones you've provided could not be contacted or any variety of issues that could occur. Also this is the time when your pre-background questionnaire is drawn upon for reference against traffic accidents, tickets, criminal charges etc. Typically they take four weeks but can take as little as two weeks. Problems with the length of your background investigation occur if you were not born in Canada, have studied outside of Canada or lived abroad.

Letters of reference are great for this process because you know exactly what the person who wrote the letter feels about you. Letters of reference can even be from your friends/personal character reference. Letters of reference are great to bring along with your during your early interview stages, put them in your portfolio along with your OACP COR, other certificates/awards. I highly recommend having letters of reference written specifically to the job you're applying for, either "I have no hesitations in recommending ______ for a career with the _________ Police Service."

A quick note about references: Don't just assume that because someone agrees to writing you a letter of reference or agrees to be a reference that they will give you a good reference. Letters of reference in sealed envelopes intended only for the recipient can be bad news if you're not sure that the reference writing the letter is absolutely happy with you. Also, make sure you references are available, because they write a letter doesn't mean they're off the hook.

If you don't have any letters of reference, dig up your old bosses, current bosses, teachers etc. and have them write something simple. Make sure they include the date, their name, mailing address and a phone where they can be reached. If they're having a hard time writing one or don't know what to do, use google to search reference letter form generators or simply "how to write a letter of reference."

Background checks include credit checks and it's important that you take the responsibility to use the resources out there to check your credit score and determine if it needs to be improved upon.

More Essential Competencies

For the past two weeks we've been talking about interview competencies, the interviews are somewhat standardized by the Constable Selection System in the competencies you must display through behvaioral questions. This week we will look at Self Control which is a multi-dimensional competency and the final essential competencies.

Self control is the ability to keep your own emotions under control and to restrain negative actions when provoked or when working under stressful situations. I like to really keep those two areas seperate, emotional control and restraint. Emotional control could be as simple as:

"On August 4th 2007 my father died, it was a difficult for me but I was responsible for notifying family and friends. It became even more difficult when I had to begin making funeral arrangements and had the unpleasant duty of being the executor of my fathers will. Through this difficult time I was able to control my emotions and keep a clear head by seeking help and counselling from my friends and family, although it was difficult I kept myself in check and was able to complete all my taks during this time of grieving."

Restraint is more of a confrontational person who is difficult or gives you a hard time, a classic example:

"On December 26th 2006 I was working at the customer service desk at Best Buy. It was boxing and there was a long line of returns, one customer had a microwave in an opened box, I could see on his face as he approached the desk that he was unhappy, he stomped up towards and slammed the box down on the counter "do you know how long I've been waiting?". Even the tone of his voice was very angry so I tried to de-escalate the situation by telling him "Sir, I know the lines are very long today for returns, I'm going to work quickly to get you on your way so you can enjoy the rest of your holiday." I asked what was wrong with the product and was relieved to hear the tone in his voice had changed, he explained that he wanted to return the microwave as he did not like it. I asked for his receipt and began processing the paperwork, I told the customer that unfortunately because the product wasn't defective and the box was opened he would be subjected to a 15% restocking fee. The look on his face changed to a scowl and asked "Are you kidding me?" Again, the tone of his voice sounded agitated I explained that it was the store policy and unfortunately there wasn't anything I could about it. "You know, you're a smug little prick.." I let him finish and allowed the comments to roll off my back, "Sir, I know you're frustrated with the situation but you need to understand that I can't do anything about the restocking fee." He started to curse at me but this time I interrupted him "Sir, that is enough, if you can not treat me with respect than you need to leave the store or I will call the police." I was hurt by his comments but wouldn't let myself blow-up at him, I know that getting angry could only make the situation worse. My stern tone of voice worked, he picked up the microwave and stomped away to the front door. I wish I could have helped him in the situation and atleast did the return for him since he obviously didn't want the microwave but was happy that I was able to atleast defuse the situation and have the angry customer walk away."

Relationship building describes the ability to develop and maintain a network of contacts, both inside and outside work, school, volunteering. The basis of this competency is that you make friends, that you have friends and that in your work place, at school and at volunteer events you are a social person. Policing is based on team work and having a friendly relationship with your co-workers is not only good for the work environment but also good for your professional development. Specifically, the relationship building competency questions are looking for who you met, how you became friends and how you continue to maintain this relationship outside of just seeing eachother at work, at school or at volunteer events.

The final two competencies are achievement orientation which is the desire for continuous improvement in service or accomplishments, this can be reflected via your awards, letter of recommendation, high marks, honor roll, etc.

Medical, physical skills and abilities is a competency that seeks out job related medical and physical skills and abilities including hearing, motor skills, cardiovascular endurance and upper body strength. In my experience these are all tested via your medical exam prior to your offer of employment and the OACP Certificates PREP and hearing/vision testing.

As a final note on competencies, working with them and understanding them, I again recommend the services of John Belisle to help tutor you through example questions and techniques beyond what I have covered here to help you answer the questions. Recruiters at your local service should be of help, mine was fantastic and gave me a lot of material to write about here and a lot of guidance prior to my interviews. Ultimately, understand that if you have your certificate of results, your resume passed the screening process, you really don't want to drop the ball here on interviews, too many people do and are deferred, having to wait a year before they can reapply.

Goodluck with those applications!

Essential Competencies Continued

Communication is the ability to demonstrate effective listening, verbal and written communication. Here is another easy one as you’ve already done a written communication test and your B-PAD also touches on this competency so I think it’s safe to say that you will not be asked to articulate a time where you demonstrated the communication competency during your essential competency interview.

Flexibility is the ability to adapt your approach in a variety of situations. Flexibility makes sense as far as being a Police Constable is concerned however, some people just don't seem capable of compromising or trying things a different way. Flexibility competency questions are usually answered with a simple answer that seems obvious so trust me, you don't need to rack your brain here. When it comes down to it you're just trying to show that just like in self-confidence you can realize your own limitations or maybe the short comings of the method you're using. Here is an example my recruiter used to love for flexibility and was usually his introduction example to understanding behvaioral questions, the hot dog story.

I was at a game with a friend of mine, Paul. Paul asked if I wanted a hot dog while he was going up to the concession and I said "yea, I'd love one." When Paul came back with the hot dog it had mustard, relish, ketchup, onions and all sorts of other dressings on it. I didn't say anything to Paul because I didn't want to offend him so I ate the hot dog. Usually, I'm a mustard and relish guy only. I don't like all the other condiments on my hot dog. To my surprise I really liked onions, I don't think I would get the ketchup again but I'm definetly going to get my hot dog with onions next time.

A very simple answer, I know. Notice though how there is a follow-up and my feelings of aprehension about eating the hot dog are evident.

Valuing diversity is the ability to work effectively with a wide cross section of the community representing diverse backgrounds, cultures and socio-economic circumstances.

This is a really hard competency for some, no one likes to think of themselves as a racist so opening up about such deep feelings let alone during a job interview can be tough. An alternative route to answering this question could be using peoples with handicaps as an example, I know for me personally I was very surprised to learn how independently blind people live. It wasn't until I was in high school when there was a school for the blind across the road that I really saw that blindness barely inhibits anyones life! Another alternative, perhaps you grew up in an upper class neighborhood or away from poverty, what were your predetermined thoughts about the needy, did your ideas ever change? Now, that is the most important part about this competency, perhaps how your perception changed to understand that your preconceived notion of who or how a certain group of people were was wrong.

Goodluck with your interviews, I'll have more for you next week!