Trick questions… What’s the point?
Law enforcement candidates, more than most people at a job interview, have reason to fear being thrown for a loop when they sit down at their oral board interview.
There’s a tendency for many oral board panels to attempt to trip up an applicant with a question that seems to have no right or wrong answer.
Why do “we” (law enforcement professionals) do this to “you,” the applicants? There may be no right or wrong answer to that question either, but I’ll try.
Navigating the rite of passage
For lack of a more descriptive term, there seems in the mind of many in this profession, that once you’ve had a badge pinned on your chest, any and all others that come along hoping to enter law enforcement must navigate a rite of passage.
Generically speaking (and not necessarily including myself in this observation) law enforcement professionals don’t much care for outsiders, and as an applicant, that’s you right now.
We want to make it difficult for you to break down our barriers in order to infiltrate our agency as a rookie. The mindset that, you’re just not worthy to be one of us is alive and well at many, if not most agencies.
During the interview, we want to make you squirm.
I’ve seen oral boards that looked more like hazing rituals than interviews. Again, I’m not suggesting in any way that I agree with this approach, I’m just saying I know it exists.
Example
Here’s a glowing example of the type of question that really is, [Read more…]