Make room for Canada
Don’t be fooled into believing that behavioral based oral board interview is something new in the United States and that us folks “south of the boarder” invented the process.
Canada has been vetting Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and other law enforcement candidates by way of the Regular Member Selection Interview (RMSI) model for many years.
More agencies in the U.S. are picking up on this process and so, if you’re truly interested in becoming prepared for your upcoming oral board, whether it’s tomorrow or next year, you must consider this type of interview.
Behavioral based oral board interviews are something you may face, as opposed to the standard scenario or question based interview.
What is it?
The RMSI is a very structured interview process that encompasses an evaluation of every candidate on eight specific core competencies.
In fact, it’s not often referred to as an oral board as much as it is a “selection interview.”
The goal of this interview technique is to determine if that candidate possesses “essential organizational competencies.”
Ultimately, its intended purpose is to determine if the candidate possesses the necessary attributes to be successful in a career in law enforcement.
The theory applied in the creation of the RMSI is that, if screened properly, a candidate’s past behavior will likely predict future behavior.
The eight competencies for which you’ll be screened are:
- Developing self
- Flexibility
- Problem Solving
- Conscientiousness and Reliability
- Meeting Client Needs
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Self Control and Composure
How to Prepare
There’s little debate that entering the RMSI interview environment ill prepared is akin to picking up a guitar and playing it, with the hope that you’ll sound pretty good, absent any formal lessons.
You’ll certainly make noise, but it’s a pretty good bet, nobody’s going to want to listen to you. If you’ve read any of my blogs or studied any of the law enforcement preparation materials that I’ve developed, you’ll forgive the analogy.
In my defense, I use analogies often in order to paint a strong mental picture.
I do train extensively on RMSI for the benefit of Canadian clients and now more than ever, it’s important that my students pay more than just a passive amount of attention to the Canadian Supplements offered in my training course.
I don’t need this stuff, so thanks but I’ll pass… right?
You might KNOW for sure that you’re going to be interviewing on a standard Q & A scenario based oral board panel. Then you might be thinking you don’t need to know this.
Please don’t sell yourself short.
Now I know that type of comment is generally reserved for someone that’s trying to be a bit modest. In this instance I submit that from a percentage standpoint, many many more applicants would pass the oral board if they took the time to properly prepare.
That percentage would only increase if those same candidates were to include learning about the RMSI in their repertoire of research.
The knowledge, skills and talents that you’ll acquire from a solid understanding of the RMSI will greatly enhance your ability to communicate, and communicate effectively, with the panel that hold your job offer in the palm of their hands.
Think of an interview as a relay race. If you’re the best candidate at the interview, that oral board is going to pass the wand to you.
It’s your job, as the applicant, to run faster (communicate better) than your competition and the applicant that has done RMSI research is the candidate I’m betting on to finish first.