Getting Too Comfortable

I’m going to share a little known tactic with you that a good number of oral board panels use, and a few chiefs (myself included) that’s meant to pull from you, something you should never say or do.

If you’re in an oral board interview and the panel is made up of a group of stern faced, stuffed shirts, you’ll likely not be facing the tactic that causes me to write this post.

If, on the other hand, your panel seems to be very, or even exceedingly friendly, read this post in its entirety, you could be in danger.  This can be an interview killer.

I’m not much of a trickster when it comes to interviewing.  What I mean is, I’m a pretty straight forward Chief, but there is a tactic or, better put, maneuver that I employ at EVERY interview.

It’s critical that you’re aware of this stratagem.  I’ve eliminated many, MANY candidates through the years, by way of this interview ruse.

Blue Jeans, at an Interview?

Because I’m not terribly fond of traditional oral board interview practices, in the administration of my agency, I’ve mixed things up a bit over the years.

Once my staff has pared down the number of viable applicants to a reasonable number, before they move on to any phase of the oral board process, I phone the officer candidates and ask them to come to my office for an informal interview.

I do this for two specific reasons. [Read more…]

Is this even legal?

Admittedly I remain rather perplexed that the general public, referring specifically to the camera handlers, seem to be far more schooled on the state and federal laws that govern such activity,  as well as the protections provided under the United States Constitution, than are many officers themselves regarding the matter filming in public.

Filming police officers on duty has become almost common place with the advent of the smart phone.  The Internet is well fertilized with video of police officers and sheriff deputies performing their duties.  New YouTube accounts are being generated monthly, loaded with video posted by people often referred to as “cop chasers.”

The legality and legitimacy of capturing video of these public servants, when done by the media or a well-established entertainment outlet, seldom if ever creates controversy of any kind.

The equation changes dramatically however, when private citizen John Doe wields a video camera or smart phone anywhere near an on-duty officer.

A very cursory glance of YouTube yields hundreds of videos made and posted by would-be, amateur journalists.  Opinions as to whether or not anyone should so much as even engage in such activity, runs the gamut.

While I won’t necessarily join the debate by jumping in with both feet, I’ll likely put my toe in the water by the end of this article.

Oral board question – Being filmed while on duty…?

In the event that being filmed on duty, by a member of the public, should come up in your interview, how will you respond?

Chances are [Read more…]

Will the oral panel ask me about pickets, protests, mobs and riots?

They might, and I want you to be prepared in the event you get grilled on this topic.

It’s the interview panel’s job to determine whether or not you have a reasonable sense of urgency sprinkled with a bit of courage, but that you also know when you’re about to get beaten to a pulp.

Courage is great.   Unadulterated and complete dedication to blindly allowing yourself to get eaten by a pack of wolves, not so great.

As you read this article, you’ll find a great number of statements and observations that will allow you to provide an oral board panel ample articulation of your knowledge on the topic of crowds and riots.

I encourage you to begin forming your own opinion as to how you might approach this, and any other situation that may cause you to be grossly outnumbered, outgunned or in a situation that you believe may not be physically survivable.

Let’s move forward with this disclaimer.  I am, in NO WAY, suggesting that you BAIL when the chips are down.

In most instances, law enforcement officers don’t run away from danger, we run to it.

There are some, few, but some exceptions to that rule and an officer that finds themselves alone, in the midst of a full blown riot, is just one.

So much of what we do is fun

Often our duties are satisfying, rewarding and at the very least, we can take away a sense of accomplishment in so many of the tasks that come our way.

There’s the other end of the spectrum as well.  Those calls for service or the duties assigned to us sometimes cause officers to shudder at the thought.

There are numerous obligations that we don’t care to do, and I’ll be analyzing [Read more…]

Getting grounded – Before the oral board

If you intend to pursue a career in law enforcement, the time is now, that you develop an articulable opinion on the topic of officer discretion.

If you can tell the oral panel what officer discretion is, and how you’ll use it on the street, diplomatically, you’re doing well to prepare yourself for a position at their agency.

Few candidates can speak frankly on the topic of officer discretion because, quite honestly, they’ve never really given it much thought.

Yes, they kind’a, sort’a know about it, but kind’a and sort’a has caused countless law enforcement applicants to fall flat on their face when the question of, or discussion of officer discretion comes up in an interview.

Let’s get you planted on solid ground.

Stop or I’ll warn you!

The average person will describe officer discretion as giving, or not giving a speeding ticket.

That same average person, after receiving a well-deserved speeding citation will often grumble under their breath, that the officer COULD have used some discretion for crying out loud!

We’ve all heard it.  Discretion is more, much more than [Read more…]

We want to hire you

With more than 20 years of experience conducting and managing oral board interviews, I think I can fairly say I’ve heard every possible answer to every question asked of a candidate.

The most gratifying feeling a seasoned oral board panelist can experience, is grading the answers of that exceedingly rare applicant that presents an amazing interview.

With rare exception on all of the countless oral board panels that I’ve sat on through the years, one constant remains.

We, the panelists, want to hire the next guy or the next gal that walks in the room.

Interview panels are charged with finding the best applicants they can, and to that end, it’s our hope that the next person who walks through the door is going to be an interview rock star.

Unfortunately, very few are and there are some days, none of them are!

I liken the interview process to panning for gold on a river bank.  You simply never know if or when you’re going to hit pay dirt.  When you do, it’s a great feeling.

This is why I’ve dedicated the latter portion of my career as a police chief, to assisting applicants with honing their interview skills, and thankfully, learning to be that person, the rock star candidate, is teachable and more importantly, learnable.

To be sure, interviewing properly, in a manner that will land one a job offer is a skill, and most all skills can be taught and the skill of interviewing properly, is no different.

Preconceived notions

If you’re familiar with my previous publications you’ll note that I make numerous references to [Read more…]