First Oral Board

[gpw9wwsc]

I have been pursuing a career in law enforcement for over a year and a half now. I have battled through plenty of the bs, that goes along with the journey to securing a job in law enfocement.
I am putting myself through an academy here in michigan, and begin soon. I also have my first oral board coming up September 5th with a pretty solid department. I have prepared by reading an oral board prep book, and thinking about my answers, ect. What I want to know, is what is the mood like in the room? How are they going to be towards me, are they going to yell, be sarcastic, be respectful, or sit there and say nothing? I am being a bit of a smart ass here, but I want to know. I have asked my buddies in law enforcement, but I don't get a straight answer. They say, "it's different from department from department," or "I don't know, they just asked me a bunch of scenario questions." I know that it's not the same in every dept., I just want some idea of what I am going to be up against. I feel prepared for the types of questioning that I will face, but have no clue what mood, the panel has, or what their attitude is generally. I would imagine they are not going to be super friendly and helpful, but I would like and specifics that anyone out there would care to share about their experiences. I appreciate any and all responses.
Thanks,
Greg

[Ranger337]

To tell you the truth your friends are teilling you the truth. Oral boards could greatly differ from one dept. to another. Most likely you will find the oral board to be profesional.

One thing I will gurantee is that they will be trying to asess your skills, and training for the job. They will ask you about your training, and proably a scenerio to see how you react to the situation at hand. Here is a little tip about the scenerio, no matter what the question, <b>ALWAYS</b> stick to your answer. No matter how you answer the scenerio question they will try to make you change your mind. Don't do it, stick to your guns and be able to back it up.

In the academy there will most likely be a class on how to prepare for an oral board, and what most L.E. agencies are looking for in your answers.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Ranger337

[gibby11]

I agree with Ranger that all boards are different...Having said that, just remember the basics, professional appearance, clear confident voice, and eye contact with the member(s) on the panel. I am sure this is review but I cannot emphasize how important these are.

If it means anything to you, I have been on (4) interviews and they were always very structured and professional. (not much in the area of STRESS..)

1. Tell us about yourself.
2. What have you done to prepare?
3. Do you have anything to add?

Again, I am sure this is review but other than these, I DO NOT rehearse any answers, even those to commonly asked questions! If you do, it just sounds like you memorized everything... (just my two-cents though..)
Either way good luck and keep us posted!!!

BTW- I passed all (4) >>but I am not hired...
gibby

[Dawn_Fighter]

this is pointless to your question but just wanted to give you a shout out from another wanna be Michigan cop. GOOD LUCK :D

Dawn

[CO_Hopeful]

I've been through several OB's. The moods were a little different in each of them, and it's too difficult to try to guess what situation you will be walking into.

One board was hostile, and refused to shake my hand....and seemed very disinterested in me. That made it incredibly hard to concentrate.

Another board was very friendly, professional, and encouraging. I walked out of the room feeling like I nailed it, and was on cloud 9. I got my rejection call that night, and found out I basically bombed 2 of the questions, and that was enough to DQ me.

All of the boards are very intimidating because you are sitting in front of a group of detectives, Sgts., or someone who has a hell of a lot more experience in the field than you. It feels like they always second guess your answers, even if it is non-verbally.

The best advice....just go in and try. If you try to "prepare" for questions...gibby is right...it sounds too much like you just memorized the answers. The board wants to see your true personality, and they want you to be "normal". That way they will feel good if they choose you, instead of feeling like they aren't sure who they just talked to.....was it really you, or the person/book who prepped you?

Of course my 2 cents of advice is only worth 1 cent because I've yet to pass the oral...but I know that my experience will prepare me for future Oral Boards.

[deckard9732]

I'm currently two for two on orals, not that I'm an expert but I must be doing something right.

I took both of them on the same day. The first was as if I stepped into a dungeon. No expressions, no kindness displayed, just pure professional anality. Questions ranged from my educational experience to what would I do if... I answered fairly quickly, no "um's" or "uh's" and tried to crack a small joke. The second oral was much better. Friendly smiles, handshakes and warm fuzzies all over. They asked me questions about my strengths, weaknesses, what I knew of the dept. and the city, what have I done to prepare, yatti yatti. Having one under my belt already, I really felt confident here. I smiled a lot and displayed confidence in my answers, even the one's having to do with my weaknesses. I say, show them you know yourself and what you're capable of. Be honest and don't beat around the bush. Hope this helps some.

[jkh206@hotmail.com]

I basically went into my first interview which happened to be with the secret service very very nervous and it was a very harsh interview...the sa i interviewed with was pretty bad....anyway...on my second interview it was all open and i felt very comfortable...anyway I spoke to them honestly and pull no bs with them...just answered all of their questions and stuck to my answers...good luck...John