Very first oral interview with the Police commission

[SomeChicagoDude]

Good morning,

First of all I apologize in advance because I'm sure this question has been asked in previous threads and the only reason I'm actually starting a new thread on this topic is because they changed the forum layout and when I try to search for oral interview, the only results are the entire Illinois threads as if I didn't specify "oral interview" as a search. So for asking this question once again which I'm sure has existing threads I apologize lol.

Now onto my thread. Tomorrow morning will be my very first oral interview for a Police Department with the police commission. I previously went through a majority of the Chicago Police hiring process back in 06/07 and I'm more familiar with their hiring process which does not include the oral interview. I'm on the list now too for CPD waiting for my lotto number to be called.

What questions should I expected for my interview tomorrow? What are some generally good responses for answers? Should I wear a darker colored dress shirt under my black suit and avoid bright fluorescent type of colors for a dress shirt? I will wear a conservative tie that matches too obviously as well as formal slacks and formal shoes. What could I expect that I haven't asked already? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. You can PM me if you want or just post responses on here.

P.S. To everyone I already talked to about this topic who helped me, I am only asking the same questions because I want to get as many people's advice and help as I possibly can and I will utilize everyone's advice and help. Maybe someone will add something that the other people who have helped me overlooked. So I hope everyone who helped me is ok with me asking for more advice.

Thanks everyone and have a great rest of your Friday. Big day for me tomorrow!

[Gradient Shift]

Tell us about yourself.
Why do you want to become a police officer?
Are you prepared to be a police officer?
Why would you make a good police officer?
How familiar are you with the area?
What would you do to become more familiar with the area?
What do you know about the department?
What do you know about the city/county/state?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Explain the gap in your unemployment record.
Why did you quit/get fired/change jobs?
Is there a division of the department which interests you?
Have you ever done any volunteer work?
What is it about a police officers job that appeals to you?
What kind of person should become a police officer?
What would you do if you were offered a bribe?
Why did you choose your area of concentration in school?
What particularly interests you about that subject?
Which of the duties described in your second job did you like the best? Which the least? Why?
How does your family feel about you becoming a police officer?
What do you like to do for fun? Do you have any hobbies? What are they?
Do you watch sports? What is your favorite sport? Would you rather play or watch?
How do you react to criticism when it is reasonable or when it is unwarranted?
Do you have any pet peeves? If so, what are they?
What is your greatest strength?
What is your greatest weakness?
What are you passionate about?
When were you the most happy about a previous job you had?
Have you ever gotten into a fight/disagreement with a supervisor/manager? Explain.
What could make you lose your temper?
Of what accomplishments in your life are you most proud?
What have you done in your past that you most regret?
If you could start your life over, what would you change, if anything?
What traits do you value most in a co-worker or friend?
How much sleep do you need?
Are you afraid of heights?
What is your attitude toward irregular hours?
Has a co-worker ever done something that irritated you?
Have you ever gotten agry at work? What happened?
Have you ever had to physically intervene on a situation?
What motivates you?
What demotivates you?
Do you take work home with you?
Do you prefer working alone or as part of a team?
How do you handle pressure?
What is the name of the mayor/governor/chief?
Are you afraid of dying?
What happened the last time you failed at something?
What do you do to stay fit?
How would you handle a situation in which your partner was wrong? Supervisor?
What would you do with the rest of your life if your legs were crippled in an injury?
How do you discipline your child(ren) when they do not listen?
How do you deal with panic? Your own? That of others?
Is there a particular part of the state/county/city that you want to work in most/least? Why?
What is your attitude toward smoking? Drinking? Drugs? Gambling?
Do you watch/read the news regularly?
Could you purchase illegal drugs through your social contacts?
What do you do to unwind and relax?
How many words per minute can you type?
Why did you decide to change professions?
How often do you get really drunk?
Have you ever lost your temper?
Have you ever been in a situation where you kept calm despite a stressful situation?
How should a police officer conduct themself while off-duty?
What do you think a typical work day consists of fork a police officer?
What would you do if you pulled over your mother/father/brother/sister or other family member?
Have you ever had to think outside of the box and/or do something to solve a problem that typical?
What would you do if a friend of yours committed a crime and you know about it?
What would you do if a fellow police officer committed a crime and you know about it?
Tell me about the time you did ____.
Your co-workers/neighbours/friends/professors/refernce said that you have a temper/are impatient/are a loner/don't articulate yourself/hesitate under pressure/etc. What do you have to say about that?
Have you ever found yourself lost in strange/unknown area? What did you do?
How much are you current monthly/annual expenses?
Do you use social media? Which? How often?
How have you handled the time when you did not get along with a co-worker?
Have you ever been in a vehicle accident? What happened?
What is the most creative thing you have done?
How do you think you will handle the stresses of police work?
Do you think your introversion/extroversion will be a hindrance?
Do you have any abilities not directly related to law enforcement which will be an asset?
Do you have any debt? How are you handling it?
Do you have any personal experience with suicide?
Do you have any medical restrictions?
Have you, someone you love or know ever been personally affected by substance abuse?
How have you dealt with the loss of a someone you know?
What challenges are you looking forward to?
Tell us about the time you exercised poor judgement.
How do you feel about violence?
What challenges are you the most scared of?
Have you ever made a suggestion at work to improve performance?
What happened the last time you made a significant mistake in front of a boss/supervisor at work?
Are there any hobbies you would like to start doing when circumstance allows?
How can you contribute to this department?
What have you learned from past mistakes?
What was the most/least rewarding about your last job?
Do you think you are overqualified to be a police officer?

I used the above self-made/researched list of questions to get me through the ISP process. Your responses will vary. Good responses are positive, realistic, and honest.

Conservative suit, light but not bright shirt, matching tie; pressed, bring a lint roller and use it at the car. Cleaned and polished shoes. Get a hair cut a week or so before. Minimum accessories. Bring a pen, pencil, and wear a watch. Make sure you phone wont go off; silent, airplane mode, off, or leave in car. Do not bring weapons/knife clipped in a pocket. Clean your car inside and out.

Get hired like a boss.

Good luck.

[Gradient Shift]

Oh, questions are not in any sort of order intentionally. They may jump from one topic to another to see how you change gears. I practiced for weeks talking to myself while in front of a mirror. Keep responses short, roughly 60 seconds max, or they may get bored or not be answering the question how they want so that gives you a chance to reset.

[southpaw1]

Sorry I didn't have a chance to contribute. Gradient pretty much covered it lol. So how did it go?

[SomeChicagoDude]

Thanks for all the help Gradient!

@southpaw, sorry I haven't been on the last few days. I'll PM you in a few hours letting you know how it went. Stand by.

Sorry I didn't have a chance to contribute. Gradient pretty much covered it lol. So how did it go?

[Gradient Shift]

No problem. I hope it went well and I was able to better prepare you for something you weren't prepared for previously.

[Gradient Shift]

SomeChicagoDude has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.

You don't have to delete PM's to make room, you can just create a folder and move the old ones into there for room.

[southpaw1]

@SCD: I sent you a PM...probably the one that jammed up your inbox haha...my fault.

[SomeChicagoDude]

I didn't see this until now. Sorry guys, never encountered this PM box full until now, and I'm always on my Android phone when posting on here. Thanks for the help Gardiant. I'm at work so I'll make that new folder when I get home tonight. If you are able to send the original PM you wanted to send me please do. I thought the forum would notify me that you guys commented here to give me a heads up. My apologies.

[SomeChicagoDude]

@SCD: I sent you a PM...probably the one that jammed up your inbox haha...my fault.

Southpaw causing problems again are we?!? Lol j/k thanks for the help brother

[Gradient Shift]

You don't have to delete PM's to make room, you can just create a folder and move the old ones into there for room.

Scratch that, bad advice, this doesn't work. For whatever reason the first time I did it it told me that I had "0 messages stored of 150 allowed" but now it is adding all folders together as stored. I did it with the new forum theme so maybe it had a hiccup or something.