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Any good tips or advice for LEO job interviews? I have some friends and what I've gathered so far is definitely dress for success and be honest. Is there anything in an interview that you find absolutely critical when hiring someone? I'm looking at a few different options right now and have a local PD interview and most likely a federal LEO interview in the near future if testing works out well. Thanks in advance.

i've been mostly involved in Federal LEO interviews as the interviewee, but i've also done a ton of interviews in the private sector as both interviewee and interviewer.

i'd say that there are some fundamental aspects to being successful in any interview: dress the part, be likable, and be prepared.

dress the part
blue or gray suit, no pattern, black shoes, muted tie, white or light blue shirt. gotta be crisp, clean, and fits well. top collar button has to be buttoned. if you were in the military, i'm sure this isn't a problem. dress like a senator.

be likable
i think people overlook this or don't even think about it. to me, interviews are a bad way of assessing potential candidate performance. it's about as subjective as it comes. people like to think that it's objective, but when it comes down to it, people hire candidates that they like. you will rarely see someone technically nail a job interview but not be "likable/personable" and get the job. people making the hiring decisions will often obfuscate this likability factor with nonsense like "he/she wouldn't be a good fit here".

your objective in any interview is to get the interviewer to like you and think you're a nice person. if people like you, they will back into reasons to hire you. if they don't like you, they will back into reasons to not hire you.

smile, be friendly, nice handshake, express a lot of excitement and interest about the job and opportunity.

be prepared
you have to know the company/agency that you are applying to. research and learn as much as possible. be able to speak to your resume, why you went to the school you went to, worked at the jobs you worked at, served in the branch you served in, and how that all leads to the job you are applying to now.

most job interviews are a derivation of a behavioral interview. look up behavioral interview questions. pull together a docket of 15-20 stories from work/school/military career that align with those behavioral questions. make those stories flexible enough that they can fit different takes on similar behavioral questions. most of these questions are trying to fundamentally get to certain qualities: leadership, working under stress, teamwork, accountability, integrity, etc. make each of your stories elicit some fundamental positive quality and flexible enough to exemplify a few positive qualities.

practice your responses to potential behavioral questions. there's something called the STAR format - SiTuation, Action, Result. this guides your response. what was the situation, what was my action, what was the result. responses shouldn't be much more that 2 minutes long. of that 2 minutes, the situation description should be 30 seconds, your action 75 seconds, the result 15 seconds. you have to practice your response with a timer and someone judging you or filming yourself. eliminate filler words, rehearse but let it sound natural. people too often spend 2 minutes setting up the situation with excruciating detail that is entirely unnecessary, and then about 15 seconds on personal actions, and then forget about a result. the action part is what demonstrates the fundamental quality (leadership, integrity, etc.).

be honest
this is an addition because you mentioned it. it's important to be honest in LEO/FLEO interviews. it's also important to answer the question that was asked. people mistake being honest with spilling his/her guts about everything, including the piece of candy they stole when they were 8 years old. don't withhold, but don't over do it. answer the question that was asked openly and honestly, but only the question that was asked.

spemma wrote: most job interviews are a derivation of a behavioral interview. look up behavioral interview questions. pull together a docket of 15-20 stories from work/school/military career that align with those behavioral questions. make those stories flexible enough that they can fit different takes on similar behavioral questions. most of these questions are trying to fundamentally get to certain qualities: leadership, working under stress, teamwork, accountability, integrity, etc. make each of your stories elicit some fundamental positive quality and flexible enough to exemplify a few positive qualities.

practice your responses to potential behavioral questions. there's something called the STAR format - SiTuation, Action, Result. this guides your response. what was the situation, what was my action, what was the result. responses shouldn't be much more that 2 minutes long. of that 2 minutes, the situation description should be 30 seconds, your action 75 seconds, the result 15 seconds. you have to practice your response with a timer and someone judging you or filming yourself. eliminate filler words, rehearse but let it sound natural. people too often spend 2 minutes setting up the situation with excruciating detail that is entirely unnecessary, and then about 15 seconds on personal actions, and then forget about a result. the action part is what demonstrates the fundamental quality (leadership, integrity, etc.).

Fantastic advice. The STAR format thing is bang-on. It's been over a decade since I got in but this was the format back then. The questions will lead off like "Tell me about a situation in which you displayed leadership" just an example, but along those lines. And be honest if asked about any drug use etc.

A broad tactic I used to get into an advanced degree program and to re-enrol in the military was to be ready to explain very clearly:

• 1) why I wanted to join their group, and
  2) why they should want me to join their group.

This gives you the chance to show the interviewers that you are an excellent fit for the job and their culture by matching the job description to your interests, attributes, qualifications, experience and whatever.

On the day, if you blank on an example for one of these behavioural/experiential questions (as I did), at least walk them through your thought process. "I'm blanking on when I've done this before. But when I'm in a situation like this, here's how I would approach it..."

Thank you to everyone that commented above, it was all very useful and I appreciate the input. It went well with one group, I'll see how the next couple go.