When you are applying for a job in law enforcement, you will be faced with Situational Judgment questions, either on the written exam or during the interview. The questions will ask you to view a scenario and then rate certain responses from very ineffective to very effective over a 5 or 7-point scale. It is not easy for the unprepared test taker to choose the correct answer from 5 to 7 choices.
There are seven measures of ATTITUDE that are critical to master in order to do well on these Situational Judgment Tests.
Decision Making Skills
Communications Skills
Use of Power and Authority
Integrity and Professionalism
Sensitivity to the Team
Openness & Flexibility
Service Orientation
These inclinations are easy to list, but sometimes difficult to put into practice. In this article, I will discuss Integrity and Professionalism.
What is Sensitivity to Team?
If you played sports in high school, you have a good foundation for understanding the importance of good teamwork. In police work, there are many situations that demand a strong, positive attitude regarding teamwork. Here are examples:
Do you PARTICIPATE in professional activities as often as you can? Example: If your squad is holding a fund raiser, do you support your team by joining in?
Do you ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION FROM OTHERS on your team. Are you INCLUSIVE in your attitudes? Not everyone has the same strengths. How do you treat a weaker member of you team? Good teamwork requires that you encourage others to participate. Do you VALUE OTHERS on the team? These are all aspects of good teamwork that you will be tested on.
How well do you COOPERATE with others, including your supervisors? Do you seek ways to go above and beyond the call of duty, or are you quick to find excuses for not being able to perform.
Are you quick to OFFER ASSISTANCE to your teammates? This is an important attitude you must have in order to do well in police work.
Learn How to Ace the Situational Judgment Test
Sgt. Godoy’s Test Prep Course for Situational Judgment Tests
Notice that evaluating a response using only one criteria, like Teamwork, is not enough to answer Situational Judgment questions where you need to rank 5 to 7 choices for responses.
Most of my Police Test Prep courses include a video tutorial on how to ace the Situational Judgment Test. Alternatively, you can purchase this lesson on an à la carte basis by clicking on this image.