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 Openness and Flexibility?
There are many situations that will reveal your attitudes and abilities related to Openness and Flexibility.
How Open Minded are you?
Being open-minded allows you to explore new frontiers, discover new perspectives, and understand other people’s cultures and beliefs. Of course, it does not mean you will believe what they do—it only means you are willing to listen without arguing.
How adaptable are you?
The soft skill of adaptability is hugely important for employability in law enforcement. People who are adaptable will have the flexibility to change with changing situations, react positively to feedback from their boss, and work well in teams.
Staying calm under pressure is another positive aspect of adaptability. When pressure arises, some people would stand there like a deer in headlights, feeling confused and unsure what to do next.
Others might react by quickly thinking-up ways to tackle the problem they’re faced with and respond. This would be an example of good adaptability.
Do you consider alternatives?
This is a very important skill to develop in your career. How you react to situations involving the public and your partners will demonstrate this ability. When you come upon an accident that appears obvious who is at fault, can you think of alternative explanation that are not so obvious? When you are given conflicting orders by your boss, do you know how to present alterative responses to him or her in order to make sure you do the right thing?
Are you interested in learning new approaches?
People who are open to learning new things are strong in the trait of flexibility and openness. An example occurs when you join a new team. You may have had experience at a different organization that followed different processes or habits. You need to demonstrate a willing to learn to your supervisors and team members.
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 Openness and Flexibility, 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.