Psychological Screening for Police Officers

Psychological Screening for Police OfficersPsychological Screening for Police OfficersPerhaps one of the most important but least understood aspects of pre-employment screening for law enforcement and other criminal justice careers is the psychological exam. One of the last steps in the hiring process for police officers, the psychological exam can make or break your chances at a law enforcement career. Its estimated that mora than 90% of law enforcement agencies in the United States require the psychological screening of their applicants. By comparison, only about 65% use apolygraph exam, and 88% employ drug screening. With so many agencies placing their faith in a psychologists opinion, many would-be police officers are no doubt wondering whats the big deal with the psych test and what can you do to increase your chances of success? What Psychological Screening Isnt Before we discuss what the psych test is, lets talk about what it isnt. Pre-employment psychological screening do es bedrngnis determine a candidates sanity or lack thereof. By comparison, only about 65% use a polygraph exam, and 88% employ drug screening. There are a lot of demands placed upon law enforcement, and a day in the life of a police officer can be emotionally, mentally, and physically taxing. There will be days when you are forced to stand firm yet polite in the face of tremendous verbal abuse, and there will be times when you are exposed to horrific scenes. The fact of the matter is, bedrngnis everyone is cut out for a career as a cop. While it takes all kinds of personalities to make up an effective police force, there are certain traits all officers should ideally share. Conversely, there are also certain traits that are agreed to be undesirable in law enforcement officers. The psychological tests tend to focus on identifying those undesirable traits more than looking for those desirable ones. Its important to remember that if your screening finds one or more of those traits, its not a reflection on your value, your sanity, or your personality. Its just an examination thats narrowly focused toward your suitability to become a police officer. Psychological Screening as a Hiring Tool Psychological screening is just one more tool that many police agencies use to ensure they hire the best candidates for the job. It is part of a multi-faceted hiring process that can include a basic abilities test, a thorough background investigation, a leistungspunkt check, a polygraph exam, physical abilities testing, and medical screening. The exam is a battery of tests that includes several components. Typically, the exam starts with a pre-test self-interview or evaluation. Next, comes a series of multiple-choice tests or surveys. Finally, there will usually be a sit-down interview with a psychologist. The evaluation takes into account the totality of all of these components to help the psychologist render a final opinion about the applicants suitability for the law enfor cement profession. That determination is usually expressed in one of two ways low risk, medium risk, or high risk for hiring or acceptable, marginal, or unacceptable for hiring. The Purpose of Psychological Screening Pre-employment psychological screening evaluates a number of personality traits to help formulate an opinion about whether or not a candidate would be a good hiring choice. According to Dr. Gary Fischler, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota and a forensic psychologist whose practice specializes in the evaluation of potential law enforcement officers, those traits include Impulse controlGeneral intelligenceJudgmentAbility to perform boring or tedious tasksReasonable courageHonestyIntegrityPersonal bias or lack of biasAbility to tolerate stressWhat motivated the candidate to choose law enforcementDependabilityAbility to deal with supervisionAppropriate attitudes towards sexualityPrior drug use These particular traits represent areas tha t have been determined over time to be important areas to explore when evaluating law enforcement candidates. Law enforcement officers are held to a high ethical standard and thus the psychological exam serves as one more way to screen out candidates who may demonstrate unacceptable or undesirable personality traits. What You Should You Expect During Your Screening When you arrive at the psychologists office, the first thing youll probably notice is the crowd. Often, there are several candidates being evaluated at one time. The good news is, theyll probably be just as nervous as you are. Youll probably be given an initial questionnaire that will ask you a series of questions about your personal history. Past drug use, what you consider to be your personal strengths and weaknesses, past employment, education, and personal background are all likely to be inquired about. After the initial survey, you will be presented with a series of multiple-choice personality assessments which w ill likely include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), among others. Plan to spend several hours completing these Scantron surveys, which will often be comprised of statements with which you will be asked whether you strongly agree, agree, are neutral, disagree, or strongly disagree. During the personality assessment phase, you will probably encounter the same or similar questions multiple times. This is by design and helps evaluate your consistency and honesty. After the personality surveys, you will probably participate in a face-to-face interview with a psychologist. The psychologist will probably ask you questions about the answers you provided on the survey and on your self-evaluation. This is your opportunity to clarify your responses. Once all the phases are complete, the psychologist will make a report of her opinion and forward it to your hiring agency. The Effectiveness of Pre-Employment Psychological Screening According to a 2003 study by researche rs from Wright University, more than 90% of the over 12,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States use psychological testing as a component of their hiring processes. Given the expense associated with such screening, are pre-employment psychological assessments worth it? Do they even work? Most agencies utilize personality assessment tools, which have been validated as accurate predictors of behavior over years of study. Because of the vast amount of data available to back up the validity of these tests, police departments and psychologists alike are fairly confident that psychological screening does indeed work. Psychological Assessments for Police Departments Interestingly, data suggests that the psych exam typically only screens out about 5% of those tested. With so much on the line, is it worth these departments money to go to the added expense and effort if theyre losing such a small percentage of applicants in this particular phase? Consider that a larger law enforc ement agency may receive more than 1000 applications per month from people hoping to become police officers. Of those 1000 applicants, 50 will be disqualified as a result of the psychological assessment. Thats 600 applicants disqualified per year, just for one department. Imagine the potential cost to the agency and, worse, the community, if those 600 officers, who were found to have exhibited undesirable traits, were given a badge, a gun, and authority. Rather than ask whether the cost of the exam is worth it to the agency, it may be more prudent to ask if it is worth the risk not use psychological screening. How You Can Pass the Psychological Exam The first thing you need to do is eliminate the notion of passing or failing the psych test. The better question is, how can I have the best chance for success on the psychological assessment? To be successful, you must first and foremost resolve, to be honest. Most assessments have hidden questions and triggers built into the test t o let the psychologist know if youre trying to be deceptive. These include repetitive or similar questions and other questions that will raise red flags if answered a certain way. The best way to be successful is to be yourself. Answer every question honestly and let the chips fall where they may. You also want to put your best foot forward and dress for success. Wear appropriate business attire ties for men, pants suits or business-appropriate skirts and blouses for women and adhere to normal grooming standards. Remember, youre representing not only yourself here, but your employing agency, as well. Be sure to dress the part. What Happens if You Fail the Psychological Evaluation Its important not to think in terms of pass or fail, but of whether or not you should be working in law enforcement. If you fail the psych, it doesnt mean youre crazy or even that youre a bad person. It should, however, make you take stock and make sure that a career as a police officer is what you wa nt to do. If, after an honest self-evaluation, you are convinced a law enforcement career is in fact for you, you should try to find out exactly what issues caused the psychologist to consider you to be high risk or unacceptable, and you should consider how to correct those traits. In any case, you will probably have to sit out of the hiring process for a year or longer before you can apply for the same agency again. Theres truly no need to be nervous. Remember to be yourself, be professional and be honest. You are who you are. Theres nothing wrong with that. If all goes the way you hope, youll be working as a police officer in no time. In the event you dont make it through, then its better to find out the job isnt for you now as opposed to when it could be dangerous for you or someone else.

Why the secret to nailing an interview is the exact opposite of what everybody thinks

Why the secret to nailing an vorstellungsgesprch is the exact opposite of what everybody thinksWhy the secret to nailing an interview is the exact opposite of what everybody thinksCongratulations, youve made the short list of candidates for your dream job. Now all you have to do is pass the final test How do I walk into the room and convince the decision makers that Im their best choice? This is the question on the mind of anyone, everywhere, whos ever competed for a job. Unfortunately, its exactly the wrong question to ask. We know because we advise corporate boards, executives, and CEOs - from middle-market firms to the Fortune 500 - to help them make their most critical hiring decisions. Were in those rooms all the time. More importantly, were in the heads of the people who make the decisions. Job seekers, heres one of the surprising interview tips to understand before you walk into the room Theyre as anxious about the hiring process as you are. Maybe even mora so.Looking for a n inspiring way to start your day? Sign up forMorning MotivationIts our friendly Facebook bot that will send you a quick note every weekday morning to help you start strong. Sign up here by clicking Get StartedWhy? Time is short. No one seems like the perfect fit. The chances for failure are uncomfortably high. The cost of a wrong decision can be astronomical.In the face of uncertainty, hiring decision makers want to make a safe choice. So when you are walking into the interview, get out of your own head and your own anxieties over proving you are worthy of the role. Safety is your key to the kingdom. And communicating safety, weve found, has less to do with convincing the decision maker of your capabilities, skills, or intelligence.The bottom line is this You get fired on results but hired on perception. So how can we all exude safety in the room?Become the Happy WarriorBill Fry has delivered many tens of millions of dollars of value to shareholders of companies he ran. He grew the vacuum company Oreck during an economic downturn - no easy feat - and before that, he led Bell Sports through a similarly challenging time, with 9/11, new market entrants, a major acquisition and then a merger. Before starting his corporate career, he spent eight years in the Navy, after an ROTC scholarszum guten ton gehren took him to Ole Miss. Bill is competitive and as sharp as a tack. Sounds formidable, right? He must be one intense guy we thought, prior to meeting him to assess him for the CEO role at Oreck.It took one minute in his presence to prove that assumption wrong. Bill radiates an Im OK, youre OK vibe that sets you immediately at ease. Eye contact, friendly questions, self-effacing humor, and calm but confident demeanor. Bill listens intently no matter who is in front of him - a CEO or a mailroom clerk - and makes you feel respected. Bill Fry gets results, without a doubt, but darned if he isnt the nicest guy you ever met.In the interview process, nice guys and ga ls finish first.Boards, and interviewers in general, consistently overemphasize soft skills in their hiring decisions. Can it be that the same comportment that helps attract a date also gives you an edge in getting hired? Sophisticated as they are in tackling hard business problems, when sizing up people, most board members and business leaders hire under the heavy influence of gedeihlich feel. And gut feel leads them to the more likeable candidates.Related from LaddersDont say ansicht 5 types of words during a job interviewHow to answer 5 of the toughest interview questionsHere are 7 of the craziest interview questions10 ridiculously smart questions you should ask in a job interviewAmong 2,600 CEO candidates analyzed by Professors Steve Kaplan and Morten Srensen of the University of Chicago and Columbia University, the more likeable leaders had higher odds of getting hired for any leadership position. They werent necessarily the best of the best, but they were the friendliest of th e best. SAS analysts found similar patterns in their analysis. Highly confident candidates were 2.5 times more likely to be hired. Likeability and confidence impart no advantage in performance, but they definitely help you land the job. While these studies focused on CEO candidates, weve seen the likeability effect play out up and down the corporate ladder.Bill Fry exudes a Happy Warrior demeanor. The happy warrior confidently says, I love to solve the problems you have. Been there, done that, and liked it. Eager to do it again for you As these leaders talk about their most difficult projects and tough decisions, they exude joy, pleasure, passion, and energy. In other words, they simultaneously create both emotional and practical safety. You know youve met a happy warrior when he or she leaves the room and you cant wait to put her or him in the job.The people who ultimately get picked are those who lead with fierce competence delivered with genuine warmth. Good interviewees take a r ead on the room the moment they walk in and mirror the energy level. They pay close attention to body language to see how their words are landing Are peoples eyes lighting up? Do they sound hesitant? Are they checking their watches? Your goal is to connect with your audience and make them feel safeLinguistic landmines and the safety of wordsDuring the CEO Genome Project, we ran 212 CEO interview transcripts through SAS text-mining software, searching for linguistic patterns behind hire and no-hire decisions. SAS is a company who builds powerful predictive analytics tools the IRS and major banks use it to detect fraud, to name just one application. When we unleashed it on our interviews, we found some ugly hidden handicaps superficial factors that have little or nothing to do with what it takes to perform yet that trigger biases that affect your odds of being hired.Foreign accents. Candidates for United Statesbased companies who had a significant accent were, twelve to one (), less l ikely to be hired. Yes, in the twenty-first century, when billions are spent on diversity initiatives, in-group bias continues to play an out-size role. Its bad enough that the bias exists. Whats worse is that nobody will tell you as you are coming up the ranks that you may be the most capable person in the world but that others perception of your capabilities may suffer because of your accent. Saying so is not polite and can even be risky.Elevated or pretentious language or affectations. While accents are a handicap, so is using overly sophisticated language. Throwing the dictionary at your interviewers will not get you the job. Interview candidates who used more esoteric, intellectual, or ivory tower vocabulary were, eight to one, less likely to be hired. Candidates who used more colloquial language (e.g., phrases such as shooting from the hip) were, eight to one, more likely to be hired. In our experience, down-to-earth storytelling, drawing on memorable results, is vastly more p owerful than a cerebral, academic style.Management platitudes, acronyms, and consulting-ese. Relying on empty buzzwords can be an interview killer. We sat with one candidate who kept saying he was all about amplitude and that he liked to elevate people. Trouble was, he seemed to think that repeating these phrases removed the need to offer specific, quantifiable examples. Using generic language can come across as lacking authenticity and can trigger the interviewers ambiguity bias - the tendency to avoid those who appear to be missing information. Instead, be precise in your use of language and examples.We and I. Leadership is a team sport. The goal is to balance the I with the We. All candidates use I when describing their accomplishments at a higher rate than We. But the weakest candidates used I at twice the rate of the rest of the interview candidates. The best candidates are clear about their individual contributions without overusing I. Candidates who go on and on with their o wn accolades and accomplishments impress decision makers less than the ones who say, My proudest achievement was the moment the team began to knock it out of the park - and then clearly explain their role in the teams achievement.You may not look anything like the interviewers who will decide whether you get the job. You may not have gone to the same schools or played the same sports. But if you can leave them feeling safer and more energized than you found them, youve got a much better shot at getting the job.Elena Lytkina Botelho and Kim Rosenkoetter Powell are the authors of The CEO Next Door (Crown Publishing), from which this article was adapted.

These are the 20 jobs in America with the biggest influx of women

These are the 20 jobs in America with the biggest influx of womenThese are the 20 jobs in America with the biggest influx of womenGirl,get it. According to Pew Research, women now make up 47% of the U.S. labor force. This is up from 30% in 1950.In other words, more women are working than ever before. And elend only that, but they are dominating in certain industries. Though the wage gap is still ever present it is narrowing-from 73 cents to the dollar in 2000 to 80 cents today - as women are also making more money in some of these fields than they ever were before.24/7 Wall Street compiled a list of 20 industries where women are dominating based onU.S. Census data from 2000 and 2016 on employment composition by gender in over 300 occupations. For each of these jobs, more than half the workers are women and the increase in the share of women working in these professions range from 6.4 to 25.1 percentage points according to data provided by 24/7 Wall Street.So which occupation has see n the biggest influx of women? Must Love Dogs is not just a movie as veterinarians as this is the job for women.The number of women working as veterinarians has more than doubled since 2000. This shows immense progress for women entering the science and engineering fields. zentralwert pay for vets is about $90,000.More traditionally female-dominated fields like Public Relations also continue to see growth over the last 17 years - the number of women working in this field has increased by about 5,000, while the number of men dropped by about 8,000. Public Relations is one of the highest paying professions on this list with median earnings around $77,000.Here are the Top 20 jobs where women are seeing the most growth20. Public relations specialists16-year change in share of women 6.4 percentage points2016 female workers 67,660 (65.3% of total)2000 female workers 56,410 (58.9% of total)Median earnings $65,38619. Office machine operators, except computer16-year change in share of women 6.5 percentage points2016 female workers 16,525 (62.9% of total)2000 female workers 18,540 (56.4% of total)Median earnings $30,78818. Social and community tafelgeschirr managers16-year change in share of women 6.6 percentage points2016 female workers 205,242 (69.3% of total)2000 female workers 112,730 (62.7% of total)Median earnings $56,61017. Production, planning, and expediting clerks16-year change in share of women 6.7 percentage points2016 female workers 162,313 (57.3% of total)2000 female workers 130,680 (50.6% of total)Median earnings $48,58216. Parking enforcement workers16-year change in share of women 6.8 percentage points2016 female workers 2,401 (50.8% of total)2000 female workers 1,420 (44.0% of total)Median earnings $39,29815. Technical writers16-year change in share of women 6.8 percentage points2016 female workers 27,568 (58.2% of total)2000 female workers 26,560 (51.4% of total)Median earnings $71,38814. Lodging managers16-year change in share of women 6.9 percentag e points2016 female workers 56,675 (52.7% of total)2000 female workers 42,820 (45.8% of total)Median earnings $45,87513. Compliance officers16-year change in share of women 7.5 percentage points2016 female workers 119,140 (52.6% of total)2000 female workers 36,500 (45.1% of total)Median earnings $69,26212. Nonfarm animal caretakers16-year change in share of women 7.7 percentage points2016 female workers 86,341 (71.4% of total)2000 female workers 32,130 (63.7% of total)Median earnings $25,21011. Fabric and apparel patternmakers16 yr. change in share of women 7.9 ppt.2016 female workers 1,746 (82.6% of total)2000 female workers 2,780 (74.7% of total)Median earnings $61,63010. Writers and authors16-year change in share of women 10.2 percentage points2016 female workers 74,871 (56.6% of total)2000 female workers 37,850 (46.4% of total)Median earnings $55,4649. Opticians, Dispensing16-year change in share of women 10.3 percentage points2016 female workers 34,322 (71.0% of total)2000 fema le workers 20,570 (60.7% of total)Median earnings $37,3898. First-line supervisors of personal service workers16-year change in share of women 10.7 percentage points2016 female workers 48,488 (65.4% of total)2000 female workers 41,980 (54.7% of total)Median earnings $32,2407. Bakers16-year change in share of women 11.0 percentage points2016 female workers 80,114 (54.0% of total)2000 female workers 39,210 (43.0% of total)Median earnings $25,8486. Animal Trainers16-year change in share of women 11.2 percentage points2016 female workers 15,037 (51.8% of total)2000 female workers 9,180 (40.6% of total)Median earnings $29,9785. Graders and sorters, agricultural products16-year change in share of women 12.0 percentage points2016 female workers 21,342 (65.0% of total)2000 female workers 6,240 (53.0% of total)Median earnings $21,2354. Public Relations and fundraising managers16-year change in share of women 12.6 percentage points2016 female workers 34,416 (67.3% of total)2000 female workers 29,480 (54.7% of total)Median earnings $77,8353. Pharmacists16-year change in share of women 15.5 percentage points2016 female workers 117,126 (54.6% of total)2000 female workers 57,610 (39.1% of total)Median earnings $120,8782. Natural Sciences Managers16-year change in share of women 22.5 percentage points2016 female workers 9,452 (52.8% of total)2000 female workers 4,990 (30.3% of total)Median earnings $92,1611. Veterinarians16-year change in share of women 25.1 percentage points2016 female workers 38,885 (59.1% of total)2000 female workers 15,140 (34.0% of total)Median earnings $90,063