Question by that chevy guy: Police Officer interview-Whats your biggest weakness question….how does this sound?
I have a police interview coming up and i am aware of some questions they may ask…mainly the “whats your biggest weakness” question. I do not want to give them a canned “im a perfectionist” or “a work-a-holic/overacheiver” answer, but something that is true but at the same time wont disqualify me. so how does this sound?
“My biggest weakness as a human being would have to be that sometimes when i become very busy and overwhelmed with work, i can get a little unorganized. I realize that organization is essential to police work and that even the smallest errors made due to disorganization can lead to major problems in this field.
Realizing this, before i entered the police academy and my last seasonal police job this past summer, i made some changes to my daily work habits. Firstly, i did not commit ANYTHING to memory, as i carried an daily planner with me and wrote anything down that i would need to know or get done at a later date. I also would file my work into my own personal folders, separating the work by whether it was finished or unfinished. I also saved and filed my work on my computer drive in the same format.
with these changes in my work habits, organization was never an issue during my time at the police academy and my summer job, . Therefore i feel a great progress in overcoming my weakness.
p.s. im not going to the interview and expecting to be word for word, i just want to see some peoples opinion on the angle im answering the question at. I know this is a question dreaded by many and i thought my thruthful yet progressive answer may work well. I just wanted some outside feedback .
By the way picador and ringtek, its not about being scripted or an automation, but in my experience police interviews are pretty intense and play alot of mind games. Therefore, its smart to come in prepared mentally and ready for any curveballs they may throw at you…..which is what im doing now.
and no way would i go into a police interview and say i dont know if im ready for the challenge. maybe that works in other professions, but in law enforcement, lives depend on you and they cant afford to hire someone who isnt sure of themself
Best answer:
Answer by ringtek
sounds sooooo scripted
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Well, having been in the same seat with the same question I believe you nailed it. You were honest about what your weakness was and that you acknowledged it and are working very hard to correct your weakness. Going back to the old saying “your biggest weakness may be your strongest ability”.
Comment by belknap_boy — September 8, 2010 @ 3:45 am
Thank you for sharing this with the public. You guys are both a boon and a mystery to us.
I tend to agree with your first answerer. You seem to assume that you are required to be an automaton and have prepared a commensurate response. As an outsider I have no idea of what they would consider to be an appropriate response, but to offer one suggestion among the hopefully many that you will receive.
“I am an ordinary guy. I understand that police work will require me to extraordinary things, and until I face them, I don’t know whether I’ll be up to the task. But then I don’t know what training will do for me either.”
Comment by picador — September 8, 2010 @ 4:28 am