RCMP Right Fit Interview Competency 1 – Developing Self

RCMP Right Fit Interview Competency 1 – Developing Self

Over the next several weeks, I am going to write a series of articles targeting each of the eight competencies that will be assessed during the application process.  The RCMP have chosen these eight competencies to determine if you are the “right fit” to become an RCMP officer.

The first competency is Developing Self.  Taken from the RCMP “Preparatory Guide for the Regular Member Right Fit Interview”:

Developing Self recognizes personal strengths and learning needs and engages in self-development opportunities to achieve full potential in current and future roles. Honestly self-assesses performance and continually strives to learn and develop.

During the “right fit” interview (formerly the Regular Member Selection Interview), you will be asked behavioural and situational questions.

“Developing Self” for Behavioural Based Questions

Behavioural based questions target past experiences that demonstrate that you strive to continually learn.

For example, you might be asked a question about recent goals that you have established and what steps you took to ensure that you accomplished those goals.  You might even be asked about the steps you took to prepare for the application process to become an RCMP officer.

It’s important that you think about all of the things you have done recently that speak to your willingness to continually improve.  Did you:

• do volunteer work to gain more skills?
• go back to school at some point to upgrade your education?  Or take courses to supplement your existing education?
• request extra responsibilities from your supervisor so you could develop new skills?
• proactively seek new learning opportunities?

All of these examples speak to your willingness to learn.  When answering these questions, you will articulate your example using the S*T*A*R principle.

Situation
Task
Action
Result

“Developing Self” for Situational Based Questions

Situational based questions are hypothetical scenarios given to assess what steps you would take should you find yourself in that situation.

The interviewer will provide you with a scenario and ask what action you would take if faced with that situation, why you would take that action and what factors you considered.  This is called the A*R*C principle.

Action
Reasoning
Considerations

You might be asked how you would handle receiving negative feedback from a supervisor, or what you would do if you were passed over for a promotion.

When answering these questions, think of the action as a series of steps that you would take to accomplish the overriding action.  Then focus on why you took those steps and what factors you considered when making those decisions.

As you can see, there is a lot to consider when focusing on this one competency.  Have your examples ready and practice delivering them using S*T*A*R.  Come up with scenarios on your own and practice answering them using the A*R*C principle.

You could practice at home in front of a video recorder so you can play back and observe your performance.  Or you can find someone who is experienced in conducting competency based police interviews, i.e police officers experienced in recruiting, or you can engage the services of a  Certified Professional Career Coach experienced in conducting this type of interview to help you work through the process.

Catch up on all parts of this series: RCMP Competencies.

Do you know someone who is faced with this challenge?  Feel free to share this post by using the share links at the top of this page.  Also, if you’d like more interview tips, feel free to check out the interview resource page.