RCMP RMSI – The Situational Questions. This is the part of the Regular Member Selection Interview for which you are now preparing. How do you approach the answers? How do you prepare and practice for questions when you have no idea what the questions will be? This portion of the interview can be quite difficult, but if you know how to formulate your responses, it will be much easier.
A*R*C
The first thing you have to understand is how to respond using the A*R*C principle. What does A*R*C stand for?
Action * Reasoning * Considerations
When you are asked a Situational, or hypothetical question, the interviewer is looking for you to explain what actions you would take, the reasons why you would do that action, and what factors you took into consideration when deciding your action.
I would like to break each of these sections down in a series of posts. We will look at each of the three parts and describe exactly how to approach them using a very simple hypothetical situation.
“While on your way to work, your car breaks down which results in you being late for an important business meeting. What will you do?”
Today’s post will focus on Considerations. The considerations seem to be most difficult part of this model. This is where you are going to talk about all of the factors that you took into consideration when deciding your action. But you want to think of this as a two pronged approach. One side will be specific to this situation. The other prong will be a more strategic, global consideration that speaks to the bigger picture. Again, going back to the two previous posts which outlined possible steps in your action and the reasons for those steps, what could you have considered?
- I would consider my relationship with my client, and how flexible he has been in the past.
- I would consider the impact that missing this meeting would have on my client, i.e. does he need to have this meeting prior to moving on with something else.
- I would consider if there was someone else at work that could handle the meeting for me.
- I would consider if there were materials required for the meeting, and where those materials were located at that point.
- I would consider if I have had other situations where my car had broken down and made me late for work, and whether or not I would require a more permanent solution than another repair.
You will notice that the first four considerations were strictly about the situation at hand. The last consideration was a bigger picture factor, looking at addressing a bigger problem. You want to demonstrate that you can think outside the box.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Practice making up your own hypothetical situations and think about all of the steps that you would take to resolve or address the problem, what your reasons were for taking those steps, and what factors you considered. Again, remember to think big and go outside the box. The more you practice going through all components of the A*R*C model, the easier it will become for you. And if you need help, reach out to someone who has been through this type of interview, or reach out to an experienced Certified Professional Career Coach who has expertise in this area.
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