If you want to become a county deputy sheriff and/or a police officer, there are some obstacles you’ll have to overcome. Some of these obstacles are the Police Written Exam, and the oral board interview. Let’s take a quick glance at what you are up against when going through the hiring process. Some agencies may not have the selection process in the exact same order below, but ultimately you will have to pass each phase in order to get offered the job.
Step# 1- Complete the application correctly
This step is very important if you want to get invited to take the physical assessment test, and/or the written examination. Applications that are submitted with questions left unanswered, misspellings, or with grammar issues will automatically be deleted.
Step#2- Physical assessment test
This step will evaluate your ability to perform the task of a deputy sheriff in which some stamina and strength is required. Here’s just some of the things you’ll have to pass at the police fitness test in order to continue in the hiring process…
- Dummy Drag
- 1.5 Mile Run
- Push ups
- Sit-ups
- Sit and reach test
- Vertical Jump
- Obstacle Course
- Fence Climb
Step#3- Written Exam
This phase is very important as it will rank you in respect to other applicants based on your test score. You definitely want to strive to get a top score on the police entrance exam. The great thing about the entrance test is you can study for it by getting a hold of a police exam study guide available at any bookstore.
Step#4 – Polygraph and/or background check
The background check and the polygraph will be executed right after the written exam or the oral board interview. Some departments have the background check first, and then conduct the polygraph second to see if you are going to be honest about things discovered on your background. The bottom-line in this phase is to be completely honest with the investigator.
Step# 5- Police Oral Board Interview
If you make it to the oral board interview, you have made it pretty far, but it is not time to relax just yet because the interview is tough as nails. The main thing here is to prepare yourself for the scenario base questions or what I like to call the “what if this happens” type of questions. If you do well here, you’ll move ahead to the psych evaluation test.
Step#6 – Psychological test/ sheriff face to face meeting
Okay you can exhale if you make it this far. This phase should be a little more relaxed, but some have failed the psych test so don’t get too relaxed. The sheriff interview is basically an informal interview telling you that you are hired or you’re being placed on the eligibility list for future hire.
