Becoming a Police Officer: Structured Oral Interview

The structured oral interview consists of a series of questions that assess the skills and abilities  necessary to perform as a law enforcement officer with the Dalton Police Department.  These questions can range from hypothetical scenarios to specific questions about how you tend to deal with situations.  The answers given by the applicant are rated by a panel of assessors.  The assessors are all members of the Dalton Police Department.

The applicant is provided with a copy of each question that is to be asked and are allowed to make notes and organize their thoughts prior to a response.  There is a maximum time limit allowed for each question whereby the applicant is given 5 minutes to prepare and answer the question once it is read.

The oral assessment is designed to assess the most critical job-related skills and abilities.  Some of the areas that may be assessed in the oral assessment include the following:

• interpersonal skills
• teamwork
• judgment
• problem-solving
• community orientation
• stress tolerance; and
• flexibility

While you may be asked to respond to hypothetical scenarios, knowledge of department procedures, laws or any specific job knowledge is not required.

You can get more information about the structured oral interview from our Candidate Structured Oral Interview (SOI) Orientation and Preparation Guide.