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4. Describe a time when you felt as if you were in physical danger on the job. How did you handle the situation?
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Kim’s Answer
Sergio,
First let's discuss the style of question - Situational. There is a format to help you in giving your response. The acronym is STAR.
What Situation were you in?
What Task did you need to accomplish?
What Action did you take?
What was the Result?
You need to tell a story that puts your listener in your shoes.
Here's an Example:
I was a police officer at the airport. I was talking to a uniformed/armed security officer who was parking his private vehicle in a lot where he was not authorized to park. I was telling him he needed to move his car. As I was talking to him, he got angrier and angrier. As he talked, he would repeatedly drop his hands down to his sides, which, put them in close proximity to his firearm. I calmly verbally advised him to stop doing it. He did it again. I again calmly called his attention to it. I advised him that for the safety of all parties involved, he was to turn his back towards me, unholster his weapon, and place it in his car, using slow, deliberate movements. He did as he was told. Upon finishing our discussion, I advised him to retrieve his firearm in the same manner, and he departed the area.
If you have not worked in this field, it will be hard for you to answer situational questions. In that case, they should adjust and give you hypothetical questions: "What would you do if you were working a guard post and a car crashed through the gate and kept on going?" They would want to see how you think. Would you shoot towards the car? Would you abandon your post and go after it? Would you simply radio it in and leave the other patrols to deal with it?
Let me know if you have more questions!
First let's discuss the style of question - Situational. There is a format to help you in giving your response. The acronym is STAR.
What Situation were you in?
What Task did you need to accomplish?
What Action did you take?
What was the Result?
You need to tell a story that puts your listener in your shoes.
Here's an Example:
I was a police officer at the airport. I was talking to a uniformed/armed security officer who was parking his private vehicle in a lot where he was not authorized to park. I was telling him he needed to move his car. As I was talking to him, he got angrier and angrier. As he talked, he would repeatedly drop his hands down to his sides, which, put them in close proximity to his firearm. I calmly verbally advised him to stop doing it. He did it again. I again calmly called his attention to it. I advised him that for the safety of all parties involved, he was to turn his back towards me, unholster his weapon, and place it in his car, using slow, deliberate movements. He did as he was told. Upon finishing our discussion, I advised him to retrieve his firearm in the same manner, and he departed the area.
If you have not worked in this field, it will be hard for you to answer situational questions. In that case, they should adjust and give you hypothetical questions: "What would you do if you were working a guard post and a car crashed through the gate and kept on going?" They would want to see how you think. Would you shoot towards the car? Would you abandon your post and go after it? Would you simply radio it in and leave the other patrols to deal with it?
Let me know if you have more questions!
Updated
Linda’s Answer
Working with the public, teachers and librarians like me can be vulnerable to physical danger. Kim’s answer is helpful to me, because my education courses had almost no prep for physical danger, only employer/school instructed me, and I continue to seek professional development, as well as general learning.
Basically I have been trained to assess and know my role and get support. For example, a fight started in the hall outside my classroom and the principal’s office just before the bell rang for end of a period. Knowing that I was unpracticed and unsure of my recent training in non-violent crisis intervention and that other school authorities were or would be nearby, I focused on my responsibility to keep students safe by directing them away from the danger with calm but firm directions. As I did my job to the best of my ability, security personnel and at least 1 disciplinary assistant principal addressed the fighters and the situation ended. Had no one else arrived, I would have had to try my new training for the first time while continuing to protect surrounding students.
I’ve had other similar experiences in which I and my students stayed safe. My most difficult was probably a kindergarten, with a history of behavior problems, who was throwing chairs at his classmates. Fortunately, aides safely removed the other children. I stayed with the antagonizer to speak calmly about his actions until he was calm and could be helped by other, more expert staff (e.g. principal, counselor).
Know your job and know your resources.
Take responsibility but don’t be a hero.
Learn non-violent interaction and maybe some psychology, counseling, or teaching.
Basically I have been trained to assess and know my role and get support. For example, a fight started in the hall outside my classroom and the principal’s office just before the bell rang for end of a period. Knowing that I was unpracticed and unsure of my recent training in non-violent crisis intervention and that other school authorities were or would be nearby, I focused on my responsibility to keep students safe by directing them away from the danger with calm but firm directions. As I did my job to the best of my ability, security personnel and at least 1 disciplinary assistant principal addressed the fighters and the situation ended. Had no one else arrived, I would have had to try my new training for the first time while continuing to protect surrounding students.
I’ve had other similar experiences in which I and my students stayed safe. My most difficult was probably a kindergarten, with a history of behavior problems, who was throwing chairs at his classmates. Fortunately, aides safely removed the other children. I stayed with the antagonizer to speak calmly about his actions until he was calm and could be helped by other, more expert staff (e.g. principal, counselor).
Linda recommends the following next steps: