Understanding the RCMP Suitability Interview.
As a company specializing in coaching and mentoring applicants to successful police applications and as an interview coach at anEDGE, I often get asked questions about the RCMP Suitability Interview.
- What is the RCMP Suitability Interview?
- What are the two parts of the RCMP Suitability Interview?
- What exactly is the Attribute Evaluation interview?
- How do I get through the Regular Member Applicant Questionnaire (RMAQ) portion?
- How can I excel in the Regular Member Applicant Questionnaire (RMAQ) interview portion?
I will break down the RCMP Suitability Interview so you can better understand the interview, the process, why the RCMP utilizes their formats, and why it is essential to excel in each part of the RCMP Suitability Interview.
The RCMP Suitability Interview is part of the recruitment process to evaluate whether you possess the core competencies, values, and traits required to be an RCMP police officer.
I constantly coach that the RCMP suitability interview consists of two parts broken down into one long interview. I also highlight that you need to excel in the first part, the Attribute Evaluation Interview portion, to advance to the second part, which is the Regular Member Application Questionnaire (RMAQ). So, let’s now look at the two parts of RCMP suitability interview:
- Attribute Evaluation Interview
- Regular Member Applicant Questionnaire (RMAQ)
Let’s first look at the Attribute Evaluation Interview, and then I will delve a little deeper into the regular member applicant questionnaire (RMAQ).
1) The Attribute Evaluation Interview
This first part of the interview assesses your knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the critical competencies sought in an RCMP officer. The questions evaluate how well you exemplify the qualities necessary for the RCMP role you are interviewing for.
The questions in the attribute evaluation interview are based on an in-depth analysis of the RCMP constable’s duties and responsibilities and are behavioural or competency-based interviews.
Understand that a core competency is a fundamental strength or skill central to an individual’s or organization’s success. It refers to the specific knowledge, abilities, or expertise that enable someone to perform a particular role effectively. Preparing yourself for a competency-based interview will help you build the confidence and insight needed to clearly demonstrate why you’re the ideal candidate for the RCMP role. Behavioural questions evaluate how you’ve responded to past situations, providing insight into how you might handle future challenges as an RCMP officer.
Behavioural questions typically begin with phrases like “Tell me about a time when…” or “Give me an example of…” to encourage you as the candidate to describe your actions in a real-life context. These questions aim to uncover competencies by assessing how the candidate has previously behaved in scenarios relevant to the role. There are hundreds of core competencies, but during the Attribute Evaluation Interview, the panel delved deeper into four main core competencies, so it is essential to prepare yourself with exceptional examples taken from within, preferably the last five years of your life.
Here, a skilled interview coach at anEDGE can help you develop your key core competencies and help you put them into the S.T.A.R format.
- Problem-Solving
- Breaking down problems into manageable parts and identifying solutions.
- Making timely decisions while understanding cause-and-effect relationships.
- Teamwork
- Collaborating effectively with others to achieve common goals and fostering a positive team environment.
- Communication
- Conveying and receiving information clearly and effectively to ensure mutual understanding.
- Self-Control and Composure
- Maintaining emotional control and resilience under stress or opposition.
- Demonstrating the ability to stay effective in challenging or stressful situations.
STAR Method for Responses to Behavioural Questions.
When responding to behavioural questions during the Suitability Interview, the S.T.A.R method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) helps you structure your answers and effectively convey your past experiences.
By using the STAR technique, you can structure your response as follows:
- S (Situation): Describe the scenario.
- T (Task): Explain the task or problem you were addressing.
- A (Action): Detail your steps to handle the situation.
- R (Result): Share the outcome of your actions, focusing on positive results where applicable.
At anEDGE, we coach our applicants only to spend a certain amount of time in each section of the STAR process and that the A or Action part is the most important.
2) Regular Member Applicant Questionnaire (RMAQ)
In the second part of the RCMP Suitability Interview, the Regular Members Applicant RMAQ examines your past actions and behaviours to determine if any could hinder you from becoming an RCMP officer.
Integrity is a significant focus, and your answers will be scrutinized for honesty.
I have always coached applicants to be open and honest when a) they fill out their RMAQ and b) be open and honest when they answer the panel’s questions during the regular member application questionnaire RMAQ questionnaire.
The RCMP look and learn and will consider adverse behaviours’ severity, recency, and frequency.
It is essential to provide complete and truthful responses. Misrepresenting, minimizing, or omitting information could result in your removal from the recruitment process.
In conclusion, I hope my blog has helped demystify the RCMP Suitability interview. This interview will be one of the most important interviews you will ever do.
As an organization at anEDGE, we coach many applicants to success, so reach out to us. One of our coaches and mentors would happily coach you toward success.