Why do some candidates gain their badges - - - while you try everything possible and barely make the list? What if there was a way you could convert your skills and odds from just making the list to being in the top ten going for the chiefs interview to get a real shot at a badge?

If you could read just one article about how to turn your oral board scores into a badge this is it. I dare you to read this entire article and not change how you sell yourself in your next oral.

The Problem is Poor Oral Board Skills!

Since 100% of your score in obtaining a law enforcement job is in the oral board, what are you missing that's keeping you from gaining a badge?

Bottom line most candidates don't do enough interviewing to get good at it. This is also true for any job interview. You've got around 20 minutes for a 25+ year career. How are you going to stun the oral board panel to convince them to give you the badge over the other candidates?

Most candidates do poorly on their oral boards. The problem is most of them don't know how poorly they are doing. I've seen it too often after being on over 100 oral boards. It's the most misunderstood and least prepared for portion of the testing process.

I've seen candidates with great credentials, but can't present the package at the interview. And, if you can't present the package, you don't get the job . . . Period! Never! Ever!

With all respect to the following comment, this is one of the most important clues why candidates have trouble in their oral boards:

"I recently had an interview, and I know my answers were great especially after hearing how another candidate answered them. He made the list, and I did not. Go figure!" Jed.

This is the problem! Most candidates think their answers are great, when they aren't. If their answers were as great as they thought, they would make the list and get a badge. They listen to other candidates and LEO officers who make them into clones. Have you noticed, that once a person becomes a LEO, they are instantly the experts on how to get hired?

If you're passing the written and agility, which are usually pass/fail, and you're not placing high enough on the oral, that's where the problem exists. What most candidates do if they don't place high enough on the oral is go back and try to pack on more credentials. “Oh, I have to finish my degree or get through that academy” They do little to nothing in gaining the skills for the oral board, which is usually 100% of the score. If you don't do anything to improve your oral board skills nothing is going to change, you will never, ever see that badge. The oral board is for all the marbles. This is where the rubber meets the road.

Stop looking in the magnifying glass at others . . . and start looking in the mirror at your self. That's where the problem is.

I know there are times in the pursuit of a law enforcement position when candidates have doubts if they’re going to make it especially after not being successful after several attempts. I know some get bummed along the way. Sometimes candidates get stuck in the journey trying to gain their badges. Candidates who get this far in the process usually get discouraged and tell me they feel like they have hit a wall. They don't know what to do next. Some of their friends (with fewer credentials) have been hired. They're frustrated and embarrassed. They often can go in too many directions at once, become overwhelmed, discouraged, and pretty soon could lose interest, be considered a part time hobbyist and NOT a serious candidate.

Many believe it takes quite a while to get firmly entrenched in the testing process and get a solid presentation going. That’s only if you don’t have the skills to know what you’re doing. The longer you wait, the further behind you’ll be and you may never catch your competition. The time to start learning is now. Each day you delay is costing you valuable time and money.

As Steve Prziborowski, Fire Captain - Santa Clara County Fire Department wrote:

Do what you have to do be more marketable so you can take more tests and have something more to offer a department, but remember that it all comes down to that 15 to 30 minute oral interview. I've seen some awesome candidates with resumes packed full of accomplishments that couldn't sell them self in an interview to even make the top 50%.

Secret "Nuggets"

By the time you finish reading this article, you will have a better understanding of the oral board process. You will already have improved your interview score by getting some of the secret "Nuggets".

What's a "Nugget?"

A "Nugget" is an answer to an oral board question that will get you your best score (highest possible) on that question, satisfy the board, and cause them to go on to the next question. You will get bonus points by personalizing your answer.

The "Nugget Principle" enables applicants to personalize their presentations to separate them from the ""clone" candidates. No one else can tell your story. Once you start lacing answers with your personal life experiences, no matter if they aren't law enforcement related, is where you start creating the magic.

The Oral Interview

According to retired Hayward, CA Battalion Chief Dennis O’Sullivan, "The oral interview gets you the job! This is where you putt for dollars. Understand one very important thing here. If I’m on you're interview panel and your my kind of guy or gal, I will fill in some of the blanks to make up for your short comings. If you start off without establishing this natural bridge and being a know it all ass, I will never fill in any of your short comings. This is human nature."

The Oral Board is for all of the marbles!

If you don't know how to establish yourself and the other essential skills needed to score high enough, you might as well not show up. You're dead meat!

The goal is to convince the oral board that you can do the job before you get it. Stories demonstrate your life experience. Stories tell the board that you not only know the answer to an oral board question, you have already lived it.

The most valuable assets on this site are the FREE "101 Inside Secrets How to Get A Badge". There are over 101 topics to help you on every step of the hiring process. Check it out before you leave.

Don't be A Clone Candidate!

It’s not the interview questions that are the problem, it’s the answers! Unfortunately many candidates become clones and give clone answers. And the bigger problem is they don’t know it. I hate to say, but often they are cloned in colleges and academies. Clone answers can doom your oral board.

A friend Donna stopped me at Starbucks. Two Sons of a family friend had graduated from an academy last year. Both were having trouble getting hired. She wanted my card to have them go to this web site. While we were in line one of our candidates Nick walked in and yelled, "Captain Bob" I got hired two months ago.

Donna had dinner with the family and gave them the card. Two weeks later Donna was surprised they hadn't called. She said, "My gosh one son has had 10 interviews and he hasn't been hired. I told her that's not uncommon. Candidates coming out of academies are pumped up like Marines with their bulletproof academy T-shirts. They have been given mock orals, use 3X5 flash cards with oral board questions and answers, run these by their friends and think all they have to do is show up for the oral and the job is theirs.

One of our officers was on an oral board for a big city. Several boards interviewed 965 candidates. His board interviewed 135 candidates over a period of 10 days. Imagine you were this officer and it is the fifth day of interviewing. You have just come back from lunch where the city has wined and dined you. You’re tired and you know you have another five days of interviews ahead of you.

The next candidate is called in. The first question you ask is, "What sparked your interest and why do you want to be a law enforcement officer?" He proceeds to give you the same clone answers you have heard from almost every candidate for five days. Public service, helping people, not the same thing every day, blah blah blah. The magic that you needed to hook up with the oral board has passed and you didn’t hook them into listening to your stuff. You have just scored yourself. Trust me. You can see the glaze come over the raters’ eyes. It’s like a deer caught in the headlights. They are gone and they won’t come back.

Why Do You Want to be a Law Enforcement Officer?

This is one of the toughest questions to answer without sounding like a Clone.  Often it could be one of the first if not the first question.

I want to clear the air about using clone answers.  It’s not that you can’t use clone answers. You can. But first you need to deliver a personalized signature story about you relating to the question. Not a clone answer of anyone else. I haven’t met a candidate yet that couldn’t come up with signature stories. Signature stories demonstrate experience. They also tell that you not only know the answer to a question, you’ve lived it.

Law enforcement officers love law enforcement stories. If you open up with a signature story, you instantly separate yourself from the other clone candidates. Stories show the oral board who you really are. You capture the board and take them on a journey with a story they have never heard. Is this making sense?

Case in point.  I just talked to a candidate who was dumping only clone answers on this question.  Then he realized he could begin his answer with a signature story.  He remembered a story he could use about a prank being played on him when he did a ride along with his brother.  He couldn’t believe the difference.  The story brought smiles and laughter from the panel members.  Along with the calls they went on by the end of the day he knew this was the job that blended all his needs. He followed this story with his standard landmark clone answers. This was the first question on his oral. His answer made everyone more comfortable and the interviewed flowed a lot smoother than before.

The toughest thing for candidates to do in an oral is being themselves on purpose. When you are yourself, you become conversational because you are on your own turf. This alone can lower the stress and the butterflies.

Stories are more than facts

If you can create the excitement, emotion, the color and magic to relive the actual event, you will capture the interest and a top score on that question. A big part of getting this job is convincing the oral board that you can do the job before you get it. Stories are convincing and can demonstrate your education and experience even if they’re not law enforcement related.

During coaching with a candidate one day and he was giving me those clone answers why he wanted to be a firefighter. I stopped him and had him rewind the videotape of his life. He remembered being a life guard at age 14. Take it back further (this is one of the values of a coach). He said, "Oh, I'm from South America. When I was growing up, we lived with my grandfather who was the fire chief of the city. I got to go with him and be exposed to the who department."

I asked if he had ever told that story in any of his oral board interviews? He said, "No". Why not? I will bet you big money you are a clone candidate right now. But, I bet you also have some personal signature stories that could instantly change your interview scores.

Practice those stories with a tape recorder. Condense them down to a minute or less. Don't go on a journey. The oral board is not packed for the trip. Once you answer an oral board with a signature story, you can marry the rest of your answer with those clone answers you have been using. Try it and see the amazing difference.

You won't have time and it's not appropriate to use a signature story for every answer. Tell the story. Make the point. Move on.

A candidate wrote:

I have thought long and hard about the answer to "why do you want to be a law enforcement officer?". I'm having a tough time putting it into words. My biggest desire to be an officer is because I love the way the department functions first as a family, then as a job.

I've had way too many jobs that were just corporate ladder climbers and backstabbers. Do you think if I push the "family" aspect will I get max points for that question?

Reply: This is a "Clone" answer. Try to think of what really sparked your interest to be a LEO. Come up with those signature stories. Once you have the board hooked into listening to you, you can use those other "Clone" answers to caboose your answer.

By the way, I would never use, "I've had way too many jobs that were just corporate ladder climbers and backstabbers", as part of your answer. It might give a bad impression of you to the oral board.

After a written test I asked a group of six candidates why they wanted to be law enforcement officers? They were amazed that what they thought was unique was only a “Clone”. After I worked with one in the group with his signature story of why he wanted to be a law enforcement officer, the rest of the group used the formula to put together their own too.

I have yet to find a candidate who doesn't have signature stories. The problem is they don't know how to use them. You might not know yours today. But, after reading this, you will have some aha’s in the next few days.

I know you have been number 3 in Seattle, in the top 5 at Ontario, made the cut on the CPS test, waiting for the next call from LA City, and tested in Portland, Stockton, and passed the tough physical agility test in Phoenix to go onto the oral.

Opps, I almost forgot

Some will say, "Captain Bob" how can you help so many candidates without making them into clones?" Good question. Simple answer. The real reason is nobody else can tell your story! Nobody! When you start lacing your answers with your personalized experiences is where you start to shorten that gap between you and that infamous badge.

Hands down, we help more firefighters and law enforcement officers get hired in the US of A and Canada than anyone else! Coast to coast, in every state and major city in the America, 24 hours a day, are protected by those candidates who went through our program!

It's a great feeling if you can be a part of the change in someone's life. Multiply that by over 2,360 badges throughout the United States and Canada and you will understand that this is our reward. My firefighter son Rob and I have a great passion in seeing candidates get a badge. This is serious work.

We can shorten the learning curve to the closest point between you and the badge. Like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, we’re not going to give you anything you don’t already have. We’re just going to show you where it is. There is a badge out there for you. You just haven’t seen it yet. We will show you how to nail it!

NO! You're probably not ready

You've been driving and flying all over the country collecting frequent flyer miles, putting careers on hold, the most income you had last year came from your credit cards, ruining relationships, running out of money and hope, and haven't figured out that with all your education and experience . . . the rubber meets the road in the oral board. If You Can't Pass the Job Interview, You don't Get the Job! This is where you putt for dollars. Even golf pros take lessons.

You have every degree, certificate and merit badge you can get. A volunteer, education and great experience. But you're still the brides maid. You don't have the badge. The guy you thought was the village idiot went through our program and has his chest all puffed out with a badge. Over 2,360 candidates have received their badges through this program. Thousands more have been hired by using the free information from this web site and having their questions answered by phone or e-mail. We have the road map.

Has any what you've read made sense? Would you go on an African safari without a guide? Then why would you go to an oral interview without a guide to show you where the rocks are so you can make it across the river without being washed away? Haven't you been beat up enough yet? We would like to work with you to turn things around? It's been said that when the student is ready to learn, the teacher appears. Are you at this point now? We can help you where ever you're at in the process.

Step by step, we can help you with everything you need to know in the hiring process, starting with the application, written, physical, oral, psych interview, background, polygraph, and medical to gain a badge. You will find the inside “Nuggets”, tips and resources you can’t get anywhere else to shorten the learning curve and the distance between you and that badge.

Originally our information was established to help firefighter candidates get hired. Then we realized a significant segment of those who obtained our information were applying for law enforcement positions and getting hired using these same skills. These same skills work for job interviews, orals boards and promotional interviews for fire, police or any position you are trying to obtain. The same skills apply to all positions. Much of what you will see on our site will reference firefighting. It's the same skills set for law enforcement too.

I encourage you

Look at the results other people just like you have gotten by using our formula. They simply got positive results by putting simple techniques into action. You can review what they had to say here: Success Stories Here

After using our Entry level program, Dave wrote, "Nothing counts until you have the badge, nothing. For all of the candidates out there that don't believe this, try passing and ranking #1 on orals with a stuttering problem . . . I did."

Wait! Captain Bob wants to give you a 10 day FREE test drive of selected inside secrets how to get a Promotional badge. Learn more here

This says it all:

I was testing for a law enforcement position in my home state of Connecticut and surrounding states without much success. I found your program on the Internet and things immediately started turning around. Then I flew to California to take the California Highway Patrol test. To my amazement I came out number #! Imagine me number one! Time to pack. Jeff

Hi guys: I had my oral board exam today with mesa PD..........ACED IT. The cd's and DVD were well worth the investment. I bought a new suit. The private coaching.........priceless. Rob's coaching really helped! thank you so much!!!!!!! Chris

Hello Captain Bob!

I hope your doing well and are having better weather than us here in Chicago (too much snow and bitter cold)!! I just wanted to let you know that I received a letter a couple of days ago stating, "it appears as though you've got a job because you are at the top of the list". I was so grateful to hear that. During the past year of testing for law enforcement positions, I have been fortunate enough to make a few lists, but I have never been at the top. I know that I owe a great deal of this to your advice and assistance. Take Care!! Marc

Wow,

I want to thank you for the web site, I only wish I had found it before the day just before my interview for the Kansas City Police Department. I read everything I could. I could not get enough. I finally realized what set me off to becoming a law enforcement officer. I have been through ten plus hiring processes for different agencies and realized that I was a clone. Jason

Captain Bob,I want to thank you for all your help in getting me the job of my dreams. I used to think that that was being a firefighter in North Carolina. I found out that it wasn't for me. With your techniques and my story I was offered two positions as a police officer in my first time going through the process. Both departments are awesome and have great reputations. I couldn't go wrong.

I am now in the academy in the Metro Denver area in Colorado.

Thank you for your help and support. Everything was worth it and helped me in the process of finding out that this is the career for me.

Sincerely,Recruit Tim

"No college program would be complete . . . Without this program!" Candice Williamson, Columbia College

Our candidates are improving their entry level and promotional interview scores up to 15 points and nailing that badge! Imagine what would happen to your score by using the secrets from 30 years of experience.

Here's what you can expect to learn:

	How to master the secrets of successful interviews
	How to get the all important *"Nuggets"* to raise your score to get the job or promotion
	How to overcome stage fright
	Know the clone answers that are certain to doom your interview
	How to handle your interview like a pro

The "Nuggets" and skills that will be presented are for everyone interested in strengthening their position in conquering the job interview. This is Quality Training you won't find anywhere else. You can't afford to go to your next interview without these Nuggets. How bad do you want this job anyway?

The following are Interview and Oral Board Tools and Resources to help you gain your badge!

Our programs come with a no questions asked full refund if you're not satisfied. You're at no risk except you might get a badge. Return Policy

Although all our products can be purchased separately, purchase the Silver Package and save $$$! It's everything you need for entry level LEO to gain that badge!

The Silver Package System includes:

The Oral Board Entry Level CD/DVD Program, recorded at separate live seminars, that has helped over 2,550 candidates nail that badge!

Captain Bob’s book! Becoming a Law Enforcement Officer----The Complete Guide to Your Badge!

Step by step, this book has everything you need to know in the process, starting with the application, written, physical, oral, psych interview, background, polygraph, and medical to gain a badge. In this book you will find the inside “Nuggets”, tips and resources you can’t get anywhere else to shorten the learning curve and the distance between you and that badge. As a bonus, the book includes our Special Psych Report (a $20.00 value).

The Silver Package is over $100.00 in value. You can purchase the package at our bonus web site offer of $75.00.

Silver Package Program Order here .....$75.00

Entry Level Program Only:

Bonus web page offer for the Entry Level only Program

Learn more on the Entry Level Program click here

Entry Level CD/DVD Program only Click here to Order .....$49.95

The above book! Becoming a Law Enforcement Officer----sold separately $29.95:

Learn more about the book click here

Becoming a Law Enforcement Officer e-book click here to order .....$29.95
Ask yourself this question: If you could gain just one "Nugget" idea that can make a difference between where you're at now and a real shot at a badge, would you get it?

The candidates who do get our program could end up with your badge.

The programs come with a no questions asked full refund if you're not satisfied. You're at no risk except you might get a badge. More Here
Read this only if you decided NOT to shorten the learning curve between you and that badge.

I don’t blame you for being skeptical. There is so much junk on the Internet that it’s hard to decide what is real and what isn’t.

I encourage you to look at the results other people just like you have gotten by using our formula. They simply got positive results by putting simple techniques into action. Look at the emails they sent and review what they had to say here: http://eatstress.com/New_Folder7/badgesnew.htm

You may already be doing OK on your oral boards. Do you know the advanced strategies to make it over the top to gain that badge? How much time and great opportunities have you wasted so far?

Many believe it takes quite a while to get firmly entrenched in the testing process and get a solid presentation going. That’s only if you don’t have the skills to know what you’re doing. The longer you wait, the further behind you’ll be and you may never catch your competition. The time to start learning is now. Each day you delay is costing you valuable time and money. Pretty soon you could lose interest, be considered a part time hobbyist and NOT a serious candidate.

Do you realize that it would take you at least two years of full time work to figure out what is in our Silver Package Program? Do you realize that you would have to buy all the Internet junk out there to figure out what is real and what is garbage? I doubt if you want to invest the time and money to make the mistakes of others.

That’s the reason for this program and that’s the reason departments hire those who have used it to convince them they are the candidates they have been looking for . . . while too many others continue to make the mistakes that will keep them badge less. Can you afford to make major blunders in your efforts to gain a badge when they could be avoided with a low $75.00 investment in this one-of-a-kind time tested reference tool?

Ask yourself this question: If you could gain just one "Nugget" idea that can make a difference between where you're at now and a real shot at a badge, would you get it?

The candidates who do get our program could end up with your badge.

Wait! Captain Bob wants to give you a 10 day FREE test drive of selected inside secrets how to get a badge. Learn more here

Silver Package Program Order here .....$75.00

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