999/101 police call handler and dispatcher role.

Hello there! Very new to the forum world! Haha.
Anyway, I recently passed stage 2 vetting for the role of a 999/101 call handler in Kent and have an assessment and interview date all in one session on the 20th so about 13 days.

Because of covid-19 it is being done virtually over the computer. It is also 1 on 1.

Not sure really what to expect. I have been studying the kent police values and beliefs as well as the policing core competencies and values framework
So that I can incorporate these things into my answers for any interview questions. But in terms of role play. Or typing and call handling role playing or assessments I have no idea what to expect and its scary haha!
Been checking up on my political correctness also and phone skills.

I am asking if anyone has any tips or advice if previously in this role or position as to what to expect, or maybe you still are and can help me! Either way help haha 🤣

I want this job so very badly!
Thankyou in advance

Hi, I was a communications officer for greater manchester police for 5 years so covered 999/101 and radio. I can give you some tips on the assessment part I had if you want to send me a message

Hello there! Very new to the forum world! Haha.
Anyway, I recently passed stage 2 vetting for the role of a 999/101 call handler in Kent and have an assessment and interview date all in one session on the 20th so about 13 days.

Because of covid-19 it is being done virtually over the computer. It is also 1 on 1.

Not sure really what to expect. I have been studying the kent police values and beliefs as well as the policing core competencies and values framework
So that I can incorporate these things into my answers for any interview questions. But in terms of role play. Or typing and call handling role playing or assessments I have no idea what to expect and its scary haha!
Been checking up on my political correctness also and phone skills.

I am asking if anyone has any tips or advice if previously in this role or position as to what to expect, or maybe you still are and can help me! Either way help haha 🤣

I want this job so very badly!
Thankyou in advance

Hello there! Very new to the forum world! Haha.
Anyway, I recently passed stage 2 vetting for the role of a 999/101 call handler in Kent and have an assessment and interview date all in one session on the 20th so about 13 days.

Because of covid-19 it is being done virtually over the computer. It is also 1 on 1.

Not sure really what to expect. I have been studying the kent police values and beliefs as well as the policing core competencies and values framework
So that I can incorporate these things into my answers for any interview questions. But in terms of role play. Or typing and call handling role playing or assessments I have no idea what to expect and its scary haha!
Been checking up on my political correctness also and phone skills.

I am asking if anyone has any tips or advice if previously in this role or position as to what to expect, or maybe you still are and can help me! Either way help haha 🤣

I want this job so very badly!
Thankyou in advance

Hey,

I am in the exact same boat as you right now and just wanted to know if you had any tips/tricks for the interview & what types of questions do they ask you? Did you get the job??

Thanks in advance

Did you have the interview? Any tips or hints on questions? I have mine next week.

Thanks

Yeah I had the interview and it was much more relaxed than I had anticipated! I was interviewed by two of the FCR supervisors and they were very supportive and welcoming.

My main piece of advice is that you should thoroughly read through the document that they will send you the day before the interview, as this is the basis for questions they will ask you. For example, there is a situational task where you have to prioritise certain situations in a list and they will be listening carefully to how you explain your reasoning for your choices.

Also, there will be a role play task where one of them will act as a member of public calling in and you will have to play the role of an operator, filling out the table (also in the document they send) as you go - therefore also testing your ability to multi-task (typing and talking). They turn their camera off in order for you to concentrate so don’t worry too much, just be as enthusiastic as possible during this task and make sure you are getting out every single detail you need to know - where, who, what etc. Then you will be responsible for how you react to the circumstance - you have to decide whether you will be sending police out, making an appointment etc - it all depends on your prioritisation and what you consider to be an emergency - make sure you write everything down.

There will be other circumstantial questions asked - one I got asked was “what would you do if a colleague was going through a divorce and was taking it out on the members of public calling in” - just to give you a rough idea, can’t remember the exact phrasing! There is also a typing test which I did awfully on under pressure, then my friend who also had an interview that day said that if you refresh the page then you can restart the test - fuming! Don’t be afraid to refresh and restart the typing test (they give roughly 3 minutes for this task) but the result doesn’t have to be sent until after the interview, so don’t panic.

Apologies for the essay - just to summarise: make sure you prepare by reading through the document they send, do the activity before the interview (they are lenient with having notes around you), write down every detail and be confident. Hope this helps, good luck!

Yeah I had the interview and it was much more relaxed than I had anticipated! I was interviewed by two of the FCR supervisors and they were very supportive and welcoming.

My main piece of advice is that you should thoroughly read through the document that they will send you the day before the interview, as this is the basis for questions they will ask you. For example, there is a situational task where you have to prioritise certain situations in a list and they will be listening carefully to how you explain your reasoning for your choices.

Also, there will be a role play task where one of them will act as a member of public calling in and you will have to play the role of an operator, filling out the table (also in the document they send) as you go - therefore also testing your ability to multi-task (typing and talking). They turn their camera off in order for you to concentrate so don’t worry too much, just be as enthusiastic as possible during this task and make sure you are getting out every single detail you need to know - where, who, what etc. Then you will be responsible for how you react to the circumstance - you have to decide whether you will be sending police out, making an appointment etc - it all depends on your prioritisation and what you consider to be an emergency - make sure you write everything down.

There will be other circumstantial questions asked - one I got asked was “what would you do if a colleague was going through a divorce and was taking it out on the members of public calling in” - just to give you a rough idea, can’t remember the exact phrasing! There is also a typing test which I did awfully on under pressure, then my friend who also had an interview that day said that if you refresh the page then you can restart the test - fuming! Don’t be afraid to refresh and restart the typing test (they give roughly 3 minutes for this task) but the result doesn’t have to be sent until after the interview, so don’t panic.

Apologies for the essay - just to summarise: make sure you prepare by reading through the document they send, do the activity before the interview (they are lenient with having notes around you), write down every detail and be confident. Hope this helps, good luck!

I’d love any tips you could share thank you

I have just been accepted for the role yesterday, feel free to contact me with any questions

(Original post by MitchM77)
I found the Situational Judgement Test really confusing. I only got 34% ‘average’ apparently. What did you get and did you find it confusing too? Not sure whether I’ll get any further.
Congratulations! Are you excited? Nervous?

I did not get a situational judgement. I had 1. Typing and accuracy. 2. Multitasking. 3. MemoryAnd yes, those assessments are tough and not alot of information out there which can help educate us before we go for it really and that's why I want to help. Apparently, they have 6 types of assessments to alternate between. I got 89% average between the 3 assessments with the memory one being my weakest results. Thank you, and don't let your 1st attempt to be last. You can reapply for the next opening, at least you know how it is like.