How To Pass The Police Pre-Employment Psychological Exam

Have you ever dreamt of becoming an NYPD detective/police officer? Nowadays, people have a strong urge to become a law enforcement officer especially after watching Brooklyn Ninety-Nine, Lucifer, or Prodigal Son.

Want to become an NYPD police officer? Well, buckle up as you’re in for one hell of a ride. The key to passing the test is dedication and compassion. This implies that scoring higher will get you the job earlier; if you score too low, your turn may not come until the next entrance exam.

The hiring process includes a written entrance exam, medical exam, psychological exams, job standards test, background character investigation, and drug screening.

You can pass the written exam with the help of books and internet sources, but you need special skills to ace the psychological exam. This exam is designed to test your observational skills, cognitive ability, and mental acuity.

Most people fail the test as they are unaware of how to attempt the questions. For that matter, Civil Service Success has compiled a guide to help young applicants understand the recruitment process and prepare them for all stages of the hiring process.

Take a look at this guide to learn about some tricks to pass the police pre-employment psychological exam.

What Is The Police Psychological Test?

The police psychological examination enables law enforcement authorities to assess an applicant’s capability to handle the specific challenges that police officers experience in their job field. It’s comprised of three sections:

1. Pre-Test Evaluation

Candidates must conduct a self-interview before the test.

2. MCQs Section

After completing the self-interview, the candidate must undertake a series of questionnaires and MCQs.

3. Face-to-face Interview

A psychologist interviews candidates in the last round to determine whether they possess the qualities and skills needed to become a police officer.

How To Ace The Test?

You can feel more confident if you know the tips and tricks to ace the test or understand the pattern of the test. The following is a list of helpful tips to pass the police pre-employment psychological exam:

1. Never Stop Believing In Yourself

Believing in yourself and your skills is one of the most crucial things you should do before doing anything. Remember that the psychologist examining you is simply performing their duty. The in-person interview will go more smoothly if you are optimistic and confident that everything will be alright.

2. Be Punctual

Try to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the test. You may not realize it, but punctuality does play a role and can make a good first impression. A punctual person will always be on duty during their work hours and complete their task with dedication.

3. Get Proper Sleep Before The Test

Sleep deprivation has a direct influence on your cognitive abilities. According to researchers, staying awake for extra hours negatively impacts your thoughts, just like alcohol intoxication.

The psychologist will know from your body language that you’re tired, which won’t make a good first impression. Therefore, it’s important to take at least eight hours of sleep to wake up fresh in the morning.

4. Hone Your Cognitive Skills

All civil service exams test your cognitive abilities to check if you fit right for the job role. A section from the exam provides you with the essential details of a hypothetical situation. The answers are hidden in the passage. You need to imagine the situation, look for clues in the passage, and answer the question wisely.

You need to work on your cognitive and imaginative skills to pass this round. The best strategy is to create situations and produce imaginative outcomes. This practice will help you to improve your logical reasoning skills.

5. Work On Your Pattern Recognition Skills

Pattern recognition is one of the finest ways to assess an applicant’s mental capacity. The police exam has a section of pattern recognition questions to evaluate an applicant’s problem-solving skills.

You can hone this skill by doing online pattern identification quizzes. However, enrolling in civil service exam preparation classes and working with an expert who can describe the challenges anticipated in your exam can help you ace this section.

6. Try To Enhance Your Information Processing Speed

Remember that you have 233 questions and limited time to complete the test. So, it would help if you were quick and careful at the same time. This requires a good attention span and excellent information processing speed.

You can’t afford to waste more than one minute on a question. Try doing all the easy ones first to avoid wasting any time.

7. Take The Practice Test

The internet has blessed us with unlimited resources. Applicants must take advantage of these resources and try to solve practice tests online. This practice will help you understand the test pattern and help you in reducing exam stress.

Now that you understand the recruitment process and the tips, it’s time to start preparing for the upcoming police exam. If you have more confusion, get in touch with our experts.

Just Filed The Suffolk Police Application? Don’t Waste Any Time, Start Preparing!

You can’t afford to waste a single day after filing the Nassau Police Application. The exam is highly competitive, and the only way to ensure your success is by preparing for the test.

At Civil Service Success, we’re proud to be the most prestigious institute preparing candidates for the Suffolk Police Exam. If you want to ensure your career in the FDNY, you must compete with the other candidates and perform better than the average.

Our preparation classes are taught by retired civil service workers that have led successful careers in different federal departments in NYC. We also offer classes for the Suffolk and Nassau County Police Exams and the NYC Firefighter Exam.

Want to land an NYC civil service job? Get in touch with our professional staff to learn more about the recruitment process.