Elisa C. Martin Capstone faculty member

 Make sure to use the “How To” links on the Project page.  Make sure to download the checklist  The checklist will help you make sure you meet all the points required for the project.  Make sure to meet the minimum slide requirement – title page and reference page do not count in the minimum required 12 to 15 slides.

 PowerPoint Project: Transnational Crime  Compare and contrast two separate cultures and ethnicities that harbor ill-will toward the United States  This means two different societies. Please do not include the United States.  In a slide PowerPoint presentation, please compare both of your selections and be sure to discuss the role that socialization and religion play in shaping the beliefs of these cultures.

Be prepared to provide evidence about:  Why these beliefs are formed.  How culture and religion shaped these beliefs.  Why these cultures are militant in their beliefs toward the United States.

 Appearance:  Clean and neat.  Professional – hair should be natural in color.  Fingernails should be groomed. Women with painted nails should ensure the color is subdued and they are not too long.  Tattoos should be covered. Many criminal justice professionals have them, but cover them at work.  Many employers are not hiring folks who cannot cover up their tattoos.  Remove excessive piercings. Women should wear only one pair in an interview.

 Understand the organization’s mission statement and its philosophy.  Learn about its demographics.  Understand its organizational chart.

 Make sure your car is clean on the outside and the inside. If your potential employer walks you to your car and sees a mess, that is an indication that you are disorganized.  Make sure your cell phone message is brief and professional. Your potential employer will not want to sit through a lengthy song to leave a message and will not appreciate a smart-aleck greeting.

 Make sure your credit debt is as low as possible.  Clean up, if not delete, all your social media accounts:  Employers are requiring access to your Facebook accounts (yes, that is legal).  Law enforcement will ask for access to personal records that even the private sector is beginning to examine.

 Be confident, not arrogant.  Everyone is nervous in an interview, so how you control your nervousness is important. Law enforcement agencies watch how you handle yourself.  Be sincere. Honesty is always the best policy.  Make sure you have plenty of copies of your resume when you go to interviews.  Take special effort in your preparation of the resumes – put them into protectors.  Also make sure you have a cover letter.

Follow up  For a second interview, find out if you have competitors. Ask whether your interviewers have any questions that you may answer to help them decide on you for the position.  Ask for feedback. Interviewers may not be able to provide this because of legal reasons, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

 Sometimes you will be interviewed by a panel that includes two to six people.  Be prepared to answer any question. It is OK to take a minute to answer a question. Pausing will help interviewers understand that you think before you speak.

 Candidates should not become discouraged if they do not pass the written test.  Most written tests contain an embedded psychological profile. The department tells the testing agency what personality is the best fit for the organization. If you try to mislead the written test by providing answers you think are correct, instead of being completely honest, the control questions will catch it. That can result in a low or failing grade.

 The two most important tips:  Make sure your personality fits the department for which you are testing. Base that on research about the agency and its demographics.  Answer all test questions honestly. In some instances, a candidate may take the exact same test for two different agencies, failing one and passing the other. That is a result of the personality profile.

 The bottom line to interviewing is looking and acting professional.  Presentation is everything.  Remember you have earned a formal education. Sell that! Help your interviewers understand that you have the ability to learn anything.