Canada Border Services Agency does not tolerate violence or harassment in the workplace. How often have you lost your temper or failed to control your emotions?

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Canada Border Services Agency wants to gain insight into your personality and whether you meet their standards and expectations. Talk about the professional degree of your emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is defined by one's ability to be fully self aware while controlling one's own emotions rather than letting their emotions influence their conduct. This includes being able to judiciously build stronger interpersonal relationships with empathy. Discuss your ability to adapt your communication style to others. Discuss your positive characteristics and the way in which you ensure everyone is heard and respected in the workplace. If you have an example of a time when your calm presence stood out from others, relay this brief story.

As with any behavioral question, it is framed in a way that asks you 'about a time' when you faced a situation in the past. Your interviewer will listen to your example and study how you responded to and handled the situation, and what you learned from it. They will take the information you share and view it as a predictor of what to expect from your performance in the future. When answering a behavioral question, the STAR method is the recommended approach to organizing your answer. STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result, and is intended to help you frame and organize your response in a way that will resonate with your interviewer. So you would start by introducing the situation you faced and the task at hand. You would then present the action you took, why it was significant and how you came to deciding on this approach, and ultimately the result of your actions.

"I maintain my cool and do not easily lose my temper. Naturally, I am a calm and confident person, and it's pretty hard to get me rattled emotionally. In my current role, my colleagues and supervisors know me for being even-keeled. In law enforcement, I believe it is imperative to maintain a calm, controlled presence at all times. This stable behavior ensures that my coworkers, my superiors, and the public feel that they can trust me."

Anonymous Answer

"i always maintain my cool even in the most heated of situations. As a screening officer, passengers would always create heated situations, but my coworkers knew me as someone who will deescalate the situation. In my opinion, it's very important for anyone in a law enforcement career to have complete control over their emotions on and off duty."

Rachelle's Feedback

This answer is good! You describe your calm personality while also supporting your reply with an example from your role as a screening officer. Well done.

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"I can honestly say that I do not lose my temper often. I take pride in having control over my emotions in different situations, and naturally being calm and collected. When I am faced with a situation that would cause my temper to rise, I tend to find the reasoning behind the situation and the actions of others. Doing so allows me to calm myself and understand that there is more to the situation at hand. Having this frame of mind has proven to me that others can confide in me, trust me, and overall feel comfortable around me."

Rachelle's Feedback

Good start! The answer is a touch wordy at the end - beware of talking in circles. If you can replace some general statements with concrete examples, this may help as well. If the CBSA utilizes psychology when reviewing interview answers, I recommend avoiding a start such as 'I can honestly say...' or 'In all honesty...' as it can signal insecurity or dishonesty. I've offered a revision for you to review below.

"I take pride in maintaining control over my emotions. When I face a situation that could cause my temper to rise, I stop to find the reasoning behind my reaction. I will look at the overall situation and how I am reacting. Doing so allows me to calm myself and come to an understanding that the situation may be multi-faceted. For instance, when...(give a story-based example of your approach in action. You can form this using the STAR answer method). When I am consistent in my emotions and reactions, others can confide in me, trust me, and feel comfortable around me."

Anonymous Answer

"I'm very well mannered and calm in critical situations. If I come across such situations, I will assess them calmly and provide a sensible answer by stating that I'm doing my job and that's what I'm charged to do. I've come across these situations plenty of times as a screening officer, so I have really good experience dealing with people, whether they're good or bad."

Rachelle's Feedback

Your experience as a screening officer will certainly be helpful when working for the CBSA. It's clear that you are a well-poised and professional individual.

Anonymous Answer

"I have grown up learning to control my temper, even in unpleasant situations. I understand that as CBSA officials, we must present a calm and collected face under the highest public scrutiny. We have a responsibility to exude respect, integrity, and professionalism as we represent Canada."

Stephanie's Feedback

This response shows a clear understanding of CSBA, as well as an understanding of strong workplace etiquette. To make your response more impactful and memorable, you may wish to include a specific example of a time when you were faced with a stressful situation at work and kept your cool. What was the situation? How did you respond calmly? Giving a specific example of how you've stayed calm and collected under stress will make your interviewers feel confident that you'll be able to handle whatever stressful situations come your way!

Anonymous Answer

"I have never lost my temper or failed to control my emotions, on a few occasions I physically defended myself from individuals who had put their hands on me first, but stopped myself from being too aggressive."

Jaymie's Feedback

Possessing the ability to remain calm in tense situations is critical in this role. Good job reassuring the interviewer that you can control your emotions and reactions.

Anonymous Answer

"I have never lost my temper or my emotions while at work. I have a very calm demeanor and don't try to cause a conflict after any work problems. If anything does occur at work I would prefer to take my frustrations by working out or playing sports."

Jaymie's Feedback

Great job reassuring the interviewer that you can remain calm under pressure. You could also go into more detail on the strategies you use to deal with stress in the workplace, as that will support your skills and abilities in this area.

Anonymous Answer

"I have faced many situations that have tested my ability to stay calm and collected in the workplace. As a senior logistics associate, many new people come to me with questions regarding their work and I gladly answer them. However, one day a co-worker approached me in a hostile way, he did not speak very good English nor did his questions make sense to me. I asked another co-worker who speaks the same language as him to help translate what he was asking me. I understood some of the things this co-worker was saying and it was clear that he was insulting me in another language. I quickly extracted myself from the situation and asked another experienced co-worker who spoke fluent Punjabi to help him with his question to avoid any further escalation of the situation."

Jaymie's Feedback

Overall, your response is very good. It demonstrates your ability to handle a challenging situation calmly and professionally. Consider briefly reflecting on what you learned from this experience or how it influenced your approach to handling difficult situations in the workplace. This could provide additional insight into your growth and self-awareness.

How to Answer: Canada Border Services Agency does not tolerate violence or harassment in the workplace. How often have you lost your temper or failed to control your emotions?

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a CBSA job interview.

3. Canada Border Services Agency does not tolerate violence or harassment in the workplace. How often have you lost your temper or failed to control your emotions?

What You Need to Know

Written by Kevin Downey on July 31st, 2022

How to Answer

Written by Kevin Downey on July 31st, 2022

Answer Example

Written by Rachelle Enns on March 28th, 2020

Anonymous Interview Answers with Professional Feedback

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Rachelle's Feedback

This answer is good! You describe your calm personality while also supporting your reply with an example from your role as a screening officer. Well done.

Show More Answers

Anonymous Answer

Rachelle's Feedback

Anonymous Answer

Rachelle's Feedback

Your experience as a screening officer will certainly be helpful when working for the CBSA. It's clear that you are a well-poised and professional individual.

Anonymous Answer

Stephanie's Feedback

Anonymous Answer

Jaymie's Feedback

Possessing the ability to remain calm in tense situations is critical in this role. Good job reassuring the interviewer that you can control your emotions and reactions.

Anonymous Answer

Jaymie's Feedback

Anonymous Answer

Jaymie's Feedback

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