CBSA Mock Interview
Master 60 CBSA interview questions covering border security, integrity scenarios, and situational judgment.
Question 17 of 60
Canada Border Services Agency has a firm stance on 'Respect' as a core value, which includes respect for democracy and respect for people. How do you plan to support these efforts?
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Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
CBSA poured resources and effort into ensuring they fully embrace respect as a core value. Before your interview, take the time to review their information on the CBSA government website, especially their Respect core value statement and their code of conduct for available information on diversity and inclusion. On their website, CBSA partly defines their core value of respects as meaning, 'treating all people with respect, dignity, and fairness.' It goes on to say that respect 'is fundamental to our relationship with the Canadian public and contributes to a safe and healthy work environment that promotes engagement, openness, and transparency. The diversity of our people and the ideas they generate are the source of our innovation.' Create a specific and tailored response regarding the ways you'll support and encourage their efforts.
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"I read a great deal about the CBSA values. I understand that CBSA is looking to create a diverse, inclusive, and engaged workforce where diversity is fostered and valued. I will encourage this effort by wholeheartedly supporting my team members regardless of race, ethnicity, age, ability, language, gender, orientation, or religion. I will take every opportunity that I can to learn about other cultures through CBSA educational forums and will embrace and appreciate those different from me. Lastly, I understand that CBSA conducts community outreach activities in a variety of communities to educate and approach a diverse range of recruits, including unrepresented minority communities. I would like to be involved in those efforts as soon as possible."
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
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.
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Anonymous Answer
n a democratic country like Canada, people of all races, religions, sexual orientations, and genders should be treated equally, and that's how I plan to support those efforts, never being biased in my decision-making and treating everyone with fairness.
Rachelle's Feedback
Fantastic! Your idea of showing respect to others is exactly what the world needs :) Your plan to support the CBSA's efforts towards respect is straightforward and will be a strong example to others who observe you at work.
Anonymous Answer
Respect is very important to me. I was raised to always show respect towards everyone no matter their age, gender, ethnicity, orientation or region. I plan to support CBSA with these efforts by helping add to their diverse, inclusive and engaged workforce and keeping an open mind and educating myself of other cultures through CBSA educational forums.
Rachelle's Feedback
You do a wonderful job qualifying yourself by speaking about how you were raised and then discussing the action steps you will take to support workplace respect. It's a great idea to mention the CBSA educational forums since this proves to the interviewer that you have researched the organization and opportunity.
Anonymous Answer
As respect already plays a major role in my life, I plan to continue building upon this core value. Respecting everyone and their background that I will have the opportunity to work with. Understanding that I will be part of a diverse team within the CBSA, I plan to embrace everyone that I have the privilege to work beside as our differences will make for a stronger, more open-minded and transparent environment for everyone involved.
Rachelle's Feedback
You clearly place value on respecting others. Next, try adding measurable examples of how you have shown/plan to show respect for others. For instance, what does respecting someone's background look like for you? How would you show that in your actions? How will you embrace everyone? What would that look like to you in the workplace?
Anonymous Answer
I will be polite but firm with people and follow the rules.
Stephanie's Feedback
This is a wonderful start, but I would suggest strengthening your response by adding a few more details, being as specific as possible. What would respect look like in this role? How would you exemplify that?
Anonymous Answer
I plan to support these efforts by treating all individuals I deal with, with the utmost respect. I will respect policies by upholding them and explaining them to individuals in an understanding manner. I will not lose my temper and show unnecessary emotions to individuals that could lead to a lack of perceived professionalism.
Jaymie's Feedback
Great! These are all skills and qualities that the interviewer will find ideal in a candidate pursuing this role.
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