FBI Mock Interview
Master 40 FBI interview questions covering security clearances, investigative scenarios, and ethical judgment.
Question 29 of 40
Discuss a time your morals were questioned.
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Community Answers
Krista Wenz has been on thousands of interview panels hiring EMS professionals and firefighters for public and private agencies.
When you join the FBI, you may find yourself in life or death situations. You may be privy to information that challenges the beliefs and ideas you hold to be true. If you are ever working undercover, you may need to participate in or witness activities you usually wouldn't.
The interviewer would like to know where your morals lie. Pause and think about when you were asked to do or say something that made you feel uncomfortable. Identifying your standards will help you think of an example of a time your morals were in question.
Krista Wenz has been on thousands of interview panels hiring EMS professionals and firefighters for public and private agencies.
Focus your answer on the situation, how you knew it was not right, and how you stayed true to your moral compass. The interviewer wants to hear that you will always stick to your morals even under challenging situations if hired.
Krista Wenz has been on thousands of interview panels hiring EMS professionals and firefighters for public and private agencies.
Avoid saying that you caved in and did not follow your morals or ethics in a particular situation. If you give in and do not follow what you truly believe, the interviewer will see that you may have difficulty making correct decisions and might be a liability to the bureau.
Krista Wenz has been on thousands of interview panels hiring EMS professionals and firefighters for public and private agencies.
When responding to this question, remember to be adamant about following your moral compass in all situations. You want the interviewer to know that noting could compromise your morals and ethics as a Special Agent.
Krista Wenz has been on thousands of interview panels hiring EMS professionals and firefighters for public and private agencies.
"When I was attending University, I was asked to participate in a hazing ritual. Although it was a somewhat humorous tradition, the idea made me uncomfortable because I felt that it was a breach of other peoples' personal space. I chose not to participate, and it was lucky that I did not because the evening unfolded with a couple of campus arrests and suspensions. It's important to me to listen to my intuition in all situations, including those that challenge my moral compass."
Krista Wenz has been on thousands of interview panels hiring EMS professionals and firefighters for public and private agencies.
"I have a strong sense of morality, integrity, and I am dedicated to my career, and would do nothing to jeopardise the opportunities ahead of me. What I can offer is an occasion early on in my law enforcement career, when a lawyer with questionable ethics offered me a bribe to change my testimony in favor of her client. It was quite a sum, one that, as this lawyer put it, would ensure I didn't have to work another day of my life. Of course, this was just a promise, coming from a lawyer with questionable ethics, working for an unsavory character, as it were. And, of course, I declined and reported the situation to my lieutenant immediately. I made a vow to uphold justice when I became an officer. My position is unwavering."
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Anonymous Answer
I recall two years ago at my current job, I took a vacation, but my boss forgot to deduct the hours from my remaining time off balance. I waited two weeks to see if she would fix the error, but when it was clear to me that it had slipped out of her mind, I sent her an email to remind her. Honestly and integrity is at the core of everything I do in life, cheating, and taking extra time off was not acceptable to me.
Krista's Feedback
Fantastic example of honesty! Many people would have let this slide, but you show that you have an exceptional level of integrity. Great response.
Anonymous Answer
During my career as a Realtor, my morals were questioned, and I was asked to participate in loan fraud to get my client approved at a lower interest rate. My client wanted to simulate a fake lease to get a primary rate. I immediately told him I wouldn't participate, explained the federal consequences, and that he should find another Realtor if he didn't want to proceed ethically. As a result, my client appreciated my integrity, and I close the biggest commission transaction I have performed.
Krista's Feedback
Wow, that would have been a very awkward situation to be put in, but you held your ground and stuck to your ethics. A good example of integrity in action!
Anonymous Answer
The most recent example that comes to mind was actually as a student in my forensic science class after the pandemic began and all classes were switched to online. One of my professors was not very technologically savvy and accidentally posted the answers along with the midterm. As soon as I saw what he did, thankfully, not long after it was posted, I emailed him right away, so he could remove the answers. I have always had high standards for morals and integrity and never even considered looking at those answers. You will never expand your knowledge and reach your full potential by cheating.
Krista's Feedback
This is a fantastic example of doing the right thing! Your professor must have been very thankful for your honesty, and now you can feel great knowing that you earned your grades honestly. Good work!
Anonymous Answer
A few years ago, I was a taxi driver. One of my drunk passenger left his wallet in my car. It was my last passenger for that night. When I ended my shift to get back home, I saw something lying on the back seat. It was his wallet. I checked the wallet and I saw lots of money. If I wanted to, I could keep the money for myself; no one would catch me, but I saw his address on his ID. That night, I went back to his home and returned his wallet.
Krista's Feedback
That is very kind of you and a true example of integrity. I suggest using the STAR framework (Situation, Task, Action, Result) when replying to 'Tell me about a time when...' questions, and it looks like you're following it quite well. I suggest adding more detail at the end regarding the result of your actions.
Anonymous Answer
The business that I helped start is a mobile auto repair business. During my time starting the company, there were numerous times when a customer had overpaid for a service, or we could have milked more money out of extra services that weren't immediately in need. From the start of our business, we chose consistently to do the right thing. We know without an honest relationship with our customers, there is no foundation of trust.
Krista's Feedback
It's clear that you value honesty and integrity. Doing the right thing for your customer, although not the easiest way, is the best way. This question is asking for a direct example of a time when your morals were questions. The FBI questions are heavy on behavioral and situational factors. For this reason, I recommend carving out a specific story of a time when this happened to you. The STAR framework will be beneficial to you when forming these (and many other) answers.
Anonymous Answer
When I was in 7th grade, I was hanging out with a group of "friends" after school. They said they were going to a local store to grab some candy and drinks. I later found out that they planned on stealing the candy from the store. Instead of following them, I ended up going to the counter and telling the cashier that I would pay for the candy. He didn't even know they took it, but the thought of taking advantage of a small town store made me sick to my stomach. After that day, I stopped hanging out with those kids and made a new group of friends that I am still very close with to this day.
Krista's Feedback
An interesting interpretation of the question. Could you also answer it with an example of someone else questioning your morals? Have you had a situation where someone called them into question or challenged your perception of right and wrong? How did you react?
Anonymous Answer
One instance that comes to mind, I was fairly early into my position bussing tables and running food to tables. We were celebrating on New Years' Eve night, and the Michigan band was also having a celebration. I was invited back to a girls' room to drink and partake in other activities while on the clock. I was so worried about getting caught that I declined and went back to work. I hold myself to a high standard no matter what the job may be.
Krista's Feedback
I would suggest using a different scenario-based example to answer this question. While it is clear from your response that you held to high morals during this situation, it is not evident that your morals were actually questioned. A stronger example would occur if you had been accused of cheating, stealing, lying, etc. (or any other situation where your character was in question.)
Anonymous Answer
When I was in retail, I was told by one of the assistant managers to make up false names and numbers for customers and put them in the system at the end of transactions. However, I felt this to go against my work ethics and I did not believe this to be a morally correct thing to do. Due to this, I discussed this with the store's supervisor and they were able to look into the situation and handle it correctly.
Krista's Feedback
You clearly have strong ethics, which is awesome! However, this specific example feels better aligned to question #10, which asks about integrity. For question #11, you want to focus on a time when your morals or intentions were questions and how you responded.
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