Border Patrol Officer Mock Interview
Master 40 Border Patrol Officer interview questions covering law enforcement scenarios, physical readiness, and field operations.
Question 26 of 40
How many days were you absent from work last year?
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Example Answer
Entry Level
Experienced
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Community Answers
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.
Part of being a diligent employee is to ensure that you are always on time and present when expected. It's great even to be 10 minutes early rather than just showing up right on the dot. Talk to the interviewer about your attendance in the past year so they can see if you have the work attendance record they seek in a candidate.
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 had zero unexcused absences last year. I took 12 vacation days out of my 15 allotted days. I was sick just 2, and a note from my doctor accompanied those. Once I was late due to a terrible snowstorm. I called my supervisor and advised them I was running late, and they excused the delay. I always try to be 10 minutes early for my shift and do not like running late."
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 cannot recall the exact number, but I think it was around three days total. All absences were excused and with notice."
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 think I missed ten days, counting vacation time. Of those, five were for my vacation. For three days, I was excused under a doctor's note. The other two absences were pre-approved family days."
Krista Wenz has been on thousands of interview panels hiring EMS professionals and firefighters for public and private agencies.
Since the interviewer did not exclude vacation days and holiday time, focus on describing how many days you were absent and for what reasons. For example, you may have missed fifteen days in the past year. Explain how seven days were for vacation, four for holidays, and four excused absences for medical or personal reasons.
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Anonymous Answer
At my current job, I get 80 hours of vacation time and 40 hours of PT each year. Although I do typically use all my time off it is normally pre-approved or excused with a Dr. Note.
Marcie's Feedback
Great! It's good to take vacations and to balance your life/work so the interviewer should view it favorably that you use your vacation time (and sick time as you need). You come across as responsible when you state that you make sure it's always pre-approved and properly excused. They just want to make sure that you'll be reliable. You might mention that you take pride in being dependable and punctual so that your colleagues and managers can rely on you.
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