Do you strive for excellence in everything that you do?

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Answer Example
Community Answers

As a detective, you should strive for excellence in everything you do by being diligent and thorough in investigations, continuously seeking to improve your skills and knowledge, and staying up-to-date on the latest techniques and technologies in the field. Maintaining a high level of integrity and professionalism is also crucial, treating all individuals with respect and fairness. Overall, consistently demonstrating these qualities ensures you provide the best possible service to your community and uphold the standards of your profession.

Striving for excellence should be an essential part of your job and the interviewer is interested in how you do so. Talk to them about the steps you take to ensure excellence in everything you do.

"I absolutely strive for excellence in everything I do. As a detective, there is a great amount of pressure, both professionally and personally, to always do my best. I take my duty seriously and continually strive to better myself through additional training and accepting feedback from my peers and captain."

Anonymous Answer

"I always try to take the investigation as far as possible before passing the report on to a detective for follow-up."

Amanda's Feedback

This is a solid start that you can expand on to show the interviewer that you strive for excellence because you have high expectations for yourself. Use this question to show that your high standards encourage you to make improvements, solve problems, and do quality work. If possible, share an example of a time when your dedication to excellence made a difference in a case outcome, the amount of time it took to resolve an issue or problem, or the quality of an investigation. Make sure to explain what the problem/issue was, the actions you took, and what the positive outcome was. This gives the interviewer a clearer picture of what excellence looks like in a real-world situation.