Do you have much experience testifying in court?
Testifying in court is one of the job duties of a criminal investigator, depending on where you work. The interviewer wants to hear if you have much experience to see how comfortable you will be testifying in court when needed. If you have testified in court, describe your background and how comfortable you felt. If you have not testified in court, explain that you do not have that experience, but you think that you will do well when asked to testify.
The interviewer wants to determine how comfortable you will be and how well you will do when testifying in court. It is understandable to be nervous, but the interviewer wants to hear that you have confidence in your ability as a criminal investigator and will control your nerves just as if you were interrogating or interviewing someone. Focus your answer on assuring the interviewer that you have the skills needed to do your job.
Avoid telling the interviewer that you are scared to testify in court or do not like testifying in court. If that is one of the job requirements for the position you are interviewing for, you must be comfortable testifying in court when needed.
"Yes, I have testified in court approximately 20 times over the past seven years as a criminal investigator. I feel confident in my communication skills and have not had a problem testifying in any of those cases."
"Since I am new to this field, I have not testified in court as a criminal investigator. However, I testified in court three years ago after witnessing a crime. I was called as a witness by the prosecution and testified for three hours. I was cross-examined hard by the defense attorney but kept my cool at all times. I feel confident that I will feel the same way when I have to testify as a criminal investigator for the first time."
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