In the past 2 years, The Corrections Connection has received thousands of email questions regarding "Getting Hired" in corrections. So we thought it would be helpful to get advice from 2 corrections practitioners, in different parts of the country, who frequently conduct job interviews and review applications for employment. Warden George F. Wagner from Hunterdon County Jail in Flemington New Jersey and Captain Ken E. Richardson from Licking County Jail in Licking, Ohio.

Both were very willing to share their experiences, the do's and dont's of interviewing and the types of interview questions most frequently asked.

Although they have two very different styles of interviewing, you can see that they both seek the same type of qualities in an employee: loyalty, dedication, honesty and integrity. In fact, in an independent survey of 20 other facilities, we found these overall qualities to be important to corrections most employers, even more so than problem solving skills, writing and communication skills.

Here is what else we discovered . . . . .

Q: What do you think are the basics that every job applicant should know?

Warden George F. Wagner: "Arrive on time and dress appropriately."

Captain Ken E. Richardson: "Be on time! It shows dependability and that's critical."

Q: What are you looking for in the interview room?

Wagner: By the time they come in for the interview, I already know everything about them from their application and background checks. Now, I want to know if they can articulate their goals. Why they want to be in corrections. What I usually find is that the conversation is one way, where I do all the talking. They should be asking me questions, taking an active interest.

Richardson: I am looking for people who are able to express themselves. I want someone who is proud of where they work. Proud of their employer. Proud of their profession. It makes a difference in their level of performance. I am looking for dedication and above all, loyalty.

Q: What is one big mistake applicants should avoid?

Wagner: Don't come to early. Arriving at 8 am for a 9 am appointment is not good. You are actually impeding the process because now we have to figure out what to do with you while you are here. Being too early is actually a bad decision.

Q: What should an applicant wear to an interview?

Wagner: You should take the interview seriously and wear something appropriate. I'll tell you a true story . . . . Last Summer we were conducting interviews and I looked out into the lobby and saw this guy in shorts, a t-shirt, flip flops and a hat to the back. So I ask my Lieutenant who he was and he said, "that's your 10 o'clock, should I bring him in for the interview?" My response was simple: "he just had his interview!" So sorry I interrupted his day at the beach.

Richardson: You should look professional. [a suit or sports jacket and tie, a nice tailored dress or suit]. You want to make a nice first impression.

Q: If someone is currently working in law enforcement or is in the armed forces, would you recommend that they wear their uniform to the interview?

Wagner: No I would not. It just reminds me that you are working for someone else while you are looking for another job. I want to know your interested in me. Plus, as employers you can't trust that the uniform is real. I once had a man come in a uniform saying that he was a veteran. In reality he had picked the uniform up in a local thrift shop. I'm going to do a thorough background check on you, check your references, meet with you, read your application, so I am going to know all that I have to know about you anyway. I don't need the uniform.

Q: What should an applicant bring to the interview?

Wagner: You need to look prepared and be prepared. If there are papers you think we need, bring copies so we don't have to make the copies ourselves. Otherwise, I have to get up, get my secretary, have her make the copies and bring them back to you. Show a little planning on your part. I like it when someone has everything prepared.

Q: Do you always conduct a background check?

Wagner: We always background check. You can't trust documents, ie. College records, certificates, etc. We are getting into scannable documents, where you can create anything with a computer and say its real. They say they are a Ph.D and have medical documents, the certificates are there but they are not authentic. We always do background checks.

Richardson: Absolutely. We do a thorough background check on every applicant.

Q: What kind of information should be included in a background check?

Wagner: We want to know everything. Where you were born, siblings, boyfriends, girlfriends. Financial obligations you have, financial obligations you've had, education, all employers from day 1, any interaction with any law enforcement agency, any judgments of any kind. I have had people come in to the office for an interview that have had criminal records and they just don't put it down. People think if they don't list it nobody is going to find it and that is simply not true.

Richardson: Everything should go into the application. To me silence is a form a deception.

Q: What kind of preparation should an applicant do prior to the interview?

Wagner: Do a little research on the institution they are going to. Contact the local government, how the position you are interviewing for fits into the organizational chart. Know a little bit about the facility. shows initiative to do that. On my end, I like to give them the tour first before the interview. They need to know the kind of inmates they are dealing with and our set-up and procedures.

Q: What about political and moral philosophies? How important is that?

Wagner: It doesn't matter about their personal feelings because your professional behavior is guided by policy. It doesn't matter to me whether you are liberal, conservative, democratic, pro-choice, pro-life, right-wing, left-wing or pro capital punishment, we formulate your professional conduct via policy and procedure. As long as you are following our procedure, I don't care what your personal views are. I think that's the way it usually is.

Q: What is the procedure for testing and applying?

Wagner: Well, it is going to depend a lot on the individual requirements of your state. We are a civil service state so applicants test and are ranked according to their score and by their residence. We run a county jail, so people who live in Hunterdon County would be ranked first, then bordering counties in New Jersey, then state wide, then nationwide. We do given veterans preference. You should find out what your state requires. Of course, we do background checks, oral interviews, require you to provide three references (vouchers) signed by a notary, take a physical which includes a drug test, then a psychological test, then you're hired . . . . if you pass all that.

Richardson: In addition to the tests, the background checks and the interview, we also do a writing exercise. We will tell them to write about the most important day of their life. This serves many purposes. One, we have it in their own words what is important to them. Two, it shows us their report writing abilities and how well they can spell, etc. It's just 1 or 2 pages, but it gives us great insight into the way they think.

Q: Does military experience help? What about a B.A.?

Wagner: We are making a 25 year investment in this person and based on the pool of applicants we've been seeing, we can afford to be picky. Does military experience count? is a BA going to help? Absolutely, but not just because the applicant pool is bigger, but because it shows the willingness of the individual to commit and complete things, and that is very important to an employer.

Q: What kinds of questions do you like to ask?

Wagner: Employees aren't prepared to ask any questions. Always seems one way. I am going to look at background packet. I am going to know about you before you come in, now I want to hear:

#1: Why do you want to work here?

#2: How did you end up in corrections.

I have yet to find anyone who grew up wanting to work in a state jail or a prison.

I have no problem with someone being honest and saying "I am coming out of college and I want to work for the FBI but I saw you had openings and thought this would be a good segway."

I would rather know from the employee what there career aspiration.

#3: What are your career goals? Be able to articluate your career aspirations.

I find it confounding that people don't know how to interview You are given the opportunity to sell yourself why do I want to pick you as opposed to the other 328 people.

Based on turnovers, I have done a lot of interviews, a majority now have a bachelors degrees, but they don't know how to interview. You are trying to articulate and sell yourself but there may be a oral board component

#4: What would you do in the event of a riot. How would prepare?

#5: Are you prepared for the hours of work and scheduling?

This place runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Work 8 hours and mandatory overtime and it might be on a holiday and when you are getting ready to go to family picnic at 4th July you may be required to stay.

Richardson: Our questions are subjective by some standards, but I think the responses are very useful to determine the psychological make up. We are looking for person with substance to them. I want to know:

#1 What motivates you?

#2 What values are important to you? Family, honesty integrity + New dodge derango, its kind of a shallow person

#3 What is the most significant problem they ever had to contend with and how they dealt with it? What is a problem (broken nail, this person does not perceive problems in the proper context- shows problem solving)

#4 What is the most important personal quality they have? (what is of value to them. If they say "defend themselves" that is not realyy a value, I have a lot of personal integrtity I am a compassionate caring person people respect me for being honest.

#5 Why they want to work here. We want to know if this a career to them or just a job.

We just started using these in the past year or so, this last bunch of people we hired is about 10 notches above anyone before it.

We always receive requests for the names, addresses and phone numbers of facilities to send resumes to and find out about job openings. One of the best resources available is:

Directory of Juvenile and Adult Correctional Departments, Institutions, Agencies, and Paroling Authorities. Published by The American Correctional Association