PSNI Assessment Centre & Initial Selection Test Guide

This PSNI Assessment Centre and Initial Selection Test guide includes practice tests, coaching videos, top tips, tricks, and insider secrets for succeeding in your PSNI application. Let’s get started!

The PSNI Recruitment Process At-A-Glance

The PSNI recruitment process looks like this:

  1. PSNI Online Application Form – Standard application with personal data and two short personal statements.
  2. PSNI Initial Selection Test (IST) – A suite of timed aptitude tests.
  3. PSNI Assessment Centre –  Written exercises, 3 role-plays, and a situational interview.
  4. Final Assessments – Online learning, physical & medical assessment (including substance misuse test), and vetting process.

As you can see, it’s a fairly robust application process.

The PSNI Online Application

This is a typical online application.

We’re sure you’re capable of filling in your application form, so let’s press on and look at the Police Service of the Northern Ireland Initial Selection Test (IST). To learn more about the PSNI recruitment process, click on the button given below.

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PSNI Initial Selection Test (IST)

You will receive an invitation via email to sit the PSNI Initial Selection Test (IST). This aptitude test examines your ability in three areas:

1) PSNI Initial Selection Test (IST) – Spelling & Grammar

You will be shown a paragraph of text and you must spot the intentional spelling and grammar mistakes.

You need to demonstrate your ability to read quickly but with a keen eye for detail.

2) PSNI Initial Selection Test (IST) – Verbal Reasoning

This part of the test assesses your ability to understand written data. This is a classic verbal reasoning test, widely used by most large corporate employers.

We’ve written extensively about verbal reasoning elsewhere on this site. For these first two elements of the Police Service of the Northern Ireland Initial Selection Test you’d find a lot of value in our free guide: “How To Pass Verbal Reasoning Tests“.

You will be provided with a sample of text and will be shown statements that relate to it. Your task is to decide if the statements are ‘true’, ‘false’ or ‘cannot say’.

IMPORTANT POINT: Different employers use different test suppliers. This is very important when you’re taking practice tests as the style, content and format differs from one test supplier to another. The PSNI Initial Selection Tests are made by Kenexa.

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3) PSNI Initial Selection Test (IST) – Error Checking Test

Expect to be assessed on your ability to interpret both numerical data and your situational judgement. (Check out our Numerical Reasoning page for extra help.)

  • This part of the test is multiple choice. The questions will be based on a table of data.
  • Make sure you are happy that you understand the verbal and numerical data before you begin answering questions on it. Don’t rush.
  • It’s vital your fully appreciate what the information is telling you before you start to draw conclusions.

Again, practice like a demon to hone your skills. We always recommend practice tests because they contain full answers and explanations. This allows you to identify the gaps in your knowledge and plug them. (It’s transformative for your chances of success.)

The candidates with the best IST scores will go through to the PSNI Assessment test Centre. So let’s move on and check out what the day has in store for the top test-takers!

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The All-Conquering Importance of Preparation

Ok, we’d like to put something squarely on your radar: The all-conquering importance of preparation.

We often get emails from people asking for help in the PSNI recruitment process. They want to know the ‘short cuts’ to success. But honestly, there are none.

It’s boring, we know, but the ‘secret’ to success is simply lots and lots of preparation.

You cannot over-prepare. Every minute you spend preparing will pay you back richly. Successful candidates are always better prepared than unsuccessful ones. That’s a simple fact.

ACTION POINT 1: Practice your Police Service of the Northern Ireland Initial Selection Test for 60 minutes a day for 2 weeks before taking the real thing.

ACTION POINT 2: Clear time in your diary for dedicated preparation. This is focussed time, that you set aside to invest in your future.

PSNI Initial Selection Test

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The PSNI Assessment Centre – An Overview

Here’s what you can expect at the PSNI Assessment test Centre:

  • 3 Role Play Exercises
  • PSNI Interview
  • PSNI Written Exercise

Frame Your Behaviour

It’s easy to focus on the exercises and the nitty-gritty of the day (and we’ll do just that in a moment), but before we get into the specific exercises you need to understand one important point.

  • The whole purpose of the PSNI Assessment Test Centre is to find capable people who fit the core ‘Personal Qualities’ of a PSNI police constable.
  • In other areas of industry, these would be called ‘key competencies’. These are the criteria that you will ultimately be assessed on. It’s vital that you don’t lose sight of this.
  • You need to live and breathe these ‘Personal Qualities’ throughout the PSNI assessment test centre.

You need to know these insides out and try to always have them at the forefront of your mind, during your time at the PSNI Assessment Test Centre:

  • Decision Making
  • Leadership – Openness to change
  • Leadership – Service Delivery
  • Professionalism
  • Public Service
  • Working with others

You can find more detail on each of these Personal Qualities here on the PSNI website.

ACTION POINT: Set aside 2 hours to read through the Personal Qualities and prepare an example for each one of a time in your past experience when you demonstrated those qualities.

This will help you in two ways:

1) It will help you internalise the language that you need to use – it’s vital you reflect their language back at them during your PSNI assessment test centre.

2) These examples will be your secret weapon that you can deploy in your interview.

PSNI assessment centre tests

The Role Play Exercise

Role-plays are a daunting prospect for many candidates and at the PSNI Assessment Test Centre, you can expect to face three. (Yikes!) But don’t see this as a negative.

  • At their best, role-plays can be an exciting showcase for your skills.
  • All three role plays will look at how you deal with situations that you could potentially face in real life.

Again, you need to approach these scenarios with personal qualities firmly in mind. Knowing these qualities and more importantly, being able to show them in practice, is what will pave the path to success here.

ACTION POINT: Please take our advice and practice role-plays. Get a friend or family member to help you out. It can be so hard to feel confident in these situations but it’s vital that you overcome that feeling of discomfort if you are to succeed. As always, repeated practice is the key.

Need Help With Your PSNI Assessment Centre Role-Play?

If you feel that you need extra help in this area you should check out our Role-Play Masterclass

It has dozens of secret tricks & top tips and includes a proven framework that you can follow to deliver a world-class role-play.

psni-assessment-centre

The PSNI Interview

The interview is broken down into two separate sections.

For the first, you will need to make sure that you have gone back over your initial application and in particular, your motivational statement.

The interviewer will want to know why you wish to join the police service and become one of the police officers and will be looking to learn more about you as an individual.

The second part will concentrate on the Personal Qualities that we discussed earlier. This is a ‘situational interview’ so they will ask you questions that will require you to call on your previous experience.

Remember this! What they really want is for you to give them an example that perfectly demonstrates the quality in question. (Hence the importance of you preparing a killer example for each of the personal qualities. Try to think of an example from your previous work history or personal life.

(If you don’t have one that fits, think of what you would do in that situation.)

When delivering your examples a fabulous framework to use is the STAR method:

STAR  (Situation, Task, Action, Result)

  • Situation – Paint a background picture of the challenge/problem. (EG, “Our department’s sales figures were down 5% year on year”.)
  • Task – Describe why it was a big problem. (EG, “We were in danger of missing our annual target.”)
  • Action – The Great Thing you did. (EG, “I won two new clients and boosted my team’s sales by 8%”.)
  • Result – The impact of your Great Thing. (EG, “We finished the year 2% ahead of our sales target.”)

This is a brilliant way of framing your answers for maximum impact. It takes practice though, so run through your example answers again and again. Say them aloud. (Sub-vocalising them in your head doesn’t work as well, trust us!)

To be able to deliver this well at your PSNI assessment test centre you will need to rehearse each example dozens of times. Again, practice makes perfect.

More Help for You

Performing well in an interview is a skill. And it requires committed preparation. There is an entire section of this site dedicated to interview success, so head over there and get reading!

Here’s a must-read:

The PSNI Written Test

The last element of the PSNI Assessment Test Centre is a written test.

The PSNI Assessment test Centre staff will assess your ability to compile a written report. You will be presented with a problematic scenario and your report must outline how best to deal with the issue.

Our advice would be first, to get a grip on what the real issue is.  What is the crux of the problem? When you are satisfied that you can answer that question, then and only then begin to work out the best way to resolve it.

PSNI IST test practice

Remember! You want to find the resolution in a way that mirrors the Personal Qualities of a police officer Always have them in mind, they should guide everything you say and do at the PSNI assessment test centre.

You not only need to be able to show an understanding of the issue presented to you, you also need to show that you can compile a written report in a clear and concise manner.

It will need to be well structured and like any piece of good writing, it should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. If you are concerned about report writing and feel that this area may let you down, you can choose to study report and written exercises.

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Your PSNI Assessment Centre Is Complete!

You have lots of preparation ahead of you to boost your chances of success. If you only take one thing away from this guide it should be this: Practice and preparation is the key to success.

Remember you are being measured and timed against the other candidates, so literally every second counts.

Nothing will boost your chances of success more than repeated practice. It improves both your competence and confidence; it’s genuinely transformative for your prospects.

Take Practice Test

Final PSNI Assessments

After the PSNI Assessment Test Centre, you will face some final assessments during the following weeks.

They are: Online Learning, Physical Competence Assessment (PCA), Medical Assessment, and Substance Misuse Test and you will also undergo a thorough assessment process.

Good Luck!

We hope you found this free PSNI assessment test centre guide useful. We wish you the best of luck in your PSNI Initial Selection Test and also at the PSNI assessment test centre!

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FAQs

1. How do I prepare for a PSNI interview?

The best way to prepare for a PSNI job interview is to research the organization and the role you are applying for. Be familiar with the job requirements and the types of questions typically asked in interviews. Practice answering common interview questions aloud so you feel comfortable answering them in an interview setting. Dress professionally and arrive on time.

2. What happens at the PSNI assessment Centre?

The PSNI Assessment Test Centre is a facility where candidates who want to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland undergo a series of tests. The tests are designed to assess whether the candidate has the qualities and abilities needed to be a police officer. The Centre is also used to assess the suitability of potential recruits for specialist roles within the PSNI.

3. What should I wear to the PSNI assessment Centre?

There is no specific dress code for the PSNI assessment test Centre, but it is advisable to wear smart casual clothing. You may want to consider wearing a shirt and tie for men, or a blouse and skirt/trouser suit for women.

4. Is it hard to get into the PSNI?

Yes, it is hard to get into the PSNI. The selection process is very rigorous and only the best candidates are accepted.

5. How long is PSNI vetting?

PSNI vetting is a process that takes around 10 working days to complete.