You probably won’t end up in prison, and other perks unsettled police officers don’t consider.

Give me an example of a time when you’ve had to make a difficult decision.

That was a question I was asked in my first job interview outside of policing. My mind was immediately taken to one early morning, standing in the living room of someone else’s house, with lots of people shouting, crying and demanding explanations. I had to decide whether to arrest someone for the sexual abuse of their daughter.

It was my decision, I’d gathered the evidence and pieced it together, but if I was wrong then I was about to destroy some people’s lives. You try and handle such things delicately, but sometimes it doesn’t go to plan. I wished I could think up something more appropriate, but you can only sit in silence and sip water for so long.

I apologised to the people interviewing me for having to give a ‘police-y’ example.

It’s not a “police” answer — it’s your evidence.

Now, admittedly:

• there were lots of tiny decisions that led up to that moment.
• I knew what I had to do and why, there’s a playbook.
• It didn’t happen in an office environment.

But none of that devalues the example. Rarely do people make decisions at work that carry such weight. People can talk about lost revenue, wasted time, and wasted money — but in the end, it’s not their own money at risk. If a police officer makes the wrong call, the levels of scrutiny and risk are unparalleled.

It ticks all the boxes.

The evidence that’s relevant to the question is in the decision-making process and how you:

• gather information and analyse it beforehand
• collaborate and document your rationale
• keep stakeholders updated
• Reflect and learn

The way you bring that to life is in the story you tell. Not many people have those kinds of stories associated with their evidence. It’s compelling.

I watched my future colleagues exhale a little bit, raise their eyebrows, shuffle in their seats and nod their heads.

“Yup — I think that covers it,” they said with a slightly awkward smile.

It’s a win-win scenario.

Awkward little moments like that since my career transition have led me to a place of comfort.

You realise that:

• The decisions you have to make are much lower risk than they used to be.
• You’ll still make decisions in exactly the same way you always have.
• Your employers get a really good decision-maker.

If you lack confidence in your abilities to take on a new role, remember that you’re a proven decision-maker and, even in the worst-case scenario, you’re probably not going to end up in court if you get it wrong.

Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog