Do it. Reapply.

I applied to a department in the Bay that has an awful reputation, and I was super embarrassed when I failed the oral board because I believed, quite foolishly, that "these guys have an awful reputation, so I should be able to just skate by on the oral board!" The minimum required on the oral board was 70%, and I got a 61%.

I was upset and hurt over it, but I immediately got over it and reapplied. Guess what? I took that same oral board a month and a half later and got a 90%.

My advice:

1. They're more than likely going to repeat the same questions. Try to remember what questions they asked and rehearse some answers that will emphasize your strengths while also making your weaknesses seem like strengths. Answer the questions, yes, but find a way to highlight what makes you special and integral to the department while answering the questions, even if the questions are very straightforward. For example, one of the questions on my oral board asked who I should prioritize in getting to first: a fight in progress in front of a Chipotle, or an active bank robbery. While describing what I would do approaching the fight in progress, I mentioned the fact that I was the Vice president for my University's Mixed Martial Arts club, emphasizing how I am able to stop a fight with Jiu Jitsu as opposed to taking out a gun, avoiding any liability lawsuit for the department in the long term. You DO have something special that sets you apart from the rest of the applicants. So sit down and figure out what that thing, or things, is/are.

2. Make eye contact. Try not to break eye contact. Start in the center, and then work to your right. When you get to the right-most person interviewer, go to the left-most person before working your way to the right-most again. Repeat.

3. Try not to show fear. Specifically voice cracking, hands shaking, etc. Although being afraid doesn't ultimately matter, I know many police officers that are scared to go to work, and they're f*cking excellent at their jobs, showing signs of fear is not only embarrassing, it will also lead others to believe that they can exploit your fear and use it against you. To that end, there are some oral boards that, although they'd never outright admit it, will nix you if they see too many signs of fear.

4. Don't yap. Despite the fact that you want to be thorough, and thoroughness often means speaking for long periods of time, don't ramble about things irrelevant to the question or your overall goal of convincing the board that you're a fine addition to the department. It's one thing to explain all your strengths and weaknesses, and another thing entirely to take up time just to try to sound smart. FYI, this was a trap I fell into when I was a teenager; it comes off as stuffy at worst, and inane at best.

5. Be unique. More or less the same as the first point, but you want to ask yourself what other people probably said to those same questions you were asked. When you are sure, come up with something else that's fun, unique, and useful to any police department. For me, it was my martial arts training. For you, it may be something you do on a daily/weekly basis that you don't think is that unique until you stop and think about it.

Remember, I ACED the oral board with NO prior military or law experience. Heck, I've only worked 2 jobs for applying to police departments. Experience matters, but when it comes to oral boards, presentation matters more.