The Interview to Become a
Firefighter
The third step in your road to becoming a firefight
er will be an oral
interview. Every
one of these interviews has three basic
parts. Each
part is important.
Your interview will be conducted by an interview board that
will include a fire captain, a personnel department staff
member, and men and women from business, the government, or
community organizations who are familiar with the fire fighter
program and are experienced in interviewing employees
themselves.
Applicants for firefighter jobs will often spend hours studying
for the written examination, but spend only a few minutes
preparing for the interview. This is a mistake as the short
amount of time you spend in front of the interview board could
very well determine whether or not you get the
job. Given
this, it is amazing that many applicants do not spend any
time preparing for the interview at all.

How to get ready for the
interview
First, be sure you know the date, time and place of your
interview. This
may seem too basic, but it would be very unfortunate if you
were to assume that the interview is to be held in a certain
room and then discover at the last minute that the appointment
is somewhere else.
Or, even worse, to show up for the interview and find that it's
being held at a different time and date.
Be sure to arrive for your interview at least 15 minutes
early. This will
make sure you are covered in case of an
emergency.
For example, you may find it hard to find a parking space
quickly.
Arriving late for an interview is usually not
excusable.
The interview
itself
How you conduct yourself in the interview is the biggest part
of the impression you will make on the interview
board.
You should be courteous, alert and
self-confident.
Try to sound self assured and, smile occasionally. Look
the interviewers in the eye as you listen to their
questions and as you respond. Be sure to sit straight
up, but look relaxed, and, most of all, be prepared to
answer the questions that you will likely be
asked.
Keep in mind that the interview board will be trying to assess
your qualifications based on the job requirements information
given to them by the departmental briefer and the personnel
department briefer.
In addition, the board will be trying to evaluate those
qualifications that were not measured in the written
examination. These
qualifications will include such things as personal qualities,
your ability to communicate orally, your attitudes, goals and
interests.
However, this does not mean that the subjects covered in your
written examination will not be questioned further.
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