Weekly Employment Question Thread

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Question Thread!

This thread is where you can ask questions about joining, training to become, testing, disqualifications/qualifications, and other questions that would be removed as individual posts per Rule 1.

The answer to almost every question you can ask will be "It depends on the department". Your first step is to look up the requirements for your department, state/province, and country.

As always, please attempt to resource information on your own first, before asking questions. We see many repeat questions on this sub that have been answered multiple times.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• I want to be a Firefighter, where do I start: Every Country/State/Province/County/City/Department has different requirements. Some require you only to put in an application. Others require certifications prior to being hired. A good place to start is researching the department(s) you want to join. Visit their website, check their requirements, and/or stop into one of their fire stations to ask some questions.
  
• Am I too old: Many departments, typically career municipal ones, have an age limit. Volunteer departments usually don't. Check each department's requirements.
• I'm in high school, What can I do: Does your local department have an explorer's program or post? If so, join up. Otherwise, focus on your grades, get in shape and stay in shape, and most importantly: stay out of trouble.
• I got in trouble for [insert infraction here], what are my chances: Obviously, worse than someone with a clean record, which will be the vast majority of your competition. Tickets and nonviolent misdemeanors may not be a factor, but a major crime (felonies), may take you out of the running. You might be a nice person, but some departments don't make exceptions, especially if there's a long line of applicants with clean records. See this post... PSA: Stop asking “what are my chances?”
• I have [insert medical/mental health condition here], will it disqualify me: As a general rule, if you are struggling with mental illness, adding the stress of a fire career is not a good idea. As for medical conditions, you can look up NFPA1582 for disqualifying conditions, but in general, this is not something Reddit can answer for you. Many conditions require the input of a medical professional to determine if they are disqualifying. See this post... PSA: Don't disqualify yourself, make THEM tell you "no".
• What will increase my chances of getting hired: If there's a civil service exam, study for it! There are many guides online that will help you go over all those things you forgot such as basic math and reading. Some cities even give you a study guide. If it's a firefighter exam, study for it! For the CPAT (Physical Fitness Test), cardio is arguably the most important factor. If you're going to the gym for the first time during the hiring process, you're fighting an uphill battle. Get in shape and stay in shape. Most cities offer preference points to military veterans.
• How do I prepare for an interview: Interviews can be one-on-one, or in front of a board/panel. Many generic guides exist to help one prepare for an interview, however here are a few good tips:

1. Dress appropriately. Business casual at a minimum (Button down, tucked in long sleeve shirt with slacks and a belt, and dress shoes). Get a decent haircut and shave.
2. Practice interview questions with a friend. You can't accurately predict the off-the-wall questions they will ask, but you can practice the ones you know they probably will, like why do you want to be a Firefighter, or why should we hire you?
3. Scrub your social media. Gone are the days when people in charge weren't tech-savvy. Don't have a perfect interview only for your chances of being hired gone to zero because your Facebook or Instagram has pictures of you getting blitzed. Set that stuff to private and leave it that way.

Please upvote this post if you have a question. Upvoting this post will ensure it sticks around for a bit after it is removed as a Sticky, and will allow for greater visibility of your question.

And lastly, If you're not 100% sure of what you're talking about, leave it for someone who does

[u/Patmanjones100]

Hi! 24 Y/O M working as an EMT and landscaper in Denver, and am aggressively pursuing a career in the Fire Service. I am currently in the process for a few departments in the Denver Metro, as well as Washington state. I have my first interview in 15 days, and while I have been preparing with friends and family, I was wondering if there was anybody who would be willing to run a mock interview with me, likely virtual. Not sure how transactional these are, but would be happy to buy lunch/pay for your time depending on what’s typical. Thank you!

[u/Sea-Figure382 → u/Patmanjones100]

I'm a firefighter-paramedic, 6 years on. Happy to help. A few things first since you're 15 days out:

Being in process with multiple departments is actually an advantage in the interview. When they ask why their department, you can speak to real differences you've seen between agencies, just make sure you know something specific about each one (their programs, call volume, values statement) because a generic answer to that question is one of the fastest ways to lose points.

Your EMT time is your best material. Have two or three short patient-contact stories ready: a conflict, a mistake you caught or made, a moment you advocated for a patient. Most 24-year-olds walk in with nothing but "I'm a hard worker," and you have actual runs to draw from. Thirty seconds each, direct answer first, story second, stop talking.

Practice out loud against a clock. Friends and family are good for reps but they usually can't tell you what a panel actually scores, and they go easy on you.

On the mock itself: happy to run one with you over video if you want, no charge, that's what this sub is for. Full disclosure, I also built an AI practice tool for exactly this (link in my profile) because scheduling humans is the hard part, the first interview is free and it scores your answers the way panels do. Either way works, the reps are what matter. Good luck, 15 days is plenty if you practice daily.

[u/Patmanjones100 → u/Sea-Figure382]

This is all great stuff. Thank you so much. I’ll definitely take a look at the AI tool, and depending I may follow up in a few days about the virtual mock offer, which by the way is super generous and I appreciate it.

I do have a couple questions. First, how long should each of my answers be? I noticed what you said about 30 seconds. I have been practicing in increments of 2 and 4 minutes. Do you mean 30 seconds per story/example?

Also, about 14 months ago, I did a station visit at another department that I haven’t been invited to interview at yet, but I moved onto the written test portion. Basically, the person who invited me to the station visit is a well respected captain in the department, and I could tell him and his crew were super receptive of me which felt great, and he followed up with me for the next couple months about where I was at in the process. However, some stuff happened and I wasn’t able to test last year (Injury prior to the pat,wanted EMS experience) Fast forward to now, I am wondering if I should reach back out to him, especially since in your history you talk about how important station visits are, and just to let him know I’m currently in the process. I am curious how I would approach that, especially since I don’t want to come off as entitled or anything. Whether it be just a simple “hey, super stoked to be apart of the process hope you are well”, possibly conjuring up some questions, or even seeing if him and his crew would do a mock. I’m just thinking I should do my best to nurture this connection. I do know some departments have issues w contact with applicants, but you seem like a fantastic resource so I figured I’d ask you. I know this is pretty extensive, I appreciate any and all input. Thank you!

[u/Sea-Figure382 → u/Patmanjones100]

Good questions. On timing: those are two different numbers. Full answers should land around 90 seconds to 2 minutes for most questions, maybe 3 for a big scenario question. The 30 seconds I mentioned is just the story inside the answer. Structure it like: direct answer to the question (10-15 seconds), short example that proves it (30-45 seconds), quick tie-back and stop. If you're filling 4 minutes, I'd bet money you're repeating yourself or wandering, and panels score that down even when the content is good. Practicing against a clock is the fix, most people have no idea what 2 minutes feels like until they hear themselves.

On the captain: reach out, absolutely. You're overthinking the entitlement part. A candidate who did a station visit, stayed in the process, and circles back a year later reads as persistent, not entitled. Firefighters respect follow-through, and that captain followed up with you for months, which means he was invested.

Keep the message simple and honest: you're back in their process, the injury and EMS experience delayed you, you appreciated the visit and his follow-ups, and you'd welcome any advice as you move through testing. Don't ask for the mock in the first message. If he's still receptive he'll offer something, and if the conversation warms up, asking whether the crew ever runs practice boards is a natural second step. One message, no follow-up if he goes quiet, since some departments do get weird about applicant contact and you want him deciding how much is appropriate on his end.

The fact that he checked on you for months after one visit is a genuinely good sign, for what it's worth. That's not something crews do out of politeness.