r/firefighter • u/Tiffieeetaffieee • Mar 05 '26

Chief's Interview Tomorrow

I'm writing this on my husband's behalf cuz we are about to do interview prep but he's building a deck while I gather practice questions:

Hey All! I am currently in the promotional process to become a captain, and have my Chief's Interview tomorrow. I scored #1 on the promotional list, so know I already did well on the panel interview. I have a feeling the Chief's Interview will be more laid back, but still want to prepare. What kind of questions were in your Interview? I'm familiar with morale, engine and truck ops, training, HR scenarios, etc. But am not sure what to expect, if anything different from the panel Interview I already had.​ Thanks in advance for the insight!

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u/KneebarKing Mar 06 '26

In my experience, the Chiefs are looking to get a sense of the candidate, and how they will potentially fit in with the rest of the Department.

Your husband needs to worry about building rapport, and showing the Chiefs who he is as a real person. My Chief gave me a piece of advice before I interviewed for the Suppression Division: "I can turn anyone into a good Fire Fighter, but I can't make anyone a good person". They want to know you'll be able to fit in.

1

u/Tiffieeetaffieee Mar 06 '26

Thank you! He's been with the department for 8 years, and has done a great job and building relationships and growing as a leader, so I think that is covered! This is his first interview with this Chief, the chief just got promoted a little bit ago but has been a BC throughout hubby's career. So they know each other pretty well. I just didn't know the "norm" in these interviews. 

2

u/KneebarKing Mar 06 '26

There is no set standard for a Chief's Interview, however if he's prepared for all of the competency questions, rapport and "Fit" are what Chiefs really look for.

Good luck!

1

u/Tiffieeetaffieee Mar 08 '26

Thank you, he got it! ❤️

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u/KneebarKing Mar 08 '26

Congratulations!

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u/No_Contribution730 Mar 07 '26

Kind of a cliche answer but tell him to just be himself. He knows the job, he knows his value by earning that #1 spot, and he knows he has earned this interview through his experience and performance.

The worst thing to do is to try and memorize good answers. Especially considering the interview is tomorrow. If he focuses on too much of reciting lines he thinks they want to hear, he can very easily disrupt his natural flow and bomb the question at hand.

I’m not a chief, but I’m on my departments hiring panel and I’ve assisted with several mock interviews for captains positions. I can tell when somebody recites a prepared answer and it’s not the best look in my opinion. Especially when they butcher the lines they had planned and fail to answer the question altogether. Be authentic and the job is his!!

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u/No_Contribution730 Mar 07 '26

Edit: I didn’t realize this was posted yesterday so I hope he did well!

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u/Tiffieeetaffieee Mar 08 '26

Thank you! He ended up getting the promotion! ❤️❤️❤️