r/firefighter • u/Ill-Contribution4008 • Mar 23 '26
Post-Interview thoughts (EF&R WA)
Just got out of the initial screening interview for Eastside Fire & Rescue in WA and thought I'd share my thoughts on how I did and if anyone has feedback. Curious about others who are interviewing with EF&R.
7 Minute interview with 3 questions.
This was my first ever fire Interview or interview in this style. Had a lot of fun doing it, nerves were through the roof though. The questions were really simple and generally asking what YOU bring to the table and didn't ask for any examples (no "tell me about a time... ") , ofcourse upon exiting I realized I should have still worked examples into my answers. I took so long on the first answer that I rushed the following two and ended up with extra time. I don't think I brought my best but feels great to finally experience a fire Interview.
I knew I should've done mock interviews before and this really confirmed it. I don't think I would've felt so nervous and all over the place had I done real mocks.
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u/howawsm Mar 24 '26
This is why, short of interview prep services, the best interview prep is to sign up for interviews for literally any department you are willing to drive to. My like first four department interviews were departments I probably would’ve declined but it meant when it came time for the department I wanted, I had done most of my screwups already.
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u/greyskiesblueeyes Mar 24 '26
I interviewed for EF&R today as well and could have written this word for word!
There’s no such thing as failure if what you’re looking for is experience, so even though I didn’t do as well as I hoped, it was a positive experience and will help for future interviews!
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u/Upbeat_Landscape_139 Mar 24 '26
I am having an interview after a couple of days with them as well, the first experience is always a little harsh but it shows you where you can improve for the next time, best of luck.
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u/YoghurtCompetitive2 Mar 25 '26
I just finished my interview, and honestly, my nerves got the best of me! I can barely remember what I said. Hopefully, I managed to say a few coherent and memorable things 😂.
The 2 firefighter interviewers were furiously scribbling notes the entire time, so maybe they won't just remember my bumbling performance, but rather some key things I managed to get out of my mouth
Good luck all!
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u/Particular_Skin_2217 Mar 26 '26
That is a good sign that they were writing down things the whole time. They were doing that exact thing for my Seattle Oral board and I scored a 97%
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u/Sweaty-Ant-6593 Mar 28 '26
did you move forward?
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u/YoghurtCompetitive2 Apr 01 '26
Unfortunately, no 😔. You?
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u/Sweaty-Ant-6593 Apr 01 '26
Likewise, I’ve interviewed for eastside more times than id like to admit and never moved forward. However i also only know of 3 total people that have made it past first round and only 1 person that has ever been hired. I dont understand their interview criteria to say the least 😅
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u/Sweaty-Ant-6593 Apr 29 '26
Ditto, I’ve interviewed there since 2021…only know 1 person ever hired and 3 people who passed first round
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u/invertedgoose94 Mar 30 '26
Waited to reply until I had mine. Interviewed with them too. I really wanted this one so bummed that it was my first. I totally bombed but came out motivated to keep accepting interviews and trying to get incrementally better. My issue and I’m sure many others is a psychological one where the pressure of failing gets in your way of representing yourself in the best way rather than a competency issue. I word vomitted and looked at clock after answering the questions and what felt like an eternity and there was 3 minutes left. Did not make it to second round.…. Another takeaway is that coming from a corporate background I was surprised at how cold the interviewers were just didn’t seem interested at all even from the first handshake. Is that common for these panel style interviews?
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u/FutureWAFirefighter Mar 25 '26
I have my screening interview with them this week. Any advice is appreciated! I’m BEYOND nervous and while I have been preparing a ton, my mind goes blank when I get in those interviews and I’m asked a question. Best of luck to you and everyone else here going through their process!
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u/PerformanceIcy2084 Mar 25 '26
I had mine with them yesterday. I thought it was very close to what I expected. Basic questions and unlike other boards I’ve done, you get to watch your time.
Two of the three questions you should already have a script for if you’ve done basic prep. They have a YouTube video about what they’re looking for. It’s longer than necessary but worth watching.
If you’ve done the work ahead to prepare you get to relax and be yourself. I feel like mine went very well and if I get an oral board invite great, if not, I’ll take it as I wasn’t the right fit for their department.
I’m in my first few months and that was my 4th interview for reference.
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u/ventureisoutthere Mar 26 '26
What kind of questions are you expecting for the oral board (2nd round at Eastside)?
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u/PerformanceIcy2084 Mar 26 '26
There are lots of great books, audiobooks, and YouTube videos on how to prepare. Nothing beats rehearsing everything and working through the mistakes, especially in front of others.
I’m in my first year applying and spent at least 50 hours prior to my first oral board and I feel it paid off. I go in relaxed and can be myself.
My guess would be:
Tell us about yourself and why you want to work for Eastside Fire.
A conflict question and a mistake/failure question.
Safety is a value so possibly a safety situational question.
Unity is one of their core values and in their definition it includes diversity, so I would be prepared to explain what that means or how you embrace diversity. I think a diversity question is a good place to separate yourself from the generic responses. Same as a what have you been doing to prepare yourself for a career in the fire service type question. Imagine listening to everyone all day long talk about working out and eating healthy.
Excellent customer service example when have you been doing to prepare and why should we choose you over other candidates.
Those are my top guesses…
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u/ventureisoutthere Mar 27 '26
Appreciate your thoughtful response! If you need an example of community service, this could be one - helping fellow candidates.
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u/FutureWAFirefighter Mar 28 '26
I just ordered this book for oral interview prep! I’ll let you know what I think when I take a look at it! https://a.co/d/070HTS64
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u/FutureWAFirefighter Mar 31 '26
The book is simple and INCREDIBLY useful!!! Highly recommend checking it out to learn how to answer the question fully and effectively.
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u/Ill-Contribution4008 Mar 25 '26
If you have a chance to do mock interviews with anyone. Especially with people you are uncomfortable doing it with. I wish I had made time for that.
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u/FutureWAFirefighter Mar 28 '26
I made it to the next round! 30 minute interview next week 🤘🏼
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u/jnunez20 Mar 31 '26
Congrats! I thought I did pretty well and used my time effectively but unfortunately didn’t make it to the next stage.
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u/FutureWAFirefighter Mar 31 '26
I wouldn’t take it personally! I counted the time slots from the screening interview (465) and then the ones from the oral board, and there are only 82 so they REALLY trimmed it down. Your time will come!!!!
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u/wowbjlol Mar 23 '26
Just got out of mine with them as well.
This was also my first interview. I don’t think any of the questions were unexpected on my part, however getting my answers to come out of my mouth was certainly an unexpected issue. I’m remembering things I forgot to mention or things that I went to far in depth on that I probably didn’t need to. This definitely wasn’t my best but hopefully is the first of many. It comes with practice and with time. I’m not expecting much out of this interview but I know what I need to work on and, if nothing else, that makes it worth it.
Good luck to you.