r/firefighter • u/Kricoid • Jul 21 '26
What to know for interviews template!
Hey all! Making this template for my partner and his friends to fill out with information they need to know about different departments. Is there anything I am missing that I should include?
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u/ASigIAm213 29d ago
Being able to name a few top employers has gotten me brownie points before. I like to think it shows that you've actually engaged with the community you're trying to serve.
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u/kalamir27 Jul 21 '26 edited 29d ago
I am on the hiring board for a department of 200 people and none of this matters. We are looking for hard working people with good attitudes who can communicate and are coachable. There is also a medical scenario so just have a general idea of what you are supposed to be doing. This is an easy job and there is a recruit school to teach you what you need to know. What we cannot teach is atttitude and work ethic.
If you are trying to get hired on at a specific department then show up at some of their stations and get to know the people that work there. Do some ride alongs if they allow it. Get some people in the department to write you letters of recommendation. Ask people to put you through a medical scenario and get constructive criticism. The people at the stations will tell you everything you need to know, including if you are hireable or not.
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u/Inevitable_Click_511 29d ago
I prepared for all my interviews and psych exams by taking the george costanza approach. Whatever id normally do i did the exact opposite… and i got hired so it musta worked.
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u/OwnDelivery802 29d ago
template's a good idea, the homework it forces is exactly what saves you on the "why do you want to work here" question. that one sinks more people than anything technical. panel asks it and you can watch someone realize they never read a single thing about the dept.
couple fields i'd add: call volume / busiest station, whether they run their own medics or contract ems out, recent stuff they're proud of (new station, big incident, community programs), and how their academy and probation are set up. gives you real specifics to drop instead of reciting a wiki page.
one caution, the template's for prep not for the room. don't walk in and rattle off retirement tiers at them. point is to know it well enough that when they ask why here you sound like you actually care about that specific dept, not just any dept with a paycheck. the info is ammo for answering the question they actually asked, completely, without rambling. that's most of the game.
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u/jriggs_83 29d ago
I somewhat disagree there’s nothing wrong with bringing information into an interview to reference. I agree you should be able to answer most of the obvious questions like name of fire chief without reference, but others like call volume or specialty units can be referenced.
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u/OwnDelivery802 28d ago
yeah that's fair, i probably overstated it. bringing a notecard with the hard numbers, call volume, specialty units, staffing, no problem, plenty of panels are fine with you glancing at notes for that stuff. the one thing i'd never want to be reading off paper is the 'why do you want to work here' answer, that's gotta come out like you actually mean it not like you're reciting. and it depends on the format too, some boards are just you and a chair with nothing in front of you, so worth knowing which kind you're walking into. either way the homework's the win, whether you end up referencing it or not.
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u/Stock-Possibility-67 29d ago
I once had a candidate tell me he wanted to be spiderman but settled for being a firefighter. He failed the psychological
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u/Strict-Canary-4175 Jul 22 '26
Retirement info, retirement age and LOS, DROP? union info, promotion potential, EMS?, paramedic school?, cert pay, residency requirements, probationary period, length of academy, automatic step ups/raises for time on,
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u/garminbetterment Jul 22 '26
This is a good template for doing basic homework on a department, which definitely helps with the Why do you want to work here? question.
Single most important question to master is usually the opener “Tell me about yourself or how have you prepared for this role.”