Preparing for a fire fighter interview? What steps are you taking to get ready? There are a number of factors to consider as you prepare for that interview, whether it is to become a fire fighter with the Department of National Defence or for a municipal Department, such as Halifax Regional Municipality.
Regardless of the Fire Department that is conducting the interview, they are generally going to approach it the same way. The purpose of the interview is to establish if you are a good fit for the organization and that you have the skills and qualities needed to become a fire fighter.
One component of the interview is the competency based interview, which focuses on a pre-established list of competencies, or qualities, that the department feels are essential for the candidate to possess to be successful. These questions will focus on behavioural and situational type questions.
The second component is the conventional interview, where they will ask questions such as “What skills do you have that qualifies you for this job?” These types of conventional, open ended questions allow the interviewer to simply learn more about you in a very general way. In this final post in our series, we will focus on the conventional interview.
Conventional Interview Questions
The conventional interview is a great way for an interviewer to get to know you, what type of person you are and what qualities you possess that will make you a good fit for their fire department. They could ask you anything from “Tell me a bit about yourself” to “Why do you want to become a fire fighter”. Interviewers use these questions as a way to really get to know you. So don’t be afraid to show them who you are. When you approach these types of questions, make sure that you understand what the job is about, and what their organization stands for, and then make sure you align your attributes to that information.
For instance, what quality do you feel is important to being a successful fire fighter? Let’s say that you feel that a good fire fighter has to be a good team player. Well, when you are answering these questions, try and demonstrate somewhere that you have successfully contributed to a team, and you enjoy that aspect of a career.
It’s not always easy to prepare for this type of question, because you don’t really know what they are going to ask. But be prepared for anything. Make sure you know what you want to say about you, why you want to be a fire fighter and what their organization stands for. Understand their command structure, and what the responsibilities of a fire fighter are. Research their organization and go through the job description. That will help you to anticipate what types of questions they might ask.
As you can see, there are a number of factors to watch for as you prepare. This could potentially be one of the most important interviews of your career, so you want to ensure that you do everything that you can to be ready. Reach out to someone who has been through the process to get some tips and guidance, and consider using a Certified Professional Career Coach who has expertise in this field.
Do you know someone who is faced with this challenge? Feel free to share this post by using the share links at the top of this page. Also, if you’d like more interview tips, feel free to check out the interview resource page.
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