Firefighter Specialist

When interviewers ask this question, they want to know if you will last at the company.

Picture where your career is going. Maybe the job you're applying for is only a stepping stone to a bigger and better career. Letting your potential employer know their business is nothing more than a pit stop on your career road trip could cost you the job.

Instead of letting an employer know you don't plan to stay with the company long-term, think about what you hope to get out of the position. Talk generally about how you hope the position will prepare you for your next career move. Mention your desire for career growth within the company.

Only apply for jobs if you honestly see yourself working there for the foreseeable future. Otherwise, it's not fair to you, the company, or the person who would actually be the best fit for the position.

Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone has the ability to quickly solve them on their own.

This question is not a trap. It's the employer's way of learning if you are able to fix your mistakes. Honestly talk about a mistake you made, but focus mainly on how you solved the problem.

Begin by saying: 'A time I messed up at work was when I gave a customer a quote that was considerably lower than it should have been. I realized my mistake and immediately told my boss about the situation. I knew the business was going to take a hit financially, so I offered to work longer hours until I had worked off the debt from my mistake.'

This answers the interviewer's question but focuses more on the positive parts of the mistake.

My friends would probably say that I'm extremely persistent – I've never been afraid to keep going back until I get what I want. When I worked as a program developer, recruiting keynote speakers for a major tech conference, I got one rejection after another – this was just the nature of the job. But I really wanted the big players – so I wouldn't take no for an answer. I kept going back to them every time there was a new company on board, or some new value proposition. Eventually, many of them actually said "yes" – the program turned out to be so great that we doubled our attendees from the year before. A lot of people might have given up after the first rejection, but it's just not in my nature. If I know something is possible, I have to keep trying until I get it.

☛ Tell us a little about yourself and how your education, training, and experience have qualified you for this position.

☛ What's an important value to you and give an example of how this value affects your life?

☛ Give an example of your loyalty to the fire department.

☛ Describe in your own words the key values of this fire department.

☛ What are three issues facing the fire service today?

☛ What is the weakest attribute you bring to this position and what have you done to overcome it?

☛ What is the biggest challenge you will face in your new position?

☛ What is your strongest attribute?

☛ How do you motivate others?

☛ What style of leadership have you adopted?

☛ What do you feel are the main roles and responsibilities of this position?

☛ How would you deal with a policy change from management that you disagree with?

☛ In your opinion, what is the one glaring deficiency in your department and is there anything you feel you can do in this new position to correct or alleviate this deficiency?

☛ How do you go about resolving conflict?

☛ Why should we select you over other candidates?

☛ What do you bring to this position?

☛ Why do you want to promote?

☛ What does leading by example mean to you?

☛ What would your current supervisor say about you?

☛ What are your short and long range goals?

☛ Please prioritize the following in order of importance to you: Career, Family, Friends.

☛ Suppression, Prevention and Public Education, rank them in order of importance in the Fire Service and explain your reasoning.

☛ Describe a difficult decision that you've had to make in your life. What were the circumstances and what was your decision? Would you make the same decision again?

☛ Tell us about a conflict you've had with a co-worker or supervisor. What actions did you take to resolve this conflict? What did you learn from it? What would you do differently if the same situation arose again?

☛ Tell us about a mistake you've made in your past and what you learned from that mistake.

☛ What have you done to prepare for this interview?

☛ What have you done to prepare for a career in the fire service? What have you done to prepare for a career with the _______ fire department?

☛ Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?

☛ Why do you want to be a firefighter?

☛ Why do you want to be a firefighter for the City of _______?

☛ What is the most appealing aspect of being a firefighter?

☛ What is the least appealing aspect of being a firefighter?

☛ What do you consider to be your strongest asset? your weakest?

☛ Why would you be a good firefighter?

☛ Give an example in which you had to work as part of a team in order to achieve a common goal.

☛ What is the advantage of working in teams?

☛ Why is teamwork so important in the fire service?

☛ How do you and your family feel about you working 24 (or 48) hour shifts?

☛ What makes you think you would be able to deal with the stresses of being a firefighter?

☛ How have you prepared yourself to remain calm and react effectively at emergency scenes?

☛ Give an example of a time which you were faced with an emergency situation.

☛ Explain the circumstances and your actions.

☛ What kinds of personal conflicts/problems might arise in a firehouse and what could you do to minimize such problems?

☛ What personality traits do you possess that make you feel you would be a good firefighter?

☛ If hired what would you give to our department?

☛ What are some of the important traits a firefighter must possess?

☛ What is the most important trait a firefighter must possess?

☛ How could you help maintain good relations around the firehouse?

☛ What is a typical daily routine in a firehouse?

☛ What will you do with your spare time while on duty?

☛ What duties does a firefighter perform?

☛ What is the most essential duty a firefighter performs?

☛ What type of person would you find it most difficult to work with?

☛ Would you ever disobey an order?

☛ When would you disobey an order?

☛ What do you know about the city of ________?

☛ What do you know about the organizational structure of the ____ Fire Department?

☛ What are your hobbies and/or interests?

☛ Define harassment/sexual harassment.

☛ What would you do if you were witness to someone being sexually harassed/harassed?

☛ Have you ever been directly or indirectly or known someone who was involved in a sexual harassment/harassment dispute? What were the circumstances?

☛ Honesty and Integrity, define them and why are they important in the fire service?

☛ Pride and Loyalty, define them and why are they important in the fire service?

☛ What are the advantages and disadvantages of similar groups vs. diverse groups of people when working as a team?

☛ What do you think the future holds for the fire service?

☛ Where do you see the fire service going (how do you see it changing) in the next 5-10 years?

☛ If we were to contact your present or former employer, what would be one negative point they might raise about you?

☛ Are you currently on any other fire department eligibility list?

☛ What would you do if we offered you a position, and then soon after, you were offered a position with a bigger and better paying department, why would you stay?

☛ As part of the hiring process we will be doing an extensive background investigation. Is there anything in your past that you would like to discuss or explain to this panel?