By Fatskills Exam Guides Team — the exam nerds behind 28,500+ quizzes and 2.1M practice questions across 500+ global exams.
This guide gives you a number of guidelines, tips and scenarios to help you imagine and prepare for your oral interview. What do you say? How do you say it? You can't know ahead of time what questions you'll be asked, but there's a lot you can do to get yourself ready and boost your odds of success.
Caution: You may think that the oral interview is just like any other job interview. That it's not a major part of the hiring process for firefighters. That compared to the Physical Ability Test (PAT) or the written exam, for example, it isn't all that critical.
But did you know that many departments use the oral interview to eliminate the largest percentage of applicants? Did you know that in some places, the interview is used to choose those who will be allowed to take the PAT? So the point here is: don't take any chances! It's not worth risking your future as a firefighter by not taking the interview seriously. In most municipal or county departments, the oral interview is a very important part of the application process, so important that there may be two of thema qualifying interview and a selection interview. Each jurisdiction will have different priorities. And each interviewing panel will ask different kinds of questions and have different standards in judging the answers, especially in a first interview. But they are all pretty much focusing on one factor: the character of the applicant, who you are as shown by what you have to say for yourself. The Qualifying Interview The qualifying interviewalso known as the screening interview is the first, and sometimes the only, oral interview that fire departments use in their hiring process. By the time you are contacted to go through this interview, you will have completed your application form, you probably will have taken the written examination, and it's possible that you may have taken the Physical Ability Test. In any case, just being asked to interview usually means you have been chosen from the pool of applicants to go on to the next step, that you have climbed a crucial rung up the ladder toward your career goal. You should feel encouraged and confident. Remember that feeling. Courage and confidence are two traits you will need as a firefighter - traits the interview panel will be looking for in the way you present yourself to them and the way you answer their questions. The panel that interviews you will be made up of professionals, and not just professional firefighters, but department personnel officers and interview specialists as well. They may hold any rank; a deputy chief, chief, or even a commissioner may serve on a panel. In some communities, the panel might include a civilian or two. Be aware that most community representatives are prominent citizens with some managerial experience, and they do not take this civic responsibility lightly. It' a good idea to find out in advance the makeup of the panel in your area. And always keep in mind that their experience and their position commands your respect. The Selection Interview Many departments will ask you back for a second round of interviewing. This is usually called the selection interview or, in some places, the Chief's interview. It can be much like the qualifying interview, only conducted by higher-level personnel. Or it can be more of a formality, where the applicant is allowed to ask questions of the panel before officially being accepted for the job. Either way, it is important to take this interview every bit as seriously as the first. If you are meeting the Chief, treat it as an executive-level interview and be sure to dress accordingly. You will have been through the qualifying interview already so you'll have the chance to review your performance. What can you learn from it? What went well? Where could you improve? Your qualifying interview will have been evaluated by the department, and that evaluation will be among the background material the second panel refers to. For instance, there could be follow-up questions or requests for clarification of previous answers. The selection interview is their last chance to find out about you before hiringor disqualifying you. But don't be intimidated. The more interviews you have, the more confidence it should give you that you have the skills and abilities they're looking for. Getting Ready It is most likely impossible, and a waste of time, to anticipate the exact questions you will be asked during the oral interview. But it is still possible, and important, to prepare yourself for it. You know the panel has the information you gave them on your application form. Think about that for a minute. What did you tell them about your background, your skills and abilities, your character? For example, your history of employment - what skills did you learn in the jobs you held that could help you become part of an efficient, effective team of firefighters? Do any assignments or projects you were involved in stand out as particularly challenging or representative of your capabilities? Are there gaps in your work history that need to be explained? If you were ever fired from a job, a background check will uncover that fact, and possibly the reason for it. What's your side of the story, and what's the best way to present it?
You might not know what the panel will ask you specifically, but you can get a general idea of the areas and issues that concern them from the application and exam. Did they ask about your traffic record? Drug use? Academic background? Then you'd better ask yourselfwas there a problem in any of these areas? What did you do about it? Know your strengths, too. Facing and solving problems can build character; sometimes you learn the most from the experiences you had the most trouble with. This does not mean coming up with excuses and rationalizations. Or plotting ways to steer the conversation around to your obvious strong points. Or memorizing the best possible answer to a particular type of question. All these approaches are likely to make you sound insincere, and trying to remember them will just make you anxious. The idea is to think the issue through so that you understand what the experience means to you now as a potential firefighter. It's a way for you to identify and appreciate the preparation you receivedon the job, on the street, in the classroomfor the demanding profession you are about to enter.
But don't stop there. Many colleges now offer classes and programs in fire cadet training. Investigate this opportunity to hone your skills and broaden your abilities, to gain specific, useful knowledge and make yourself a more qualified applicant. Or, since so much of a modern firefighter's job requires training in handling emergencies, look into Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training or other certified EMT-related classes in your area. Or join a volunteer fire department in a nearby locale. Or go down to your local fire station and talk to the shift on duty; who would know better than they do what it takes to do the joband to ace the interview? Decide what you want to do to prepare for a career in firefighting, and that will help you determine what you will want to say in your interview. Presenting Yourself Give this your serious attention. How you present yourself at the interviewyour first face-to-face meeting with your prospective co-workers and bossesis a sign of how important the job is to you and of your respect for the panel. Fire departments have a paramilitary command structure: orders go down the ranks to mobilize a trained, disciplined fighting force, organized in companies and battalions, whose duty it is to fight fires. Respect for authority is fundamental to the occupation, and it should show in your dress and manner at the interview. This does not necessarily mean you must wear a business suit or a classic dress, or get a severe haircut, Watch Your Language Standard English is the standard language of departmental commandand of the interview. So if your English needs improvement, start studying now. College English and Communications departments offer courses that can help you, as do community centers (like YMCA's) and local learning programs. Also, some fire departments that serve jurisdictions with large ethnic populations give preference to applicants who, besides English, speak the languages of those populations. Check out the needs in your area or sit up straight with your hands in your lap. Though none of these, if they didn't make you uncomfortable, would hurt. Your appearance should be appropriate, but it should also express your personality. The panel's job is to get to know you, so dressing up like somebody you're not just to impress them only makes their work harder to do. They asked you to interview because they decided from the information they already had that you are a serious candidate. You should be confident that you can be yourself and succeed. Your bearing: how you stand, sit, and carry yourselfshould not be phoney or self-conscious either. Be polite, attentive, interested. If you listen carefully, make eye contact with your questioners, and answer them directly and with respect, you should be fine. It's a job interview; attend to business. And don't be late. It's advisable to arrive fifteen to twenty minutes beforehand so you can compose yourself, relax and get the feel of the place where the interview is being held. Arriving too early gives you too much time to wait, and think, and fidget, and lose focus, and make yourself nervous. And showing up latewell, what would you think if you were on the panel, looking at the applicant's empty chair, then at your watch, then at the door, ready to do your part in the important task at hand, but forced to wait for someone who apparently doesn't think it's so important? If for some reason you are unavoidably detained, be honest, straightforward and ready to go when you get there. This is your chance to show them who you are, and how prepared you are to take advantage of the opportunity they have presented you with. Just relax and give it your best shot. Answering Questions: What Works and What Doesn't Most panels will ask most applicants a standard set of questions, which will, of course, vary from department to department. Your panel may or may not ask one of the most common questions: ''Why do you want to be a firefighter?" But you should ask yourself. The answer to this question covers everything from your motivation to enter the profession to the goals you ultimately hope to achieve. By thinking this through ahead of time, you'll have a better idea how to answer this and many related questions you are likely to be asked. "I want to help people" is a good answer, but too generic. Teachers and social workers help people, too. What's different about the help firefighters provide? Well, they save property, even lives, from danger and imminent destruction. And that makes the job more exciting, and perhaps more satisfying, since you get to see the results of your laborthe saved lives, the rescued pets, the spared homes and material goodsin a more immediate and dramatic manner than most other public service workers. But then what about the work of fire prevention, and public education, and equipment maintenance, which take up much more of a firefighter's time than answering fire calls? Maybe it's the varied nature of the duties and the irregular hours that appeal to you. You may have other reasons, of course, but the answering process is the key here. At the interview, or in preparing for it, make sure to listen carefully to the question, all the way through. This will help you to present yourself as attentive and respectful, and to understand exactly what you're being asked. Then don't just answer off the top of your headthink first. Does the question relate to any preparation you've done? Is it a complicated, two-or-more-part question? Is there a specific example that comes to mind? You always want to give a thoughtful response. Once you get a job in a fire department, your advancement through the ranks is determined to a great extent by examinations, in everything from hydraulics to public administration, so your answers need to show the panel that you are a thinking person. Then speak clearly, directly to the panel, so they can hear and understand your answer and get to know you. And stay focused on giving the information that answers the question. This will demonstrate to the panel your intelligence, your ability to follow orders, and your efficiency at performing the task at hand. Think It Through Consider the following example: One of the panel members, while looking over a copy of your application, says to you, ''You only have two years of college experience." This is a sensitive area in your life, and you are defensive about it. You have good reasons for having left school before getting your degreefamily responsibilities; financial hardship; an awareness that until you really understood why you were in school, the education was not going to be meaningful to you. But these reasons are difficult for you to articulate because when somebody brings up your lack of a college degree, you always feel you are being judged negatively. So though you are quick to defend yourself, your answer comes across as a hodgepodge of emotional responses that sound like excuses.
The panel member stops you. "I was going to ask," he continues, "if, despite your limited college experience, you feel you are prepared for a career in firefighting?" This is a different question entirely from the one you thought you were being asked. And if you had not been so quick to answer, if you had taken a breath after the panel member's first statement and let him finish, if you had listened carefully, you could have given him the information he wanted and not revealed a vulnerable, defensive side to your character. And if you had considered this part of your application beforehand, and thought through this issue about your educational background, you could have prepared yourself, presented your reasons in a stronger manner and overcome your vulnerability. At least you have now been given a better question to answer, one that isn't negative and isn't asking about something you didn't do. Now you can be positive, telling them what you are doing to make yourself a qualified firefighter. Immediately you get an idea. You have just that morning gone through a strenuous physical workout, one designed to help you build up the strength and stamina necessary to excel at the Physical Ability Test. So you tell them about your workout regimen, how you have set up a program of weight training for muscle development, especially in the upper body, and rotations on the stationary bike and stair-master, along with a 5-mile weekend jog, to increase your endurance. You enjoy working out; it makes you feel good and clears your mind. And you are proud of the progress you've made in lifting free weights, both in the amount of weight and the number of repetitions, and you fill the panel in, tracing the rise in pounds and reps over the last couple of months.
OK, fine your physical condition is an essential qualification for the job. Your answer does show enthusiasm, thought and commitment. And it's specific, which is good. However, it's enthusiastic, thoughtful, committed and specific about working out, not about preparing for a career in a fire department. So before you ever get to the interview, ask yourself a few thought-provoking questions. For example, how did you decide what exercises to include in your workout? If you learned from talking to active duty firefighters in the area that the PAT consists of a timed hose drag, ladder lift, stair climb and tunnel crawl, all while you're wearing a turncoat, helmet, gloves and air bottle, and that firefighters need strong arms, shoulders, backs, and legs, should you tell the panel? After all, they already know this stuff. What they don't know, however, and what is key for them to understand, is your reasoning, your thinking process. Plus, it's evidence of your enthusiasm and your commitment to the profession that you did this research, that you went out and talked to working firefighters. The difference between a good answer and the best one you can think of is the thought you put into it. Show Your Stuff If you have a clear idea of what you want to say, you are more likely to speak clearly. If you are not comfortable with public speaking, you may be self-conscious about talking to the panel. But the basics are simple. Make sure they can hear you: if they have to listen hard to follow what you're saying, you are making them work harder than they should have to and you are more of a problem than other interviewees. Make sure they understand you: try to speak in full sentences, and don't use slang if you can help it. Also make sure they can see you: your facial expressions can help the panel understand what you're saying, and making eye contact will help them get to know you. Don't mumble or look away if you get a little lost or confused. Keep your head up and eyes front. This is the panel's chance to meet you face-to-face - don't disappoint them.
Your answers should let the questioners know not only what you think, but how you think. If you feel as if you're getting off the subject of the question you were asked, you probably are. Recall the questionwhich is easier if you listened carefully in the first placeand rethink your answer. Sometimes staying focused is a matter of getting back on track, and sometimes it is a matter of considering the question again and finding a better way to answer it. In the case of the above question, perhaps you also tried to prepare by enrolling in a training program for firefighters at a local college, but were unable to afford the time or expense at this point in your life. You're not sure you should tell the panel about this attempt because it didn't work out, like your other try at college. But upon a moment's reflection you may decide that they should know that you investigated the possibility and hope to take advantage of it in the future. This shows that you have a plan, a goal you're working toward. It is a positive response and speaks to your qualities of patience and perseverance, which are good traits for a firefighter to have. If you are looking into college programs to prepare for your career, you might consider a course in public speaking. Part of a firefighter's job is community outreach, educating the public on fire prevention, public safety issues and the role of a firefighter. You may be asked to speak to workers and management in local businesses, citizen groups and neighborhood meetings, and schoolchildren at various levels. Becoming an effective speaker will help you be an effective firefighter. The lessons you learn in a public speaking course won't hurt your interview skills, either. Let professionals help you develop better listening habits and speaking techniques, and give you a forum where you can get much-needed practice. To become a more comfortable, confident public speaker, there is no substitute for experience. The answering process is something you can practice as part of your preparation for the interview. Remember to: LISTEN CAREFULLY THINK FIRST SPEAK CLEARLY STAY FOCUSED Each step of the process, in and of itself, will communicate your seriousness and self-control to the panel. You will be showing your respect for them and gaining their respect at the same time. Stick to the Facts If you are scheduled for an interview, you have already been identified as someone the department thinks they want. Chances are, then, that they have done a background check on you, based on the information in your application. They may have talked to your former bosses about your employment record. Did you leave a certain job under questionable circumstances? Then they're likely to ask questions about it. Did you quit? Were you fired? In either case, why? When a panel asks such questions, they probably have your boss's response in front of them. But even if they specifically ask you to respond to one of your employer's comments, complaints and excuses aren't the way to go. Instead, give them an answer that shows you've looked at the situation honestly, examined your actions, and learned from the experience. If you prepared yourself to face this type of inquiry, as was suggested above, you would be ready for it and it would be less likely to throw you off balance. In general, what did your prior work experiencegood, Public Speaking 101 If speaking in public makes you nervous, or if you just need to practice and get some useful feedback, take a public speaking course. This can be a great means to learn, study and polish the skills necessary to ace the interview.
An example course contents for a public speaking course covers:
Informing, persuading, entertaining Course Rationale and Reminders: Lessons from this class should help you interact in the public and professional worlds outside of class. Feedback is of prime concern, so ask questions. Evaluation is based on individual improvement in voice production and speech delivery. Clearly enunciate and articulateand relax! bad, or otherwisemean to you at the time? And what does it mean to you now that you are on the threshold of a new career? With questions like these, as with all the questions you are asked on application forms or in interviews, it is critical that you answer truthfully. This certainly means don't lie. But it also means don't try to scope out the panel and tell them what you think they want to hear. To begin with, it's impossible to know what even one person wants to hear you say, much less a panel of three or more people. They may not know themselves. If they ask standard questions, they may be satisfied with standard answers, but a personal response that is out of the ordinary may capture their attention and make you stand out from the other applicants. So should you strive for the uncommon answer that makes you different from the rest? But how would you know what ''different" was without knowing how everyone else answered? As you can see, this approach can't possibly work. It's a dead end. Besides, experienced interviewers can usually recognize a false sentiment or phoney tone, even if your answer isn't technically a lie. And the more sincere you "act," the more your lack of sincerity will show through. In the end it's safest, and smartest, to give a personal response, to tell the panel the truthas you see it. Character Counts "It appears that your driving record over the last several years has been less than perfect." The panel member is looking down at your application, and you can tell from her tone of voice that the last phrase"less than perfect"was meant to be a sarcastic understatement. You start to think through the violations you've gotten in the recent past, but you wait to respond until she asks a question. "Do you," she asks, "have a problem when you get behind the wheel?" This is a question about your character, not about any specific traffic violation you committed. Your impulse may be to rise to your own defense: "No, I don't have any problems driving, none at all." But that's not the way to goafter all, the background check the department has done will provide the panel with the officers' reports and a record of the citations you've received. Again, making excuses for particular instances is not as important as the qualities of character you present to the panel. So you're better off confronting the issue: "I like to drive and I'm confident at the wheel. But I have had a problem in the past when it comes to speed. And now I'm dealing with that. If I'm going to call myself a good driverwhich in general, I believe I amthen I can't be getting speeding tickets. I don't want to endanger anybody's life, including my own, and that means obeying the speed limit." What does this answer tell the panel? That you recognized the problem and are making an effort to correct it. That you learned from the past and don't want to repeat it. If you really mean what you say, that shows character. Getting Personal As much as possible, fire departments want to know "the real you." They want to know something about your opinions, your habits and your personalityas it relates to the job, of course, not because they're snoops. For example, there might be questions about how you'll cope with the lifestyle and working conditions of a firefighter: "How well do you function without sleep for a full day? Or on an irregular schedule, like four days on, 24 hours a day, then four days off?" They might ask you how you handle diversitymeaning, working and living with people from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and both females and males. This is an important issue in many fire departments. A curt "no problem" type of answer will not be as convincing as one that refers to specific recent instances, in the workplace or the community, where you cooperated and interacted successfully with a diverse population. Some answers call for specific examples, especially if this information is not stated in your application. In some jurisdictions, you may have taken a psychological test and an interviewer may ask questions based on that. These questions could focus, for example, on your personal beliefs, attitudes or behavior. They may seem obscure ''How do you feel about the opposite sex?" Or probing"How do you feel about your family?" The answers to these sorts of questions may only be significant in relation to the answers you gave during the psychological test. So there is no way to judge what a "correct" or even an "appropriate" answer might be. Therefore, as always, be honest. You have more to lose by trying to trick or please the panel than by answering frankly and directly. Situational Questions Interview panels often ask questions in which they describe a firefighting situation that raises certain ethical or professional dilemmas. They want to get a sense of how you may respond in such a situation. Some departments ask these kinds of questions almost exclusively. Some don't ask them at all, feeling that it's hard to imagine a firefighting situation until you've been in one. Situational questions might be more difficult to anticipate and to answer than general or personal questions, but the answering process and the principles of presentation and honesty still apply. It's a good idea to prepare for this type of question in case you're asked one like the following: "You are alone in a private house with another firefighter. You see him take a wristwatch from the top of a dresser and put it in his pocket. What do you do?" Good question. Like most ethical problems, it can be answered simply or lead to difficult choices among complicated options. In the end, you have to trust yourself and your common sense. Another kind of scenario will place you in a firehouse situation. "You are playing handball against the firehouse wall with three members of your company. A member of the local block association walks by, and stops to criticize you, loudly, for playing a game while you're on the job. What do you do?"
Let's look at several potential answers. Answer 1: "I'd tell the person that I am doing my job." Answer 2: "I'd tell the person that I am doing my job, that I live at the firehouse 24 hours a day, 4 days in a row. Just because I'm taking a little time out to play a game with members of my crew doesn't mean I'm not on the job. I mean, if I hear the bell, I'm ready to go. We all are. And we'll get the job donedon't worry about it. Of course, how I say this will depend on if I know the person or not. If they're on the block association, I've probably seen them around. I might even end up inviting them to play." Answer 3: "I'd explain to the person, in a calm and friendly manner, that firefighting is stressful work. An occasional game of handball lets off some of the pressure, and it helps keep us in shape. The exercise is good for us, but we're ready to go as soon as that alarm bell rings."
Answer 1, while based on truth, is rather abrupt. Answer 2 shows more thought, and some cleverness, but has a somewhat confrontational tone. The speaker tries to make up for that toward the end of the answer, but trying to change the tone leads the speaker to ramble a bit. Answer 3 gets to the point, shows thought and stays focused. It is the best of the three options in terms of answering the question. (Keep in mind, however, that this is only a modelyour answers need to sound like you.) Scenarios are also used to hypothesize emergency conditions. ''You arrive at the site of a fire call and find a woman in hysterics, screaming and gesticulating out of control, in the street. What do you do?" If you are unfamiliar with such situations, being confronted with one, even in an interview, can be stressful. And that's the point. Stress is an occupational hazard in firefighting.
Questions that produce stress let the panel see firsthand how you handle it. This is one reason why many jurisdictions give preference to candidates with EMT or military experience. The ability to perform under conditions of stress is one of the key worker traits in the firefighting profession, and it is important that you develop and be prepared to demonstrate this ability. Do What It Takes The oral interview is a crucial step on your way to becoming a firefighter. You can and should prepare for it. So do some research both on the life and work of a firefighter. And do some research on yourself - your background, opinions, strengths and weaknesses.
Self-awareness leads to self-confidence, especially in an interview situation. Seek experience in areas where you think you need it. Practice interviewing skills. Demand the best from yourself. The panel, and the profession, certainly will.
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