Preparing for interviews

[QuickTrigger7]

Non-Hunting related, but i see tons of great advice on this forum. What does everyone do to prepare for interviews. I jumped out of college into the fire service five years later, i have the opportunity to promote. Looking for advice and to see if any resources are out there.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[survivalistd]

Be honest, be proud of what you've accomplished. Be confident not cocky. Be yourself. Things will play out the way they are supposed to.

 

[coya]

Confidence is the most important. Be yourself and don't BS them

 

[100percent]

It’s easy to get nervous but, you have made it this far being you! Don’t over-complicate it! If it’s not
meant to be then it is meant to be something else! Something else isn’t a bad thing either, if you do your part!

 

[realunlucky]

Fire services typically have set protocols for hiring, I'd guess the first stop is your mentor or captain. Next I'd look for prior applicants and see what they remember from the process.

If your asking in general most HR departments now days focus less on related job skills and more hypothetical. Here is the problem, walk us though how you would solve it. Things like that.

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

 

[Pickettpuncher]

Sell yourself. I interview quite a few people every year and some just don’t interview well. Got a guy that works for me and is a great employee, but his interviews are trash. He doesn’t sell himself is his biggest issue

 

[ODB]

Sell yourself. I interview quite a few people every year and some just don’t interview well. Got a guy that works for me and is a great employee, but his interviews are trash. He doesn’t sell himself is his biggest issue

True stuff. I will say it is very hard for some people (myself included) to sell themselves without feeling like an utter bloviating, self-absorbed prick. I wish it were not so. I know it has cost me $. My daughter has the same issue. It has nothing to do with ability or confidence in one's self - it's a different thing.

 

[IDVortex]

Sell yourself. I interview quite a few people every year and some just don’t interview well. Got a guy that works for me and is a great employee, but his interviews are trash. He doesn’t sell himself is his biggest issue

This.

Been in quite a few LE oral boards. The ones that I failed was due to me not selling myself. It falls back on confidence a lot of times.

Talk to anyone who has been in the interviews before and ask for help or what to expect.

Be humble.

 

[Pickettpuncher]

True stuff. I will say it is very hard for some people (myself included) to sell themselves without feeling like an utter bloviating, self-absorbed prick. I wish it were not so. I know it has cost me $. My daughter has the same issue. It has nothing to do with ability or confidence in one's self - it's a different thing.

Yep! I’m in the same boat. Let my work speak for itself. But that doesn’t help if someone other than your immediate supervisor is doing the interview.


I usually have one HR rep, my director and myself doing interviews for my crew. HR doesn’t understand what we do and selling yourself to them is always the hardest

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Nothing amazing, but I do try to think of a good relevant question or 2 to ask them that isn’t something other people will ask.

 

[arrowjunkie]

I've been through a few successful promotional processes in LE, so at least adjacent. I always suggest figuring out the questions you believe will be asked, if its anything like law enforcement some version of the same questions appear on most tests. Crafft your answers that are true to you and do a good job selling yourself for each one. Write the questions on a note card and then put the main bullet points on the back. Put them on the kitchen counter and have the folks at home randomly grab one and ask you.

This helps with a few things. You aren't trying to remember a verbatim answer thanks to just having bullet points, so the answers change a bit each time and feel more natural. Also, if you are like me, in the moment you'll still get nervous and going over them, out loud, to someone else at least helps with the prep so you'll forget less things. In the testing processes I've helped with it is always apparent who is saying these answers out loud for the first time.

 

[go_deep]

Bring a little sarcasm

 

[cnelk]

Do your research about the outfit your applying at. Know who’s who.
Most everything is online anymore

It shows the interview team you did your work and are truly interested in the job

 

[Soj51hopeful]

Do a good cardio workout and shower before the interview. For me it loosens the butterflies and helps me think clearer.

 

[Cowbell]

Admit what you don't know and be transparent with your weaknesses. They will already know most likely.

 

[7mm-08]

After having sat on many interview panels over 30 odd years, I encourage you to craft (at least some of your answers) to address the salient aspects of the position for which you are applying. Let the panel know you are already performing duties at the level of the new position (if in fact you are) and it will not be a steep learning curve for you to get to full performance in the new job.

Also, as others have said, be confident in your abilities and don't be ashamed to let the interview panel members know why you feel this way.