THE TOP 10 INSIDER TIPS AND ADVICE
Having spent a lengthy amount of time in the Fire Service, and having already sat on recruitment interview panels, I have noticed a number of common themes that have been applicable to those people who pass firefighter selection. I have called these common themes my top 10 insider tips and advice.
The following 10 tips are worth their weight in gold and I strongly recommend you read them carefully and follow the action points provided at the end of each one.
INSIDER TIP NUMBER 1 – PREPARATION
Preparation is the key to your success.
You must be prepared for every stage of the selection process and do everything you can to increase your chances of succeeding.
Find out when the Fire Service you want to join are recruiting next and begin to prepare months in advance. It is a difficult process and you can increase your chances of success dramatically by following the information that is contained within this guide. The competition is fierce and there are thousands of applicants every year for each Fire Service. Yes, it is true that only the best get through the process but what the ‘best’ actually means is not what you might think. Gone are the days when you needed to be tall, strong and from a military background to guarantee a place in the service.
The Fire Service has changed tremendously over the years and continues to do so. Yes, it is important to concentrate on your physical fitness but it is no longer the most important factor. Use your preparation time effectively and concentrate on the areas detailed within this guide to increase your chances of success.
Action points
Your key preparation areas should include the following:
- Learn and understand the qualities required to become a firefighter.
- Prepare to submit an outstanding application form.
- Spend approximately 20% of your preparation time on your physical fitness, manual dexterity, confidence and stamina.
- Prepare for the written tests by trying sample psychometric test questions including your ability to work with numbers.
- Work on your interview technique and prepare answers to the interview questions contained within this guide.
INSIDER TIP NUMBER 2 – BE PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY FIT
Make sure that you are both physically and mentally fit.
Don’t believe the hype that you need to be into bodybuilding or as fit as an Olympic runner to become a firefighter. Yes, it is true that you have to meet a certain level of fitness to pass the physical tests but if you prepare well in advance you can become fit enough with a few easy steps.
During your preparation it may be worth considering changing your diet to make sure that you are eating the correct foods. Make sure you eat foods that will give you energy and also those that contain the right vitamins to ensure you are at your best. If you think you are overweight then the best form of exercise to take in order to lose weight is walking at a brisk pace every day for at least 20 minutes. You’ll be amazed at the difference you feel in just a few weeks. Then you can progress on to jogging and light gym work.
In relation to your mental fitness, cut out alcohol and caffeine in the weeks leading up to your assessments and interview. Drink plenty of water and try to eat your 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. Again, you will be amazed at how much energy you gain simply by looking after yourself.
Depending on your current level of fitness, I would advise that you spend approximately 20% of your total preparation time on improving your fitness levels.
Action points
- Embark on a structured fitness programme that is designed to help you pass the physical tests. See your free Firefighter Fit Guide for some useful tips and advice.
- Drink plenty of water in the build up to the assessments and interview.
- Cut out alcohol and caffeine during your preparation.
- Eat healthily.
INSIDER TIP 3 – LEARN THE FIREFIGHTER’S ROLE
Learn everything there is to know about the firefighter’s role.
Get hold of the job description for a firefighter and study the content, making sure you understand what it involves. Also obtain a copy of the personal qualities that are required to become a firefighter and cross match your skills with each area.
The firefighter’s role has changed tremendously over the years. Yes, they still carry out the important role of saving lives and protecting property but the role is very much more community based, with the emphasis on preventing fires from occurring in the first place. I am not saying that you should spend hours and hours reading about the firefighter’s role but you need to be aware of what it involves.
An almost guaranteed question at the interview stage will be “Tell us what you know about the role of a firefighter?” Your answer should reflect that you have gone out of your way to learn about the role and that you understand what it now involves. Many candidates will tell the interview panel that the job is ‘all about rescuing people from fires and training in the gym for the next shout’. Whilst these two elements form part of the role, they are not the most important. It is far better to prevent fires and incidents from occurring in the first place and this will form the majority of your work as a firefighter.
Firefighters spend an average of approximately 5% of their working day attending emergency incidents, a small and surprising amount.
Those candidates who successfully pass the firefighter selection process are able to demonstrate an in depth knowledge and understanding of the role throughout selection. Read the personal qualities and job description carefully and you will start to understand the role more clearly.
Action points
- Obtain a copy of the firefighter job description and also the personal qualities that are required to perform the role competently. Read them both carefully and understand what the job entails.
- Be able to match your own skills and experiences with the personal qualities. This is great preparation for the application form and the interview stages.
INSIDER TIP 4 – LEARN ABOUT COMMUNITY FIRE SAFETY
Community Fire Safety is a role that a firefighter must undertake within the community he or she serves in. It basically entails doing all he/she can to reduce the number of incidents that the Fire Service responds to. By fitting smoke alarms in people’s homes, the Fire Service are able to effectively make a family safer from fire, if one was to occur.
We have already covered the important subject of Community Fire Safety and what it means to the firefighter. Now go and find out from the Fire Service you are applying to join what they do in relation to Community Fire Safety. This can usually be done by visiting their website. You could be asked questions about Community Fire Safety during the interview, so be prepared! Another great way to get ahead of the competition is to devise your own simple Community Fire Safety strategy based around the problems in your particular area. Try to come up with some ideas for reducing fires in your area. Write them down and present them at your interview. The panel will be impressed to see that you have made an effort to learn about Community Fire Safety and that you understand what it means to your community.
Action points
- Read the Community Fire Safety section of this guide and absorb the information.
- Visit the website of the Fire Service you are applying to join and find out what they are doing in relation to this important subject.
- Consider developing your own Community Fire safety plan based on the issues and problems that are relevant to your area. Present it to the interview panel at the end of your interview.
INSIDER TIP NUMBER 5 – UNDERSTAND AND BELIEVE IN EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS
Equality and Fairness plays a big part within the Fire Service.
How we treat people at work, regardless of their sex, religious beliefs, age, sexual orientation or background etc, is extremely important. You must ensure that you understand what Equality and Fairness means and the principles behind it. More importantly, you need to believe in it.
The Fire Service wants people who are capable of not just following their policies and procedures, but believing in them too. Nobody wants to go to work and be either bullied or treated inappropriately and you must be capable of treating everyone at work, and in society, with respect and dignity.
“Equality is not about treating everybody the same, but recognising we are all individuals, unique in our own way. Equality and fairness is about recognising, accepting and valuing people’s unique individuality according to their needs. This often means that individuals may be treated appropriately, yet fairly, based on their needs.”
We have already covered information relating to Equality and Fairness and what each Fire Service expects from you with regard to this area.
I also advise that you try to find out about the Equality and Fairness policies and Equality Schemes for the Fire Service you are trying to join.
Whilst this is not essential, it will ensure you understand what is expected of you as a firefighter in the National Fire Service.
Once again, this can usually be done by visiting the Fire Service website.
Action points
- Understand and believe in Equality and Fairness.
- Whilst not essential, try to obtain a copy of the Fire Service’s equality policies. Read them, and try to understand what the Fire Service expects from its employees.
INSIDER TIP NUMBER 6 – ASK QUESTIONS
Knowledge is power and the more you learn the better.
This guide is generic and therefore cannot provide you with specific details about the individual Fire Service you are applying to join. Firefighters are caring people and in the majority of cases they will help you whenever they can. I strongly recommend that you contact your local fire station. Tell the firefighters that you are applying to join their service and ask if you can visit the station to have a look around. Nine times out of ten they will oblige and will allow you to visit for an hour or so. Now you have the opportunity to ask questions about what they do, what training they undertake, the shift system they work, what equipment they use and how much Community Fire Safety work they carry out. When you visit the station take a pen and paper with you so that you can take notes.
Another way to find out information about the firefighter’s role is to visit the service’s website. Some Fire Services have very good websites whereas others do not. Whatever the quality of website, it is still important that you visit it. Again, take notes about the information that is provided.
Action points
- Contact your local fire station and ask them if it is ok to visit. Ask them questions about their role and the good work that they carry out including Community Fire Safety work and training.
- Visit the website of the Fire Service you are applying to join and find out about what they are up to. What are they doing in relation to Community Fire Safety work and have they attended any incidents of interest recently?
INSIDER TIP NUMBER 7 - BE PATIENT AND OBTAIN FEEDBACK
There have been many cases where people have tried to join the Fire Service on more than one occasion, failing each time.
This does not necessarily mean that those people are not suitable to become a firefighter, because many people finally succeed after the second, third, fourth or even fifth attempt! The key to being successful is to be patient and to look for ways to improve and develop each time you are unsuccessful. If you are one of the unfortunate people who have failed in the past, look for ways to improve and try to find out where you went wrong.
If the Fire Service that you have applied to join offer a debrief facility then make sure you use it. If they do not advertise or offer a debrief session then write in and ask for one. During the debrief listen to what they tell you. Accept their professional judgement and take it as a learning experience. This will enable you to improve the next time you apply.
In order to increase your chances of success use your preparation time wisely. Once you have submitted your application form, start preparing for the next element of the selection process. Do not wait for the result to come in, begin preparing for the next stage immediately. This will give you more time to prepare.
So, the main point here is to be patient and use your time wisely. Concentrate on where you feel you need to improve and keep learning as you go along.
Action points
- Don’t sit around between results. Start preparing for the next stage immediately. The majority of applicants will wait to see if they have been successful in their application before preparing for the next stage. This is probably 2 to 4 weeks of lost preparation time.
- If you are unsuccessful at a particular stage of the selection process, ask for a debrief. It is important that you find out why you were unsuccessful. Don’t give in and always look for ways to improve!
NUMBER 8 – CARRY OUT COMMUNITY WORK
Although not essential, it would be beneficial if you can demonstrate that you are, or have been involved, in some form of community work.
The Fire Service is very much about working with the local community and if you can demonstrate that you are capable of doing this then this will be an advantage. This may be in the form of local charity work or helping out with your local Scout group etc. The options are endless but at the end of the day you will be able to demonstrate on your application form and during the interview that you are willing and capable of working with the local community.
You may be asked during the interview if you have been involved in any community work, so it will be good if you have had that experience.
If you have not had any experience of any such work then it is never too late to begin. Why not carry out a sponsored swim, cycle ride or car wash and donate the money to a local charity? If you play team sports then you could arrange a charity game and donate the money to good causes.
Remember that the competition for joining the Fire Service is extremely fierce. You need to stand out from the competition and this could be a good way to achieve that. If I was sat on an interview panel and a candidate had carried out some form of community work then I would be impressed!
Action point
- Consider carrying out some form of community/charity work.
INSIDER TIP NUMBER 9 – UNDERSTAND HEALTH AND SAFETY
Health and Safety is integral to the firefighter’s role.
At work, firefighters are required to work in potentially dangerous environments. On an incident or fire this involves working with dangerous buildings and structures. Firefighters therefore need to be fully conversant with health and safety regulations and in particular the risk assessment process. At the beginning of every shift, firefighters check all of their equipment to make sure it is safe and that is working correctly.
Find out as much as possible about Health and Safety and what it actually means to the role of a firefighter. When you visit your local fire station ask the crews what safety checks they carry out on their epuipment.
Every day firefighters carry out risk assessments at work, especially when they are at operational incidents. Because of the nature of an operational incident and the fact that it is a continually changing environment, firefighters have to carry out a dynamic risk assessment (DRA). The DRA determines the risk factors involved with tackling the incident and it helps firefighters to remain safe and in control.
You may be asked a question relating to Health and Safety during the interview. Be prepared and learn all you can.
Action points
- Learn the ‘5 steps to risk assessment’.
- When you visit a fire station ask the firefighters about risk assessment, and what it means to them.
- Be aware of the difference between ‘risk assessment’ and ‘dynamic risk assessment’.
INSIDER TIP NUMBER 10 – WRITTEN TEST PREPARATION
It astounds me how many candidates put little or no preparation into this area of the selection process. Again, they are either in the gym or working on aerobic fitness as opposed to working on their numerical skills and psychometric testing ability.
The key to preparing for the written tests is ‘little and often’.
Start preparing for this stage of the selection process straight away. Even before you have completed the application form, start working through the sample test questions in this guide. Just by practising for 15 minutes a day, you will soon start to see progress in your testing abilities.
Only you will know the areas that you are weak in, and you will need to carry out some form of ‘self analysis’ to see where you believe you need to improve. Work on your weak areas!
There are a number of ways to prepare for this stage of the selection process. Here are the most effective:
1. Practise calculations such as addition, multiplication, division and subtraction using psychometric testing books and online testing facilities.
2. Try plenty of sample test questions.
3. Understand the role of a firefighter. This will help you when answering some of the test questions.
Action points
- Work on the sample test question provided within this guide.
- Consider purchasing more testing booklets. You can obtain these through www.how2become.co.uk.
- Learn about the role of a firefighter, as this will help you to answer some of the test questions.
Get the full guide on how to become a Fireman at the following link =>
Good luck!
Richard McMunn
Fireman Recruitment Expert
