I just don't get it!!!

firecar96

I just don’t get it. Over the past two years I have applied at several departments, been interviewed by a couple of them and still have not been hired anywhere. I moved 50 miles away in search of a Paid on Call position. I purposely moved to a town that I knew was hiring at least 6 guys. I applied, did the reading comprehension test and did the oral interview. Two weeks later I got the thanks but no thanks letter. I know I was one of only two applicants with any prior training or experience.

Just a little about my history real quick. In 2006 I completed my firefighter 1&2, hazmat operations and MFR at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, done through the City of Portage fire department. I went and got my EMT Basic in 2007 and am currently half way done with Paramedic school. (Taken the summer off from school) I lived in Grand Rapids until March 2008 and while there I applied at several outlying departments. With a couple interviews and no luck. I just assumed it was because I didn’t live close enough to there stations and hadn’t finished my EMT Basic class yet. (Apparently they are big on applicants being nothing less then an EMT Basic)

I then decided to move to Muskegon and apply at the town I am living in now. It’s a combo dept with 8 full timers, 30 POC guys and 4 stations. I moved in to an apartment less then a mile from the fire station. Come to find out that in this dept the POC guys respond directly to the scene and not to the station, so in theory as long as I lived in the city limits I could be hired. So at this point I have Fire 1&2, HazMat Ops, NIMS 700, Emergency Drivers Training, and my EMT Specialist and I still can not get hired into a local department. What the heck am I doing wrong? I have researched good interview techniques, “What to expect and how to answer a Fire Department Oral Board interview” and I have researched into the department so I would have some knowledge of how they operate. I know I nailed the interview, I know my application and resume were flawless and yet I am still being turned down. I should have just stayed in Kalamazoo and worked for Portage or one of the South County departments. (I couldn’t afford to move down there permanently at the time.) I was to busy paying for college and driving to the academy 3 times a week at 100 miles a day, to afford quitting my job and moving to Kalamazoo.

I don’t know what to do anymore. At this point it will be next April or May before I can apply at any other department because I am stuck here with my year long lease. So Yeah

Sorry this is just a big rant, but I am pissed. I have put so much time into this and have been constantly turned down.

If there are any words of wisdom or helpful advise you guys could send my way I would really appreciate it.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

Steve

rabidjade

It sounds like you might have a personality trait that isn't meshing well in the interview process. I would try to talk to these people who have turned you down to see what your flaws are. Keep in mind that your resume of training is not much more than a lot of volunteers probably clamoring for the same position. How much experience do you have? Also I would give up moving places to chase potential jobs unless it is almost guaranteed. It can get expensive and things happen like what you're dealing with right now.

Ben E.

hitman38367

I have been in a management position before. Not in emergency services, but in a high management position nonetheless. From what I have read that you posted, I would be leery of hiring you too. Why, you ask? Everything you posted is almost textbook perfect. This is a red flag when it comes to hiring someone. All the certs, your resume' being flawless, and you being VERY eager to flaunt what you have accomplished by way of FF1 this, EMT that. Some employers could view this as a liability by you being too eager and possibly wanting to prove yourself so badly that it could get you or someone else hurt or killed. Tunnel vision syndrome, if you will. You say you took a course on how to sit for the oral boards. Maybe you took the info from the training and used it "cookie cutter" style and applied it to your interview as such and didn't even realize it. The moving thing? A big flag! That says "hey, I've got this in the bag, that's why I went ahead and moved here cause I KNOW you are gonna hire me". Too cocky. To be totally honest, if you walked into an interview with me, handed me your resume' that you think is flawless, began to rattle off "I can do this, I can do that" kind of stuff, and told me you had already moved before you got the job??? Be ready to be humbled cause I would say "Good day, Sir. I'll be in touch.", and never give you a second thought. Why?? You are so busy trying to impress, that you may be forgetting to be yourself. Most employers want people that are who they are, they don't want a "yes" man or a kissass. All of this may not be the case with you, but this is what I have gathered just from reading your OP. I could be off base though cause I have never met you.

Just food for thought from someone who has been in management and has hired and fired people.

fyrboy

I want to counter the negative responses so you aren't blown out of the water.

You are obviously literate, well-read & conscientious. I consider your post to be statements of fact, not boasting. You've laid out your professional self to us as best you can, and your qualifications look good.

Now, consider what DOESN'T look good. Is your appearance professional? Do you need to find a balance between talking too much and talking too little? Are you answering the interview questions concisely and to the point?

If you can present yourself earnestly and humbly to those who refused you employment, get them to tell you what you can do to make yourself more desirable to a potential employer.

It seems you're at the point of second-guessing yourself to the extent that now you're gun-shy. That's understandable, but keep searching for the fix.

I wish you the best.

mcpd2025

I concur with the other posters. The number 1 thing you need to do is arrange to speak with the decision makers at these departments and find out why they decided not to hire you.

If you are presenting yourself in a bad light and don't know it, all you are going to do is continue to screw yourself at every interview. Your tactics sound good to me, research the department, research what to expect at an oral board, etc.

Try to determine your fatal flaw, work on resolving it, and continue to apply. Good luck!

Parkpiggy

I would think Michigan has tons of volunteer departments. Maybe you need to start off there, and work your way up to paid.

danamc100

So, do you have any experience, or just certifications? If no experience, you might be losing their interest for the simple fact that they don't want some "know-it-all" kid coming in, thinking he's God's gift to the Fire/EMS service.

Besides, perhaps you have a personality conflict that won't coincide with the "GOB" club. Question

usdemt

I am just curious, how much actual on scene experience do you have? And dont count the stuff were you had someone looking over your back making sure you dont screw up. I think you need to find a volly job and get some experience. A class room can teach you everything about an engine or how to handle a combative patient but until you are trying to pump water and the pump doesnt want to engage or you have had a suicidal patient that wants to take you with them you have no idea what it is like. I am only volly fire and POC EMS but I still cant believe the difference between my training and the actual thing. Dont get me wrong without the training you would be completely lost but you have to realize that the job is always going to be different, no two situations are ever alike and no training excerse will ever be like the real thing.

What everyone else is saying sounds right to me. You need to look at yourself and try and identify your week points. Another thing I hate to bring up but are what kind of physical condition are you in? You have to be in good shape because your life and your partners life may depend on wether or not you are up to the tast at hand.

And please dont take this the wrong way but you asked for our advice and I am going to give it. You said that you cannot find why they didnt hire you and you know you nailed the interview, however that sounds to me like you may very well be overconfident. After reading this I think you were probably too cocky for there liking. I say this because I hve the same problem and I struggle to keep it in check. If you cant figure out why they are hiring you then you need to identify why and fix the problem.

FireEMSPolice

Maybe the chiefs/brass are hiring people they know somehow. Been there, done that. I am in the same boat as you.

microman

Our department hardly ever hires guys directly out of the metro/regional fire academy, and we run it! Most time we will hire guys that have had about a year or so to get seasoned on a volly/part time department somewhere. We got burned in the past by hiring really new cadets out of the academy. Basically they were inexperienced in half the things that you do on a department. (i.e pumping, hydralic ventilation, catching a plug) There is a lot of "text book" world in the academy. The "real world" stuff is what we were spending alot of time training these guys to do. Not saying that they should know it all or that we shouldn't be teaching the new guys, but dropping a newbie right in to the frying pan on the busiest company without them really being trained in the ways gets a little dangerous. They also may not realize the hard work that this business is until they are really in it, and may not want to be in it anymore once they see the light.

If you do have some experience, thats good, but try to not mention it too often in an interview. What I mean is, don't say stuff like, "well we did this at so and so department" They are not looking for someone to come in and try and change the status quo or make them feel as if the other department handled things better. That goes for once you get hired too. Most guys figure out pretty quick that keeping your mouth shut and learning the ways of the department your on works better than saying "we always did it this way at XXX FD". Just some key words that our interviewers like to hear is "teamwork" and "always willing to learn more".

Just my 2 cents

patrol530

Keep trying, eventually your location and an opening will coincide.

Mike - Tac 2

How many times have you moved in the past 4 years? Do you own or rent? Are you going to stick around in a POC position or are you just hanging out until a full-time position becomes available somewhere else?

These are questions that are in their minds. Others may disagree with this, but people that put themselves through Fire or police academies tend to send up a flag vs. people who are hired and sent.

Just my .02

danamc100

dustymedic

AdaFire38

Here's another trait that might keep you off from most departments... ( I know several of ours departments in Kent Co. have turned down applicants, including Ada, due to the following...)

What does your car look like? Does it have 17 antennas all over it? Pehaps you already have installed lights on your car? FF and EMT stickers over the windows? License place that reads ILUVFYR? (you can't have that one, anyway.... Mick already has it)

I am in no way accusing you of doing any of the above seeing as though I have never met you.... just letting you know some of the things that turn chiefs off.

BTW... which department in Muskegon did you apply to? Sounds like Dalton.

Parkpiggy

Get a job on a Volunteer department. Maybe you need to prove yourself.

AdaFire38

Mick (firewolf)

AdaFire38

Mick (firewolf)

rabidjade

firecar96

Sorry I havent responded back. I have been thinking of the best way to respond to everyones advice. I wrote a longer response that I will post later, that addresses the other posts. Yes I am trying for a POC job. I don't think there are any volunteer dept around here.

To answer Adafire38 question.

I own a 2003 Impala. Its tan, it has no stickers, no antennas, just a normal plate, no lights or sirens, normal alloy wheels. It in no way looks like a police cruiser. Honosty I get more crap from people that it looks like an old persons car. Personally I think it has a sporty look to it.

It was Norton Shores, not Dalton.

AdaFire38

AdaFire38

	eLightbars.org Forum -> The professional lounge	All times are GMT - 6 Hours Goto page 1, 2 Next
Page 1 of 2