Home
Firefighters
Since 100% of your score in obtaining a firefighter badge is in the oral
board, what are you missing that's keeping you from gaining that badge?
Over 2,211 badges and counting have received their badges from this
program!
Leave FireZine easily here:
http://www.eatstress.com/firezine_signup.htm
==========================================
The proof is in the badge!
==========================================
Please forward or recommend this FireZine to anyone you
know that wants to shorten the learning curve to get
that badge!
If you are receiving this issue as a forward, and want
your own subscription, visit
http://www.eatstress.com/firezine_signup.htm
==========================================
In This Issue
==========================================
1. Quick Presentation Skills Tip
2. Entry Level Skills Tip
3. Robs Corner
4. Promotional Level Skills Tip
(Entry level should read this too)
5. New Badges
6. Humor
7. Resource Websites for Candidates
==========================================
1. Quick Presentation Skills Tip
==========================================
At some point in the hiring process for an agency you could be required
to complete a Preliminary Background Questionnaire (PBQ). More agencies
are giving this as part of the application process. This is to
eliminate candidates early on in the process instead of wasting money on
candidates who would be disqualified later in the process. It could be
given at the start of the process, at background or at the psych. At
any point you could be taken out by the PBQ.
As I was writing this segment, I took a break and met my family for
lunch where a candidate recognized me. First words out of his mouth were
had I just took the on-line PBQ and when I clicked continue, I got a
message PERMANENT DISQUALIFICATION! Do you know what’s going on with
that? Yep. You crossed the threshold on one of your answers.
Even though you might not take the up coming LAFD test, you have an
opportunity to experience filling out a Preliminary Background
Questionnaire (PBQ) to see if you would be accepted for this or any
other department in the future using a PBQ. You don’t have to complete
the questionnaire if you only want to look at the questions. Give it a
try:
http://www.lafd.org/recruit.htm
https://personline.lacity.org/job_app/index.cfm
Before you submit this on-line PBQ, double check your answers for errors
and think twice before you step on any land mines that could take you
out of the process.
If your results produce this message: PERMANENT DISQUALIFICATION! Or,
There Could Be a Delay in Your Background.
Check this out: http://www.eatstress.com/pbq.htm
If someone asks you what you need to help you get a firefighter badge,
send them to the ultimate source for your holiday shopping here!:
http://www.eatstress.com/goldpackage.htm
==========================================
Check out http://www.eatstress.com/newpage2.htm and learn how entry
level and promotional candidates are improving their interview scores up
to 15 points and nailing that badge!
==========================================
==========================================
Want Captain Bob to come speak to your group? See
http://www.eatstress.com/seminar.htm
===========================================
===========================================
KEEP GETTING THIS NEWSLETTER. Don't let future editions of FireZine
Newsletter go missing. Take a moment to add this newsletter's
address to your anti-spam whitelist.
captbob@reply.ms00.net
If you're not sure how to do that, ask your administrator or Internet
Service Provider. Or check your anti-spam utility's documentation. With
AOL 9.0, Please add the address to your "people I know" list. Thanks.
==========================================
More Oral Board tools here: http://eatstress.com/newpage6.htm
==========================================
===========================================
2. Entry Level Skills Tip
===========================================
Hi Captain Bob,
I'm writing about a serious issue. I have a couple of friends of
friends who are firefighters and hang out with them sometimes. I won't
bore you with the details... basically I've found out through the
grapevine that there was going to be a firefighter (he was one of 3
guys, and one female HR person from the city) on my panel they said who
'knows all about you.' What really stinks is that I NEVER said or did
what originally caused these two guys to not like me. I know that panel
member's last name (now, AFTER the interview) and can't remember if he
was there. My question basically comes down to: if I don't make the
next round, should I bother finding out if he was on the panel and
pursuing this? I figure that I run a big chance of NEVER getting on the
fire department if I do this, and I should just let it go so that I'll
still stand a chance next year. In fact, unless you tell me otherwise,
I'm just going to let it go if I don't make it. I do NOT want that kind
of reputation on the FD. Of course, I am currently trying to resolve
this misunderstanding about what I said with the two firefighters.
Certainly, I've learned a valuable lesson about hanging around
firefighters that work for the city that I'm trying to get on - be VERY
careful about what you say and do... Please understand that I already
knew and practiced this, but apparently not well enough.
PS: It's amazing how many current firefighters think that what you and
your son provide can't be useful just because "he's (that's me they're
referring to) just going off this website." They're falling for a
fallacy - the source (web, in person, etc) has nothing to do with the
validity of the info. The fact that you two have helped people get over
2,200 badges, that people get jobs immediately after your help with
their interviews after failing for years... that's what makes you
'right'. Actually, I don't explain it to them that way... I just tell
that that it's all about the interview and I'm working hard on it, I
also explain that over 2,200 people have gotten badges with your help,
and the fact that most guys sit with firefighters and do mock interviews
and still take years to get on.
Thanks! Brent
Reply: Usually those who are critical of our program don’t have clue
what we do. Everyone seems to become an expert once they’re hired.
They feel theirs is the only way. Like you wrote, how many candidates
will look back 5 years from now after not getting hired and realize they
took the wrong path?
Your situation just goes to show you getting too close and comfortable
to those already hired can sometimes cause you problems. This can
really become problems for volunteers. You don’t want to know something
like this before you go into your interview.
What do you do if you don’t get the call to go further? You feel hurt,
angry, frustrated and betrayed. Well, there is not much you can do. If
you push too hard you might hurt your chances of getting here in the
future or on somewhere else. Even if you are able to get someone to
talk to you, you probably will never really find out why. It just
happens sometimes for whatever reason.
My advice. Go through the denial, anger, and depression. Lick your
wounds and accept what happened. Then, regroup and get back out there
and test again. If you made it this far, chances are you can do it
again. Maybe with a better department than you hoped for.
==========================================
If you haven't already signed up for the Don McNea Seminar if you're
taking the LA City or LA County exam the CWH written test, or any
written test for that matter, class size will be limited to 250
students. As many of you know – his preparatory classes sell out
quickly!
Class Dates/Location:
Don McNea www.fireprep.com has just announced they we will be conducting
seminars for the written test for both LA County and LA City on both
Saturday, December 18th, and Sunday, December 19th, from 12:00 noon to
5:00 p.m. The seminars will be held at the Los Angeles County Convention
Center, 1201 S. Figueroa Street, Rooms 403A and B, Los Angeles (please
contact them at 213-741-1151 if you need directions). Class size will
be limited to 250 students. As many of you know – his preparatory
classes sell out quickly! As of November 21, 2004, more than 100 have
already signed up. This seminar will give you that needed competitive
edge!
More information and sign up here:
http://www.fireprep.com/los_angeles_county_city_firefi.html
Can't make the seminar? Get the home study program. Here’s more
information:
http://www.fireprep.com/los_angeles_firefighter_examin.html
http://www.fireprep.com/los_angeles_county_city_firefi.html
==========================================
Bottom line getting a badge is all presentation skills!
Check out http://www.eatstress.com/faq.htm for the no cost 101 Inside
Secrets How to Get a Badge!
==========================================
==========================================
Ask Captain Bob any questions
E-mail Mailto:captbob@eatstress.com
==========================================
The secret Formula to get a badge here:
http://www.eatstress.com/formula.htm
==========================================
3. Robs Corner
==========================================
Can you cross your legs in an interview? Yes. Would I? No
There has never been a person that has been hired or fired based on
whether or not they crossed their legs. It depends on what you’re
comfortable with, and how you look. There was a guy who tested for
South City who pulled the chair all of the way up and put his elbows on
to the table. He got hired. I wouldn’t have done it. But that was what
he was comfortable doing.
People tell me, “I have been told I talk with my hands too much”. There
is nothing that looks worse than a person, who is comfortable talking
with their hands, trying not to do it. They look uncomfortable and out
of sorts the whole time they are sitting on their hands.
Here’s what you can do. Video tape yourself during a mock interview.
See how you look. I used to scratch my back during the interview. The
first time I saw myself doing that on tape, I never did it again.
You’re your own harshest critic. If you see yourself do something you
don’t like, you will probably never do it again. It’s tough to have
others watch you and then tell you what you should do differently.
Because, what they are really telling you is how they would do it, if
they were you.
It would be better for you to cross your legs, if that is what you’re
used to, than to keep starting and stopping as you catch yourself. Once
you can be comfortable in the chair with your delivery, you convey more
confidence. When you can get your presentation to the point where you
can deliver it in a comfortable confident manner, you can help the board
be more comfortable with you, and confident in your ability. I’m not
suggesting you swing a leg up over the armrest, just do what is natural
for you.
CAPTAIN ROB (Thank you)
NRTC@SONIC.NET
http://www.eatstress.com
You can read more of Rob's wisdom by visiting
http://www.eatstress.com/robs_corner.htm
Captain Rob is Captain Bob's Son. He does all the entry level coaching
by phone nationwide. You can contact him direct with your questions or
set up a coaching appointment at 707-869-1330. or e-mail Rob at
nrtc@sonic.net
For more on entry level coaching visit
http://www.eatstress.com/private%20coaching.htm
==========================================
4. Promotional Level Skills Tip
==========================================
The Oral Presentation:
Your test might include making a 10-15 minute presentation to a panel.
The topic can be one of your own or a selection from a list. You might
have 30 minutes or two days to prepare the presentation.
Speaking to a group is one of the top fears. Most candidates panic.
Everyone has butterflies; the trick is to get them to all fly in the
same formation.
This simple formula from the book “Inspire Any Audience,” by Tony Jeary
can help you through the process:
1. Introduction
2. Three major points (and examples to support major points)
3. Questions & Answers
4. Summary
5. Closing
The Nugget here is to use K.I.S.S. (keep it simple sweetie). Most
candidates complicate the presentation. They try to intellectualize the
process. They waste time and put the audience in the sleepy zone by
trying to give a blue print, when all that is needed is a sketch. The
I.Q. of an audience drops when a presentation is given. Stick to the
formula . . . Nothing more . . . Nothing less.
The toughest thing to do in making a speaking presentation, or an
interview, is to be yourself on purpose. Patricia Fripp, National
Speakers Association.
Captain Bob: So, it went something like this....
Monday was the Oral Exam--the part I was dreading. It was 5 questions in
a group interview format and I thought I did pretty well. The results
were posted on Tuesday and I scored a 12.76 out of 15--not bad
considering the top score was 13.20. I remained at the top of the list
from the previously scored professional achievement points, seniority,
and department evaluations. I felt confident that I had done the best I
could have in the interview. I was A LOT more prepared than I would have
been had I not used your program.
Now, I'm not from some big city department. And, $300 bucks is some big
money--but, it was worth every penny! It gave me the confidence and
encouragement to do the best job I could! THANK YOU!
Today was the written exam--worth 40%. I scored in the top 3 and
remained at the top of the list. I should get my (LT) badge in January.
I read all of the other candidates emails on your site and I thought
that maybe your program works for them---on BIG departments---but it
might not work for me. I could not have been more wrong! Your entire
program from the video to the tape to the handouts worked like a charm.
And the private coaching was awesome. I'll tell you what really sold
me---when took the time to call me on the phone and answered every one
of my questions. That really meant a lot!
So, if you have anyone that is skeptical, send 'em my way. If you're
ever in Chicago, let me know, I'll buy you dinner. AND THANKS A MILLION!
And you were right---THERE"S NO BETTER FEELING IN THE WORLD!
Be safe! --Firefghter Jeff Janus
Reply: That should soon be Lt. Janus. Jeff was going against 19 other
candidates. He placed number 1 by one full point his first time out.
As you can tell, he was one happy guy when I talked to him right after
the scores were out. I sure love what I do!
For more on our promotional program visit
http://www.eatstress.com/promo.htm
==========================================
5. New Badges
==========================================
Look just above this for a promotional badge.
Capt. Bob: I thought I knew everything, just finishing a college degree.
Went in and took the test without studying. Told everyone I was going to
be a firefighter. I got a letter the day after Sept 11th telling me I
didn't pass the test and wasn't going to be a firefighter! Talk about
feeling dumb.
I spent the whole next year studying the book the department has
available for all candidates and waiting. I read all I could about the
fire service and then I got Capt. Bob's material. I managed to get on
during the next process and have been loving it ever since. Jim
Capt bob: Well. I’m #2 on the list out of 8 on the captains test. I have
the least seniority and time, so I feel good; a few of the people have
12- 20 years on me.
My oral interview score went up, 74 last time to 82 this time.
My written test score, which is a CPS test, was 76. Highest was 78,
median was about 70.
Oral presentation score was 94. I scored a 76 last test.
Clone answers STINK,
Personal stories RULE.
TELL IT FROM THE HEART.
If you do not say it, it did not happen.
Fantasyland is what it is all about.
Thank you for your help. It was time and money well spent. Jayson
It is the greatest job in the world without a doubt. If you really want
it, lay it all on the line and go for it. If not, don't waste your time
or the departments.
This one warms my heart:
Captain Bob,
I would like to thank you for offering www.eatStress.com to everyone. I
would like to say thank you for helping me obtain a position with a volunteer
fire department as a junior member.
I tried to learn from the lessons you posted, prepared myself for the
oral board / oral review, and tried to make myself the best possible
candidate that I could be. Without the insight from EatStress, I don't think I
would have gotten the position. While I was not "competing" for the positionas
is the case with career departments where they get 300 applications, I was
competing to prove that I would be an asset to the department. I wasvoted on
with no extra clauses, and the department has helped me further my education
already.
I'm in the planning stages of creating a personalized school curriculum
to help me apply my schooling to the fire service. I have a hard time
learning in the standard classroom setting. Being on the fire department and
being able to apply firefighting and the fire service in general to my school
has helped me tremendously.
You have helped make me a better candidate for a future career position,
and to help me fulfill my lifetime goal to become a career firefighter
somewhere here in Vermont. Thank you, you're work is greatly appreciated.
Thank you again,Chris Koledo
More badges here: http://www.eatstress.com/badgesnew.htm
To see how candidates have improved their position in gaining a badge
visit
http://www.eatstress.com/newpage152.htm
==========================================
Check out the current "Bonus Nugget" oral board tip
http://www.eatstress.com/bonusnugget.htm
==========================================
==========================================
6. Humor
==========================================
Darwin Awards 2004
Hard to believe, but another year has passed. Once again, it's time for
the Darwin Award Nominees. The Darwin's are awarded every year to the
persons who died in the most stupid manner, thereby removing themselves
from the gene pool. This year's nine nominees are:
Nominee No. 1: [San Jose Mercury News]:
An unidentified man, using a shotgun like a club to
break a former girlfriend's windshield, accidentally
shot himself to death when the gun discharged,
blowing a hole in his gut.
Nominee No. 2: [Kalamazoo Gazette]:
James Burns, 34, (a mechanic) of Alamo, MI, was
killed in March as he was trying to repair what
police describe as a "farm-type truck." Burns got a
friend to drive the truck on a highway while Burns
hung underneath so that he could ascertain the
source of a troubling noise. Burns' clothes caught
on something, however, and the other man found Burns
"wrapped in the drive shaft."
Nominee No. 3: [Hickory Daily Record]:
Ken Charles Barger, 47, accidentally shot himself to
death in December in Newton, NC. Awakening to the
sound of a ringing telephone beside his bed, he
reached for the phone but grabbed instead a Smith &
Wesso to his ear. (For whatever reason, residents of
Southern states always seem to figure prominently
among the Darwin nominees.)
Nominee No. 4: [UPI, Toronto]:
Police said a lawyer demonstrating the safety of
windows in a downtown Toronto skyscraper crashed
through a pane with his shoulder and plunged 24
floors to his death. A police spokesman said Garry
Hoy, 39, fell into the courtyard of the Toronto
Dominion Bank Tower early Friday evening as he was
explaining the strength of the building's windows to
visiting law students. Hoy previously has conducted
demonstrations of window strength according to
police reports. Peter Lawson, managing partner of
the firm Holden Day, told the Toronto Sun newspaper
that Hoy was "one of the best and brightest" members
of the 200-man association. (Nice to see another
Canadian province getting into the awards.... The
Maritimes always have been heavily involved.)
Nominee No. 5: [Bloomberg News Service]:
A terrible diet and a room with no ventilation are
being blamed for the death of a man who was killed
by his own gas emissions. There was no mark on his
body, and an autopsy showed large amounts of methane
gas in his system. His diet had consisted primarily
of beans and cabbage (and a couple of other things).
It was just the right combination of foods. It
appears that the man died in his sleep from
breathing the poisonous cloud that was hanging over
his bed. Had he been outside or had his windows been
opened, it wouldn't have been fatal. But the man was
shut up in his nearly airtight bedroom. According to
the article, "He was a big man with a huge capacity
for creating "this deadly gas." Three of the
rescuers got sick, and one was hospitalized.
Nominee No. 6: [The News of the Weird]:
Michael Anderson Godwin made News of the Weird
posthumously. He had spent several years awaiting
South Carolina's electric chair on a murder
conviction before having his sentence reduced to
life in prison While sitting on a metal toilet in
his cell attempting to fix his small TV set, he bit
into a wire and was electrocuted. (South Carolina
entrants are always perennial favorites.)
Nominee No. 7: [The Indianapolis Star]:
A cigarette lighter may have triggered a fatal
explosion in Dunkirk, IN. A Jay County man, using
a cigarette lighter to check the barrel of a muzzle
loader, was killed Monday night when the weapon
discharged in his face, sheriff's investigators
said. Gregory David Pryor, 19, died in his parents'
rural Dunkirk home at about 11:30 PM. Investigators
said Pryor was cleaning a 54-caliber muzzleloader
that had not been firing properly. He was using the
lighter to look into the barrel when the gunpowder ignited.
Nominee No. 8: [Reuters, Mississauga, Ontario]:
A man cleaning a bird feeder on the balcony of his
condominium apartment in this Toronto suburb
slipped and fell 23 stories to his death. Stefan
Macko, 55, was standing on a wheeled chair when the
accident occurred, said Inspector D'Arcy Honer of
the Peel Regional Police. "It appears that the chair
moved, and he went over the balcony," Honer said.
(Another Ontario entry.... I wonder if people are
moving there from the Maritime Provinces.)
Finally, THE WINNER!!!: [Arkansas Democrat Gazette]:
Two local men were injured when their pickup truck
left the road and struck a tree near Cotton Patch on
State Highway 38 early Monday. Woodruff County
deputy Dovey Snyder reported the accident shortly
after midnight Monday. Thurston Poole, 33, of Des
Arc, and Billy Ray Wallis, 38, of Little Rock, were
returning to Des Arc after a frog gigging trip on an
overcast Sunday night when Poole's pickup truck
headlights malfunctioned.
The two men concluded that the headlight fuse on the older-model truck
had burned out. As a replacement fuse was not available,
Wallis noticed that the .22 caliber bullet from his
pistol fit perfectly into the fuse box next to the
steering-wheel column. Upon inserting the bullet
the headlights again began to operate properly, and
the two men proceeded on eastbound toward the White
River Bridge.
After traveling approximately 20 miles, and just before crossing the
river, the bullet apparently overheated, discharged, and struck
Poole in the testicles.
The vehicle swerved sharply right, exiting the
pavement, and striking a tree. Poole suffered only
minor cuts and abrasions from the accident, but will
require extensive surgery to repair the damage to
his testicles, which will never operate as intended.
Wallis sustained a broken clavicle and was treated
and released.
"Thank God we weren't on that bridge
when Thurston shot his balls off, or we might both
be dead," stated Wallis. "I've been a trooper for 10
years in this part of the world, but this is a first
for me. I can't believe that those two would admit
how this accident happened," said Snyder.
Upon being notified of the wreck, Lavinia (Poole's
wife) asked how many frogs the boys had caught and
did anyone get them from the truck???
(Though Poole and Wallis did not die as a result of
their misadventure as normally required by Darwin
Award Official Rules, it can be argued that Poole
DID, in fact, effectively remove himself from the
gene pool.)
==========================================
7. Resource Websites for Candidates
==========================================
Perfect Firefighter Candidate. Job listing and a
complete resource web site with a community bulletin board.
http://www.firecareers.com
Don McNea Fire School, Inc. is the #1 Firefighter Preparatory Entrance
School in the Country. They have the inside information how to tackle
those psychological and personality questions on the written.
http://www.fireprep.com
Learn how entry level and promotional candidates are improving their
interview scores up to 15 points and nailing that badge!
http://www.eatstress.com/newpage2.htm
FREE 101 Inside Secrets How to Get a Badge!
http://www.eatstress.com/faq.htm
Check out the specials for entry level and promotional testing:
http://www.eatstress.com/newpage6.htm
Polygraph---Don’t even think about going to polygraph without first
checking out www.polygraph.com
FIREHIRE, Entry-level firefighter examination process:
http://www.firehire.com
Firenuggets.com "The magazine dedicated to keeping firefighters safe"
http://www.firenuggets.com
Firemanjobs: firefighter employment job listings
http://www.firemanjobs.com
You can learn more about physical agility training from
www.firefightersworkout.com
B-Pad Assessment Devices. If you're an agency looking for a new
dimension to evaluate candidates, or a candidate wanting information on
how you can orientate your skills for this evaluation check out their
web site:
http://www.bpad.com
=============================================
For Back Issues of Fire-Zine
http://www.eatstress.com/firezinearchive.htm
=============================================
==========================================
Nothing counts til you have the badge . . . Absolutely Nothing!
==========================================
Code 3 Publishing. Fire Captain Bob Smith, Speaker, Author, Publisher
Information Products on How to Get a Badge.
Web site: http://www.eatstress.com Over 300 pages of helpful
information.
5565 Black Ave. Pleasanton, CA 94566 (near San Francisco)
Phone: 888-238-3959 local 925-846-3959 Fax: 925-846-9650
E-mail Mailto:captbob@eatstress.com
Top of Page
Home
