Most candidates do poorly on their oral boards.
The problem is most of them don’t know how poorly they are doing. I’ve seen it
too often after being on over 100 oral boards. It’s the most misunderstood and least
prepared for portion of the testing.
With all respect to the following comment, this
is one of the most important clues why candidates have trouble in their oral boards:
“I recently had an interview, and I know
my answers were great especially after hearing how another candidate answered them. He
made the list, and I did not. Go figure!” Jed.
This is the problem! Most candidates think
their answers are great, when they aren’t. If their answers were as great as they
thought, they would make the list and get a badge. They listen to other candidates and
firefighters who make them into clones. Have you noticed, that once a person becomes a
firefighter, they are instantly the experts on how to get hired?
The following is a true story: If we can get
the village idiot hired, you can get a badge too! That’s right! We had a candidate
who was a volunteer taking his third test to be hired as a paid member. When this guy was
out of town, the village didn’t have an idiot.
He received our program and did not one, but
two, coaching sessions. We literally held him together with crazy clue. Guess what? He got
hired. The next week, he made this posting on a bulletin board, “I will show you how
to get a firefighter job.” The village idiot had become the expert overnight on how
to get hired. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. He received thirty e-mails.
If you’re passing the written and agility,
which are usually pass/fail, and you’re not placing high enough on the oral, that’s
where the problem exists. What most candidates do if they don’t place high enough on
the oral is go back and try to pack on more credentials. “Oh, I have to finish my
degree or get through that academy” They do little to nothing in gaining the skills
for the oral board, which is usually 100% of the score. If you don’t do anything to
improve your oral board skills nothing is going to change, you will never, ever see that
badge. The oral board is for all the marbles. This is where the rubber meets the road.
Stop looking in the magnifying glass at others
. . . and start looking in the mirror at your self. That’s where the problem is.
Candidates who get this far in the process
usually get discouraged and tell me they feel like they have hit a wall. They don’t
know what to do next. Some of their friends (with fewer credentials) have been hired. They’re
frustrated and embarrassed. If it can work for the village idiot, it will certainly work
for you.
This is an e-mail recently received from a
candidate. This is how fast things can change:
I ordered your Entry Level Program. I did this after noticing many of your students successful testimonies on the bulletin boards. I have many certifications including Paramedic. The only hindrance that I found myself with was not passing the oral.
Since ordering your program, I was nailing the interviews. Getting hired over the auxiliaries at their own departments, and with a heck of a lot less experience. Your program and techniques helped me excel past the other candidates. I even had one city Fire Chief personally call me at home to set up a Chief’s oral, (had to decline, due to the fact that I was at orientation for another dept.). To make a long story short, nothing counts until you have the badge, nothing. For all of the candidates out there that don’t believe this, try passing and ranking #1 on orals with a stuttering problem . . . I did. Thanks Captain Bob — Dave
Remember: “Nothing counts ‘til you
have the badge . . . Nothing!” Ask Dave
Has any what you’ve read made sense? Would
you go on an African safari without a guide? Then why would you go to an oral interview
without a guide? Would you cross a river without a guide to show you where the rocks are
so you can make it across the river without being washed away? Haven’t you been beat
up enough yet? We would like to work with you to turn things around. It’s been
said that when the student is ready to learn, the teacher appears. Are you at this
point now? We can help you wherever you are in the process. From the written
test, physical agility, resume, oral board, background, psychological, polygraph to the
promotional interview.
We can shorten the learning curve to the
closest point between you and the badge. Like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, we’re not going to give you
anything you don’t already have. We’re just going to show you where it is. There
is a badge out there for you. You just haven’t seen it yet. We will show you how to
nail it!
It’s a great feeling if you can be a part
of the change in someone’s life. Multiply that by over 2100 badges throughout the
United States and Canada and you will understand that this is our reward. My Fire Captain
son, Rob and I have a great passion in seeing candidates get a badge. This is serious
work.
“Do what you have to do be more marketable
so you can take more tests and have something more to offer a department, but remember
that it all comes down to that 15 to 30 minute oral interview. I’ve seen some awesome
candidates with resumes packed full of accomplishments that couldn’t sell them self
in an interview to even make the top 50%.” Steve Prziborowski, Fire Captain, Santa
Clara County Fire Department
Here we go. Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times.
"Getting the Job of your dreams is like winning the lottery!" Jerry Price, Firefighter
The above is from the book Becoming a Firefighter---The Complete Guide to Your Badge! www.eatstress.com