fireservice

Interviews can be nerve-wracking at the best of times, but especially so when you feel there is so much depending on it.

The good news is, the Fire and Rescue Service interviewers want you to do your best. They want to know just what you are capable of, and they want to make it as straight forward as possible for you to share this with them. Interviewers are trained to make you feel comfortable and at ease. They will know that you are likely to feel apprehensive, and will take that into consideration.

Try to remember, you are all there for the same reason; to give you a chance to prove that you will make a really good firefighter. Now you know this already, so you just have to make sure you are adequately prepared so that you can convince them!

Type of questions

The type of interview used by an increasing number of organisations outside of the Fire Service, and across all FRS is known as the behavioural interview. What this means is that the questions asked will focus very much on how you have behaved in the past. The great thing about this is that it is relatively easy to prepare for, as all you have to do is think about situations you have been in where you feel you have performed really well, and make sure you describe these in lots of detail.

The third type of answer not only is the most effective, it is also the easiest. With the first answer, you are having to try to second guess what you think the interview wants to hear. Unless you are a mind-reader, this is always going to be an inexact science! The second answer is very hypothetical, i.e. you are saying what you think you might do. The third answer is evidence that the interviewers can really use to assess how effectively you work and behave. It describes what you did, why you did it, what the outcome was. It provides excellent evidence of what you have done in the past based on your own experience, which is a good indicator of how you are likely to perform in the future.

Preparing for the interview

When you are invited to interview you will be given guidance on the type of questions you will be asked. They will all be based around the PQAs.

To prepare for your interview, you need to think about what you have done in the last year or two that fits within the PQA definitions. For instance, for the PQA 'Working with Others,' what have you done to show that you build relationships effectively? What example have you got of when you have empowered others or built morale within a team? The section of 'Practice Questions' will give you some more ideas of the type of questions to prepare examples for. You can also do this yourself by reading the PQA framework, and creating a list of questions which begin with, 'can you provide an example of a time when you have

Try to plan your answers to cover: STAR - Situation, Task, Action and Result

• What was the situation?
• What needed to be achieved?
• How you achieved the outcome?
• What was the outcome?

You will have already partly been through the process of thinking of examples from when you did your application form. Go through this again. You can use these examples again if you really need to, although try to have 2 or 3 examples to draw on for each PQA and not just rely on one.

Think about what you have done, what you have achieved. Think about all the situations you have handled well. Ask people who know you well to think of times you have done things well if you are struggling to think of anything.

Getting there

Be sure you know the time, date and location of the interview. Check out how you will get to the location, and when you need to set off to be there in good time - do a dummy run if necessary, but not on a Sunday if the interview is on a Thursday. Plan to get there no later than half an hour before the interview time, anticipate delays.

Take the bare minimum of belongings necessary. Concentrate on the interview at the interview - nothing else. If you are asked to bring certificates, references etc, get them ready before the day. Make a folder for your certificates etc, it looks neater. Take your interview letter.

On arrival ensure the receptionist knows you are there; visit the toilets to tidy up, etc.

If you are well organised and have planned for the day you have less to worry about. Ideally, the only thing you will need to be focused on is presenting your examples as clearly and fully as you can.

Presenting yourself at the interview

In terms of how to present yourself at interview, the standard rules apply:

Wear smart, clean, tidy clothes. Make sure your hair is neat and you aren't too casual. A suit is often expected at an interview unless you are guided otherwise by the Service you have applied to.

Although you are not marked on appearance, first impressions do count, and if you haven't made an effort, interviewers may make assumptions about what this might mean. They are trained not to judge on this, but it's difficult to move away from strongly held beliefs that untidy appearance shows a lack of commitment or lack of discipline. In a uniformed organisation appearance and discipline are important, so you should reflect that in how you present yourself.

At the beginning of the interview there will be a short exchange of pleasantries and ice breaking. This is designed to put you at ease. At this stage you will be asked some general questions such as, 'why do you want to join the Fire Service' or, 'what qualities do you think you will bring to the Fire Service?' Be prepared with some answers to this type of question, so you aren't thrown by not knowing what to say. Don't worry too much about this section, as it is really designed to make you feel comfortable, and get you used to answering.

Sit comfortably with both feet on the floor, lean slightly towards the interviewer. Try not to fidget, rest your hands in your lap.

Take a glass of water when it is offered, you will be doing a lot of talking and may need it!

Try to nod and 'Mmm', to show you're listening to them.

Above all try to be yourself. Relax, smile and try to enjoy it. It's not often that you get to talk about yourself for up to an hour!

During the interview

Listen carefully to the questions. You should have prepared a number of examples which you can use to demonstrate your potential to be an excellent Fire-fighter, but you also have to listen to make sure that the examples you have answer what is being asked.

Don't be afraid to ask the interviewers to repeat the questions, they are more than happy to do this.

There will be two interviewers, one to take notes, one to ask questions. They will probably take turns throughout the interview to do both these things, mainly to give the one who is doing all the writing a rest!

If you don't understand what is being asked, don't get flustered, the interviewers are used to this too. Simply ask if they could rephrase it. Take your time to think of your answer. The important thing is that your answer matches the question, and you don't just give your pre-prepared answer, which may, in fact, not be relevant to what you were asked!

Speak clearly and try not to talk too fast. One of your interviewers will be taking notes of your answer which they will go over and evaluate later. If you talk too fast, they won't be able to write down all of your evidence.

Be clear about what your role was; it can be easy to fall into talking about what 'we' did, but the interviewers want to know what part you personally had to play, even if it was within a team or group context.

Be clear, concise, keep your head up and maintain eye contact. At times it may feel like you are talking to the top of the interviewers' heads as they might both take some notes, but don't worry, they are listening, so just carry on!

Don't worry if the interviewers ask you to clarify anything, or ask you additional questions. They are simply trying to really understand the example you are giving. They have been trained to give you every opportunity to explain yourself fully. They aren't trying to catch you out, they are trying to help you give a full account.

With additional or 'probing' questions, the interviewers are also checking that the detail you are giving is honest, by exploring it in more depth. If you make up an answer, it will start to fall apart as soon as the interview starts to probe your example in more depth. So stick to the truth.

Don't be put off if the interviewer interrupts you or asks you to stop. They will interrupt if you are not giving them the evidence they need i.e. you have slipped from what you have done into describing what you might do, and they will try to guide you back to giving the sort of evidence they need. They also have to stick very closely to time and will interrupt you once your time on that question is up. This is to be fair to all candidates by making sure no one has extra time to provide their answer. Try to keep an eye on the time yourself, put your watch in front of you if you can.

Remember there are no right or wrong answers. You may feel that you haven't had the opportunity to demonstrate some of the PQAs for reasons such as having just left school, or being in the same job for a while. Don't worry, you can use a number of activities as examples, such as any outside work activities or hobbies. If you are concerned that you haven't got enough evidence, think about the sort of things you can get involved in which will give you the opportunity to gain experience in a range of PQAs. Are there any teams you can join, charities, any community events you could help with? The interview is your opportunity to make you stand out from all the rest. Make sure you have done enough to be able to show this.

At the end of the interview

The interview is not the time to find out about the FRS, there will be other occasions to do this, so don't expect to have many questions answered. There will be a tight time schedule for the day and the interviewer's main priority is gathering evidence from you about how well you meet the PQA criteria.

Thank the interviewers for their time when you leave, and once you have left the room try not to worry about what you did or didn't say. There is nothing else you can do now except wait, so you are best to just put it behind you and wait and see.

Discuss Interviews in more detail on our Discussion Forums.

The information above was supplied by Hannah Vallance of VCA Ltd.