Are You Prepared

Dave had been testing for six years, practicing with a tape recorder, and was convinced he was ready. During a coaching session two days before a major oral board, he wasn't ready at all. His answers were garbage. His closing was pathetic. When asked how he expected to get a badge when he hadn't spent the time to get truly ready, he said — like most candidates — that he thought he was. That belief is the most common mistake in fire service hiring.

Captain Bill Long, an oral board rater, observed that you could immediately tell which candidates were truly prepared — they caused you to straighten up in your chair. Most candidates don't produce that effect. They look and sound like every other candidate.

It doesn't take much to separate yourself from the clone candidates. Dave had only two days to review his coaching tape and adjust his approach. He called the day after his interview saying he hadn't stepped on any land mines, hadn't been stumped, and had made a real presentation. Days later: a voicemail, a voice yelling, 'Captain Bob, you are the man.' Dave had received a call inviting him to the Chief's Oral — his first in six years of testing. He was ranked number two out of thirty candidates for five positions.

When you're going for all the marbles, you want to be riding the winning pony. As the saying goes: there's an oral board in your future — you just don't know when. Do you want to walk out saying 'I sucked' again? Or do you want to walk out knowing you smoked it?