Life Can Be Plan B

Jon realized he was only taking two tests per year. Oral board skills — like hands-on academy skills — get rusty when you don't use them. If you don't use your oral board skills regularly, your performance deteriorates faster than you think. Add in the reality that departments don't always test on schedule, sometimes switch to medic-only hiring, or bring in laterals — and candidates who limit themselves to a small list of target departments can wait years.

Jon tried to convince his nine buddies to expand their horizons and test anywhere they could get to — to keep their oral board skills sharp. None were interested. They were convinced their academy training, education, and groundwork would pay off at one of their six target departments.

The more tests Jon took, the better he got. His oral board scores climbed. He started getting called back for chief interviews. Then he got a job offer from one of the top fire departments in the southwest. As he packed to leave, he offered his buddies the program that had helped him. They weren't interested. Didn't need it. Still banking on Plan A.

Three years later, Jon's dream department in Washington announced their test. Jon got the offer — and got to go home with his new bride, also from Washington. Again he offered his program to his nine friends. Again, they weren't interested. How many of the nine were hired during the entire period? None, zip, nada. Sometimes life can be Plan B.