Dear Cindy – EMT Needs Interview Help

My son is a firefighter/EMT who has been employed by a city department for over three years and is seeking employment at another location. He passes the aptitude tests and does well on the physical, but completely fails the panel interview. (These are behavioral/psychological interviews done by verbal questioning.) The competition is very stiff and the interview is what will make it or break it for applicants.

His weakness is with the interview itself. He has a hard time selling himself. He loves his job. It's his career of choice and where he wants to be, but he doesn't get the proper message out in an interview. He answers open and honestly but is unable to convince them that he is the person for the job.

He has asked for my help and I'm not sure where to look. Thanks for you help.

Sincerely,

Helpful Dad

The problem could be something as simple as your son lost confidence after the first unsuccessful interview, which has only gotten worse after the second and third unsuccessful interviews, and this is manifesting itself in poor presentation and poor performance in the interview.

First, was he following the basic points for a successful interview, e.g.:

If he is unable to figure out where he went wrong, or if he knows where he went wrong and is looking for some help, the best thing to do would be for him to go online or check in the local yellow pages for a career coach/counselor, who could provide one-on-one coaching on how better to present himself.

While, as you said, the competition is stiff, following the basic rules for a good interview, and getting some objective, professional help, should go a long way in assisting your son to prepare himself for his next interview. And it sounds like the sooner he gets assistance the better, because you don't want him to get discouraged and stop applying for jobs that interest him.