FIREZINE
Cutting edge interview skills to get that badge from Fire
Captain Bob.
More than 1,977 candidates have received their badge from
this program!
September 1 , 2001. Copyright Code 3 Publishing 2001
captbob@verio.com web site: www.eatstress.com 888-238-3959
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Nothing counts til you have the badge . . . Absolutely Nothing!
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IN THIS
ISSUE
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1. Quick Presentation Skills Tip
2. Entry Level Skills Tip
3. Promotional Level Skills Tip
(Entry level should read this too)
4. New Badges
5.. Humor
6. Resource Websites for Candidates
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1. Quick Presentation Skills Tip
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I just got off the phone with a candidate looking for advice. I asked him what his approach was to oral boards. Ted said, "I've tried to be open and honest to let them know who I am." Who told you to do that? A friend who is a firefighter. Well, how are you ending up on the list. Ted said, "I haven't passed any."
That's my point. Everyone becomes an expert once they've taken a few orals, has a friend who is a firefighter or someone tells them, "They said" this is the way to do it. I marvel. I've never been able to find out who "They" are.
This is what some college fire science programs and fire academies do and it creates candidates that are clones like everyone else. During their oral board clouds start coming out of their mouths. It's like hearing a soup opera. I know because I've been on over 100 fire department oral boards. Yes, be informed. But, the great opportunity is being missed here by not focusing on who you really are. Yes, I've seen the recent postings like, "I smoked that oral, or I kicked butt on that oral." But, don't touch that dial. I hope those folks will get back to us when the final scores are made available. And, get back to us on the day when your head drops after reading the letter that you didn't make it again. I hope they do make it. God only knows how much they have invested to deserve the job.
This from Fred:
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, but things have been crazy. I just wanted to let you know that I'm in my second week at the academy. Your Audio/Video Program and the Private Coaching made the difference. You said, (not they said) "If I concentrated on my own stuff, used a tape recorder to practice and did the private coaching miracles could happen. It did in a big way. Faster than I thought. Not only was I hired, I was number one of the five they hired. Imagine me number one!
Eternally yours,
Fred
The defense rests!
Advice is free here anytime you want to call like Ted. Ask Fred if it was worth the investment in a career.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity. —Frank Leahy, Look magazine, 1955.
Nothing beats getting the badge. Nothing!
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Learn how entry level and promotional candidates are improving their interview
scores up to 15 points and nailing that badge!
Click here:
www.eatstress.com/newpage2.htm
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2. Entry
Level Skills Tip ===========================================
Most resumes are poorly done. The business resume format is not the best for firefighter candidates. That’s because with the high volume of candidates, the raters only have a few moments to look at resumes before you walk into the room.
What's the first impression the job panel has of
you? Your physical appearance,
yes. What else?
Your choice of words, eye contact, and your hand shake are all important. You probably missed the most important point!
Your application and
resume before you walk in the room!
I can't tell you how many times we've seen applications with misspelled words,
horrible spelling, chronological order wrong, and we haven't even seen the
candidate.
I'm a one-page
resume guy for entry level; without a cover letter.
Do not give us a book. we
will not read it. The board does
not have enough time.
And do not come into my interview, any interview, thinking you are going
to hand the resume to us and we're going to read it then.
That is not going to happen.
Often candidates will come in, they will try to hand out resumes, it upsets the
normal flow of the interview. We're
going to read it before you come in the room.
If you can submit a resume, get it to personnel to be placed in your file
before the interview. Don't fax It. Make the appropriate copies and hand deliver or FedEx
them.
A candidate faxed me
his resume for review. The cover
letter for the position he was applying for stated, “Attached is a “brief”
description of my qualifications.”
I laughed out loud because he had sent me a book. The printer ran out of paper.
Save a tree, the raters will not read these volumes.
Don’t make me send out a search party to find your great stuff.
Hit me with your major qualifications, starting with your experience, on
one page. Write it believing the raters won’t go past the first page. If you put your resume in a folder, don’t cover up the
first page with a title page. You
can put any supporting details, documents, certificates and letters of
recommendation following the first page.
Keep it simple.
On a chief's oral
you can add more to your resume for education and letters of recommendation. But
don't forget to still put the
important stuff on the first page,
because that's what the raters are going to be looking for.
On the first page of
your resume, many people start with their education. For me, I like to have
experience jump right off the page.
Hit me with experience, bam.
Fire fighting, bam. Some kind of
training, apparatus operator training, fire school, whatever it is.
Hit me with that experience.
And that doesn't necessarily have to be in chronological order or fire service
experience. So many of the resumes I see, way down at the bottom of the
first page, I find the important stuff.
Because that's how it falls in chronological order.
It starts with some education up here, some college, whatever, blah blah,
experience, now we're down at the bottom of the page where I might not see it.
I was reviewing a
candidate's resume and in chronological order his paramedic certification was at
the bottom of the page. I asked
him, "What were the most important items on his resume?
He said, my firefighter 1 and paramedic certification."
They were at the bottom of the page where they might be missed.
We put those items on top, so those are the first things that hit you.
We put the dates on the right side of the page where it can be
referenced. Once you put the dates
on the right-hand side of the page, you list your experience in order of
importance; not chronological order. This makes a big difference.
My suggestion for a
firefighter resume format:
Name
Address
Phone number
Experience:
Education:
Volunteer, awards
and community service
That’s all you need.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Keep it simple.
If you have the
opportunity to get that application ahead of time, take it and make a photocopy
of it. Then plug in the
information. Have a qualified
person correct it.
When my son was
trying to get on the fire department, he had his mom do that. She is a good speller, and a good typist.
Put everything down. Then
you've got something that you can transfer to the real application, and that
becomes boilerplate. Then you can
use it any time you have a new application.
Many applications now are computer generated.
They are difficult to type your information into the limited space. These applications can be scanned into a computer where you
can easily fill them in.
Make a photocopy
because you never know when you're going to that job interview. I talk to people who have put in applications, and six
to eight months later, they don't have a copy and don't remember what they've
put down.
Testimony from Allan:
Well I'm sorry to say that at 37 years old I thought I knew
how to put together a resume. I sent an e-mail to Capt. Bob with a simple
question, he asked me to fax over the resume for his review. OUCH, man did that
hurt!! It came back with all kinds of "who cares" and scribble marks all over
it.
Well you know what? I have never had a resume look so
good in my life and with two pages and years of classes, I
thought there was no way it could be one page. Boy do I
still have a lot to learn! I advise you to give Capt. Bob a
chance to look at your resume too, you might just be
surprised by what you see.
I can review your one page resume to make you
look like a pro! You can find out
more about our resume service by clicking here:
http://www.eatstress.com/resume.htm
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Bottom line getting a badge is all presentation skills!
Click here for the FREE 101 Inside Secrets How to Get
a Badge!
http://www.eatstress.com/faq.htm
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3.
Promotional Level Skills Tip
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One big error candidate’s make is being interviewed by panel members they know. They say, I’ve know these guys for fourteen years. They know all about me. Hey, I bowl with Dennis. I’m married to Keith’s cousin. Everything is on my application and resume. Know one very important thing here. If it doesn’t come out of your mouth, it never happened and you won’t get credit. You might have great credentials. But if you can’t present the package, someone else will get your badge. Present your package as if the panel were complete strangers. Don’t leave anything out. It’s showtime!
When I said the above at one of my seminars, Dan shared the following “. . . I went through exactly what he’s talking about, at a promotion process in my department for the position of lieutenant. I knew all the people on the board, including a division chief. I was thinking, ‘geez, I’ve know these guys for 16 years. And, I don’t have to say anything; they know me.’ During my critique afterwards, the division chief said, ‘You know, Dan, you’ve got so much going for you, but you didn’t blow your own horn. If you would have blown your own horn, you would have said all the things that you have going for you. You’d have had it. Since you didn’t say a word, I can’t give you the badge.’ ” Dan, like a lot of other candidates I talk to who have gone through this same situation, was embarrassed and devastated.
If you don’t say it, you don’t get credit for it, period. The defense rests.
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4.
New Badges
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Drum roll
please:
Received
the badge on July 23rd, and I owe my success and deepest thanks to
Captain Bob, and son Rob. With out their help, I truly believe that I wouldn't
have been successful. Captain Bob,
I'm sure you know who I am. I
talked to you on the phone about my psych test and you advised me to contact
your distributor and have it rush e-mailed to me.
To everyone who is testing to land their dream job as a firefighter,
don't give up. Keep fighting for what is yours.
If you fail a test or a couple of tests don't get frustrated, get
stronger. Test for multiple
departments and cities if possible, try other states.
As for Captain Bob and his firefighter son Rob, I can't thank you both
enough for what you did for me and many others in helping us achieve our goal.
Good luck
to everyone in their search for the greatest job in the world.
Rio Hondo Class #50 Paul
GUESS WHAT? I got a 4.8 on my first interview and a 4.7 on my second interview. Both of these were out of a possible 5.0. I am so glad I ordered your video it is what got me over the hump I am sure of it. Thanks a million. I was ranked number 7 out of 1100 people that took the test. The first interview 650 people got to take you had to score at least a 4.1 to go to the second interview as I said I scored a 4.8 and on the second a 4.7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After seven years of giving clone answers this year I knocked the dead. I still was being honest but gave them information in a different format Thanks again Ted
Hello, Capt Bob-
Well, it finally seems real. All the hoopla has died down, and it is
packing time. I received my formal invitation to the Academy yesterday.
I also submitted my written resignation. Although this is a dream come
true, it is still a bit scary, leaving my comfort zone. Through hard
work, my wife's support, and the Good Lord, the next 20 years will be
great.Your generosity and spirit saved my career. Thank you.
Badge #1971, aaron
Yet another one of your candidates with a success story. I got the call to start the academy, Labor Day, Sept. 3rd. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight with the rest of us. Karsten
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The Formula
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Here's what we know after 30-years of experience. Candidates
who get our Audio/Video Entry Level or Promotional Program, use the work
booklet,
practice with the all-important TAPE RECORDER, and come back for
a private coaching session, catapult
themselves into the Olympic
camp. That's where you get a shot at that badge you have been
looking for.
One on one
coaching sessions are where you get dialed into making your best presentation.
It can make the difference between being down on a list and being in the top 10
going for the chief's oral. Candidates armed with this information are the one's
who are smoking past you in the oral, grab the badge and leave you as the
bride's maid again. We know because we get the calls when they get their badge!
Click here to check out private coaching
http://www.eatstress.com/private%20coaching.htm
You start by
ordering our Entry Level Audio/Video or Promotional Program from the products
section of our web site below or by calling our distributor Rayve @
800-852-4890. This program will keep you motivated! The program comes with a no
questions asked full refund if you're not satisfied. You're at no risk except
you might get a badge.
Consider also getting our new book "Eat Stress For Breakfast" to help you along
your journey.
"Nothing counts
'til you have the badge . . . Nothing! And, there is no feeling like
proudly wearing the badge."
Check out the
specials on our products for entry level and promotional testing:
http://www.eatstress.com/newpage6.htm
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5.
Humor
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Man's Answers to Every Question A Woman Ever Asks
1. Why are men such jerks?
It's a testosterone thing. Much similar to your PMS thing,
we men suffer from testosterone poisoning. Why do you
think the average life span of a male is typically 10 years
shorter (and it's not just from all the bitching and
nagging we have to endure)? Hormone modifies behavior.
We're just misunderstood.
2. Why do men always have to ogle other women?
Again, this is a testosterone thing. Do you honestly think
that all the testosterone just fell out of our bodies the
moment we met you? Besides, women do it as well. Women are
just much better at not getting caught. I'm fairly certain
it's some sort of photographic memory deal. Women take one
quick look and memorize it for later reference. Since men
lack this ability, we try to burn it into our memory by
staring as much as we can.
3. Why do men always touch themselves, especially in public?
We occasionally need to adjust our little friend and make
him happy. It's much like adjusting your bra. Being in
public is just an added bonus.
4. Why do men always say such stupid things?
We like to. It's actually a whole lot of fun to see our
partner frustrated by a few simple (and well chosen) words.
5. Why are men so uncommunicative?
You'd learn to keep your big mouth shut too if every time
you open it you get into trouble with your partner.
6. Why do men have to act like such retards?
Well, we don't actually have to; we do it because we enjoy
it. It's the old fashioned pride in a job well done that's
missing in so much of the world nowadays.
7. Why can't men just share their feelings?
Do we look like women to you? Why is it so hard to
understand that men and women are different? How are we
supposed to share how we feel when we have no idea how we
feel? Unless we're experiencing some extreme emotion like
rage, hatred, disgust, or a brick on our foot, we have no
idea how we feel. Personally, I get a headache whenever I
try to figure out how I feel.
8. Why can't men cuddle more (IE lie down and hug)?
Please... How many hours do you think there are in a day?
We oblige you as much as we can, but who the hell (besides
women) can stand lying around for hours on end? We men...
Men hunters... Need go roam... Starve in cave... Must go
find wildebeest... Now sitting on our asses for hours on
end on the other hand is a whole other story.
9. How can men sit on their asses all day without moving?
Men have very powerful sets of sitting muscles developed
by evolution that enable us to sit for extended periods of
time without getting tired. In prehistoric times, it was
often necessary to sit in one spot for extended periods of
time while hunting for prey. The more successful hunters
were able to sit very still for very extended periods of
time thereby passing on this ability to their progeny.
The fidgety types were all gobbled up by saber toothed
tigers, etc. The end result is that almost all modern men
are born with this innate ability.
10. Why can't men just say "I LOVE YOU?"
Men are taught from a tender young age to be self
sufficient. To say that we love you is equivalent to
saying that we need you. Most men consider that a
character fault. It's not easy to admit to one's own
character faults.
11. Why do men say "I LOVE YOU" when they hardly know me?
Ho, Ho, Ho... Aren't you special? Well, some men think
it's a sure fire way to get into your pants. Surprisingly,
it actually still works quite well.
12. Why doesn't my partner ever answer me?
We just simply don't have the energy to answer every single
one of your questions. If we think we do not have the
answer, or that you will not like the answer, we simply
remain quiet and save the energy for other things.
13. Why won't men ever pick up after themselves?
Why should we? It doesn't really bother us that much.
Besides, we know darn well you'll pick it up.
14. What's with all the belching and farting?
This usually only occurs after months of courting. It's
our way to let you know that we're comfortable with you.
Believe it or not, it's actually a sign of affection.
Besides, holding it for extended periods of time gives us
stomach cramps.
15. Why do men hate shopping?
It's an evolutionary thing. Men hunt. Women gather. We
just want to go out, kill it, and bring it back. Who wants
to spend hours and hours to look at things we have no
intention of killing? Err ... buying?
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5. Resource Websites for Candidates
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Perfect Firefighter
Candidate. Job listing and a
complete resource web site with a community bulletin board.
Don McNea Fire School, Inc. is the #1 Firefighter
Preparatory Entrance School in the Country.
They have the inside information how to tackle those psychological and
personality questions on the written.
Learn how entry level and promotional candidates are
improving their interview scores up to 15 points and nailing that badge!
www.eatstress.com/newpage2.htm
FREE 101 Inside Secrets How to Get a Badge!
http://www.eatstress.com/faq.htm
Check out the
specials on our products for entry level and promotional testing:
http://www.eatstress.com/newpage6.htm
Firenuggets.com "The Internet magazine dedicated to keeping firefighters safe" www.firenuggets.com
B-Pad Assessment
Devices. If you're an agency
looking for a new dimension to evaluate candidates, or a candidate wanting
information on how you can orientate your skills for this evaluation check out
their web site:
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FREE ARTICLES FOR YOUR PUBLICATIONS
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I have many articles available for reprint in your
publication, newsletter, etc. You may use
articles written by me that you see in Fire-Zine or
go to our web site @ http://www.eatstress.com/faq.htm
All you have to do is print the article in its entirety along
with the by line, the credits, and complete contact
information found at the bottom of the web site page. I would
appreciate a tear sheet or electronic copy too. Thanks
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Nothing counts til you have the badge . . . Absolutely Nothing!
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Code 3 Publishing. Fire Captain Bob Smith, Speaker, Author, Publisher
Information Products on How to Get a Badge.
Web site: http://www.eatstress.com Over 300 pages of helpful information.
5565 Black Ave. Pleasanton 94566 (near
San Francisco)
Phone: 888-238-3959 local 925-846-3959 Fax: 925-846-9650
E-mail
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