Medicine Hat Fire and Emergency Services interview

Where the interview sits

The City’s firefighter recruitment page lists the hiring process in this order: online application, aptitude test, documentation review, job skill assessment, interview, psychometric testing, station assessment, eligibility list, then medical, police information check and references, and the job offer.

A ranking comes before the interview. At the documentation review, the City says test results and resume scores are calculated and “only the highest-ranked applicants will advance.” The job skill assessment measures physical ability and is completed at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, at the candidate’s cost.

After the interview comes psychometric testing, which the City describes as a multiple choice test of personality attributes and cognitive capabilities, completed through an interview with a psychologist. Then comes the station assessment, where qualified candidates work alongside crews for one day.

The City says the process “evaluates and grades applicants on a pro-rated scoring system, which involves awarding weighted performance grades for each segment of the recruitment process.” The weight of each segment is unpublished, so treat the interview as a scored stage in its own right.

What Medicine Hat says about the interview

The recruitment page states: “Interviews will be conducted by representatives from Fire and Emergency Services, as well as People Services staff.”

The department’s recruitment FAQ asks, “What types of questions are asked during the interview process?” and answers: “The interview will consist of descriptive and behavioral based questions.” That FAQ was written for the 2021 competition, which closed on 29 October 2021, so check the posting for the next competition when it opens.

The City’s careers page covers interviews for all City jobs, firefighting among them. It says:

• The City uses behavioural based interviews, and recommends practising answers with the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
• Ask someone to do a mock interview with you, if possible.
• Review the job posting and be ready to discuss how your experience aligns with the role.
• Interviews may be in person or online. Dress professionally, arrive 10 to 15 minutes early, and test your technology for an online interview.
• Candidates who need an accommodation for the interview should let the City know.

The next intake

The recruitment page says the department is closed to applications for now. The City lists its open positions on its careers job site, so watch there for the next firefighter competition.

The same page lists the qualifications for a competition, among them NFPA 1001 Level 1 and 2 certificates and NFPA 472/1072 Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations certificates, each with an IFSAC or ProBoard seal, current Standard First Aid with CPR Level C/AED as a minimum, and a valid Alberta Class 3 driver’s licence with air brake endorsement or equivalent.

If you took part in a previous Medicine Hat recruitment, the 2021 FAQ says candidates who have yet to be contacted apply again to compete for upcoming opportunities. Use the time before the next competition to build your stories.

What Medicine Hat asks of a firefighter

The department’s Who We Are page gives its mission as “to provide optimum protection and prevention for our residents, businesses, and visitors. We are continually adapting to uphold the quality of life and public safety in our community.”

Its vision is “to remain a progressive and innovative service that ensures a safe community through access to, and delivery of comprehensive public safety services.” Its values are accountability, integrity, respect, professionalism, caring and teamwork.

The City of Medicine Hat adds four core values for every employee, on its Working With Us page:

• Own It (Accountability & Delivery): take responsibility for your actions, decisions and results, follow through, and fix mistakes quickly.
• Team Up (Collaboration): work together across teams, departments and communities, and communicate openly, honestly and with respect.
• Be Curious (Learning & Evolving): keep learning, seek feedback and adapt to new challenges.
• Service with Care (Care & Service): put people at the heart of the work, lead with empathy and build trust through every interaction.

Accountability, teamwork and care appear in both lists. Use the two lists as a map for your story bank, with at least one true story for each value. For accountability, that could be a time you owned a mistake in front of your team.

How to prepare for a behavioural interview

Behavioural questions ask about real situations you have handled, so prepare from your own experience.

Build the story bank first

List real situations from work, volunteering, sport, school and home: teamwork, conflict, service to the public, mistakes and decisions under pressure. Write each one as four short notes in STAR order, and keep the notes short so you tell each story in your own words.

Spend your time on the action

Give enough of the situation for the listener to follow, then move to what you decided, why, who you spoke to and what you did when things changed. Say “I” for your own part, even when you worked as part of a team.

Speak to both sides of the table

Your interviewers include People Services staff as well as fire service representatives. Tell each story so a listener from outside the fire service follows it, and explain any trade term in a few plain words.

Keep every story true

Reference checks come later in the process, and the 2021 FAQ names previous supervisors as the preferred references. Tell stories your references would recognize.

What to practise

• A story bank with at least one true story for each value the department and the City publish.
• Each story out loud, in STAR order, with most of your time on your own actions.
• Short descriptive answers about your background, your training and why you want this career, alongside your behavioural stories.
• A full mock interview with someone else asking the questions, as the City’s careers page suggests.
• An online run through on the device you would use, so the technology is tested before the day.

To practise in front of other candidates, Firefighter Interview Night is a live two hour video session where each candidate answers in the hot seat and gets feedback.

Practice questions written by Northline

Northline wrote these questions for practice, built around the values Medicine Hat publishes. Answer each one out loud in STAR order, in two to three minutes.

1. Tell us about a time you made a mistake that affected other people. What did you do next?
2. Describe a time someone asked you to do something you believed was wrong. What did you do?
3. Tell us about a time you treated someone with respect while you strongly disagreed with them.
4. Describe a time you helped a member of the public who was upset or frightened.
5. Tell us about a time you had to learn a new skill quickly. How did you go about it?
6. Describe a time your team fell behind on a task and you helped bring it back on track.
7. Why do you want to be a firefighter in Medicine Hat?

If a question finds a gap in your story bank, add a story before you move on to the next question.