Polygraph & PHS
This stage confirms that what you told the department about yourself is accurate. You prepare for it by being honest and organized.
On this page 4 sections
What this stage typically involves
Departments place this stage at different points in their process, but the shape is similar across many Canadian fire services. In Calgary's process, for example, applicants complete a Personal History Statement (PHS), a detailed written disclosure of background information, which a recruitment officer reviews and then confirms during an in-person polygraph examination later in the process.
Always confirm your target department's current process, PHS requirements and any associated fees directly with them. Details, including whether a polygraph is used at all, vary by department.
Where candidates cause themselves problems
- Leaving something out of the PHS because it seems minor, then having it surface at the polygraph as an inconsistency.
- Filling out the PHS quickly close to a deadline instead of taking the time to reconstruct dates and details accurately.
- Going into the polygraph anxious about the process itself, with paperwork they are unsure of.
How coaching helps
We help you build a PHS that is thorough and consistent before you submit it, so everything already reconciles when the department checks it. We also walk through what the polygraph appointment itself is like, so you know the process before the day.
We help you make your disclosure complete, plain and accurate. Anything sold as a way around that check would put you in far worse trouble than the thing it was meant to hide.
Working through it with Northline
Northline sells preparation for this stage, from a workbook you fill in yourself through to an expert review of your completed draft. The PHS and Polygraph stage page compares them.
- PHS Readiness Workbook. Ten working documents for reconstructing your history accurately, before the form asks for it.
- PHS Expert Review. A reviewer reads your completed draft and returns written findings, ranked by what matters, within 3 business days.
- PHS + Polygraph Readiness. The workbook and the expert review together, plus a module on what the polygraph appointment itself involves.
Get your candidate file straight first
Most PHS problems are reconstruction problems: dates, addresses and employment history assembled against a deadline. Gather the details and make them verifiable before the form asks for them.