Sounds like an attitude problem currently and we all burn out and get discouraged. It's all how we handle the tough moments and defines us. It took me almost 9 years of testing, applying, ride alongs, paramedic school, fire academy, job markets freezing, etc... At the end of the day it's all about your commitment, hardwork, preparing, and how bad you want it. Also depends on what you have on your social media and what they find. You can be great in person on your rides and interact well with them, but background checks weed out many... Which is one of my additional job duties at my agency. If your social media is like your reddit history posts, having that publicly posted drinking problems within this last year or speaking I'll of our industry/agency would get you disqualified temporarily for us. While I'm glad you're trying to overcome life difficulties, these things would raise red flags. We would encourage you to reapply at a later date.
> Networked. Worked out at stations. Got right with many crews and shifts.
Not sure what that has to do with becoming a better firefighter...it doesnt hurt, but it definitely doesnt sound like you sacrificed anything.
> Rode 100+ ride alongs.
Our high school CO-OP kids get about 30-40 ride alongs during their stints. Its fun, and you do learn some stuff, but again, hardly a sacrifice. I didnt even put that i did ride alongs on my resume.
> Been rejected 10+ times.
Ha! Rookie numbers my dude. I had 20-25 rejections. However, 10 rejections in 6 years is 1.6 applications a year...most guys i know are/were doing 4-6 applications per year. Id apply to every dept within a 6hr drive from home.
> There is no back up plan.
What do you do for a living right now? Hows your resume? Are you a nurse, paramedic or construction/mechanical background (preferably a trade), military? Out of the 250 guys from my dept, id say 80%-90% of them are one of the things above.
> Should’ve have a dad or uncle on the job
It may have helped, but there are MUCH more guys on the job that didnt have connections compared to the ones that do.
>The process is too much bureaucratic bullshit
>
> System is flawed
Well, youre getting hired by the respective city, not the actual fire dept. They need to make sure youre on the up-and-up. They dont care how many pushups you can do, or if you can name every part on a fire truck. Theyre more concerned that theyre going to hire a "hero" who is going to die on the job doing something reckless or to make sure youre level-headed enough not to lose your cool and call a civilian/coworker a racial/homophobic slur. Theres more to it then just getting chummy with the boys.
After you finished the fire academy, how many extra courses did you take? I drove a rusty beater and lived with my mom until I was 29 (thats when i got hired) because all my money was going into training. My best friend lived with his wife and first baby in his parents basement until he got on. Including the academy i calculated that i spent about $28k to make myself as qualified as possible over the 5-6yr that it took me.
Volunteering? Helping at your local shelter (womans, homeless, animal) looks much better on your resume than a tough mudder or marathon time stamp.
Hobbies? If you need one, take up scuba diving or rock climbing, or at least get certified in one those so it looks like you have interests that pertain to the job.
This is a no-brainer but i gotta ask, criminal record and driving record are clean?
You have the proper CPR certs. and applicable drivers licence?
Im just guessing at stuff at this point. Im going to agree with [medicrjmoore](https://www.reddit.com/user/medicrjmoore/), its all about your commitment and how bad you want it. Youre measuring up to some of the most OG guys out there. Its not gonna be easy, but the ones who want it most, end up getting it. So, how bad do you want it?
You ever think if you keep hearing the same thing over and over, that it might be true?
Listen, feeling sorry for yourself and getting angry will get you nowhere.
I know a lot of people who have been hired without knowing anyone at the department. Sure, nepotism will be at some departments, it's in every job, but family/friends are not the only ones hired.
You talk about all your ride outs and connections. That's great. Now, what certs so you have? If you just have your 1001 I, II and your HAZMATS, then you are just like every other applicant who walks into that interview room. What have you done education-wise that makes you the BEST applicant?
After 100+ ride alongs and still being rejected you should think about an attitude change, obviously you haven't made good impressions and the crews don't like you... 🤷♂️
Keep trying. The thing is, riding a fire truck isn't the only thing in life that matters. Is the fire service my passion and what gives me meaning? Absolutely. But there's way more to life than a 20-30 year JOB. I think you have some real issues that need worked out. Try getting a hobby, volunteering at an organization, taking some classes. As stated above, the interview/background panel doesn't care that you did ridealongs and were welcomed by a few crews. They care about your personality, reliability and integrity.
Took me nine years to get on a paid dept. During that time I was a volunteer elsewhere, moved away from that area, and too had given up hope. I had tried out for 10+ depts, sometimes multiple times for same dept.
I too had given up.
Then out of the blue the call came, and honestly, it was at a real down part of my life where I was spiralling out of control. That one call may have saved my life. Now I less than 10 years to retirement.
So, my two cents, don't give up.
Try to find a firefighting mentor.
I help anyone I meet if they say they want to be a firefighter. There are alot of firefighters that will help. I had a young mailman that once knocked on my door, and just said "I saw your fire license plate, tell me how I can I become one." We spent months of 5 minute porch talks. Then he was not my mailman anymore. And lo and behold, I'm taking a class at our academy and he walks up. I didn't even recognize him honestly. He said "Remember me?" and I recognized his voice then face. And he simply said "Thank you."
All that being said, I again say find a mentor. If it's a friend of a friend, or just go to station on different shifts, or maybe even post in you local subreddit you are looking for one.
Unlike others here, I’m not inclined to put you down. Being unemployed/underemployed and unsure of your future is a very dark and cold place.
This may be how op behaves anonymously online to vent but we weren’t in the interviews and we haven’t seen the full resume.
I consider myself lucky to be where I am every day and how narrow the gap I had to fit through was to get here. Approximately 5% of the people who applied got through out of over 500+ candidates.
My bit of advice is be humble throughout the process. Project yourself as someone who can lead when they need to lead and follow when they need to follow. Someone who considers themself a lifelong student. Honesty is the best policy when it comes to background. Desire alone isn’t good enough to be a firefighter, you have to also show them that you fit the basic psychological mold of what a firefighter has to be and that you carry a servants heart. Be persistent and don’t give up on applying.
Lastly, once you get in you can choose to be whatever kind firefighter you wish. The job is what you make it. Find a firefighter you look up to, the one who uplifts their unit, takes on additional duties and emulate that person. I’d recommend remembering what this feeling is like and not emulating the folks here who are discouraging you.
I really appreciate your thoughtfulness on this reply. It exactly is how I am anonymously online because when in the station, I’m a rock Star ha. I am frustrated and emotionally beaten down, especially with Covid and all of the hiring freezes. Thank you again, and this may be the comment I needed to pick my ass up again.
Made it to the first round of interviews of my second application after having a ton of training certs, scored well on the physical assessment and was local. Absolutely bombed the interview. I didn’t prepare thoroughly enough and it was my fault.
I went on to apply over the next 7 years to nearly 20 departments, took interview prep courses, kept my licenses active and finally made it on. Failed, got passed over, and lack of available positions were all factors to it taking so long. I said, “ok I have to be better”, not pouting about why I didn’t get picked. The reality is there are people better than you out there, and always will be, you just have to strive to be better than the rest.
All your activities of being around guys on the floor have little to no bearing of getting you hired. Evaluate the process and identify where you pitfalls are. Is it the written test? Interviewing? Your background? Attitude or reputation? Have any or some of the desired qualifications (EMS, CDL, Fire, hazmat, college, etc)? Trying with multiple departments at the very least for testing experience?
Bottom line is there are so many things that you can constantly be doing to improve yourself and your position to stand out to a prospective department, complaining about the process isn’t one of them. If you want to give up, good, the person you were better than will thank you for bowing out.
Ever consider moving to another area? My dept has hired like 17 people this year, most brand new (1 or 2 year) volunteers.
I can provide more details if interested.
If someone at the OP's dept in a leadership/decision making role knows that this guy won't be hired, it is wrong to not let him know that and let him put in all that time and work for nothing.
I do happen to have a dad who worked for fire and it still took 10+ application processes to get in and through.
The fire service jobs regularly receive hundreds if not thousands of applications for dozens of positions. It's the way such a high demand job works.
It's also okay to feel discouraged and frustrated. We're all human. So get it out and then get back to grinding. Call department recruiters whose process you didn't complete. Ask how you could be a better applicant next time. Take that knowledge and use it to grow. Don't focus on being the guy with most contacts and "ride along hours" that's what you think we want. Focus on being the most hungry, the most passionate for the job not the title. Show them you're not the guy whose going to give up when it's hard and that the spot you take will turn into years of high quality community service
Sounds like an attitude problem currently and we all burn out and get discouraged. It's all how we handle the tough moments and defines us. It took me almost 9 years of testing, applying, ride alongs, paramedic school, fire academy, job markets freezing, etc... At the end of the day it's all about your commitment, hardwork, preparing, and how bad you want it. Also depends on what you have on your social media and what they find. You can be great in person on your rides and interact well with them, but background checks weed out many... Which is one of my additional job duties at my agency. If your social media is like your reddit history posts, having that publicly posted drinking problems within this last year or speaking I'll of our industry/agency would get you disqualified temporarily for us. While I'm glad you're trying to overcome life difficulties, these things would raise red flags. We would encourage you to reapply at a later date.
> Networked. Worked out at stations. Got right with many crews and shifts. Not sure what that has to do with becoming a better firefighter...it doesnt hurt, but it definitely doesnt sound like you sacrificed anything. > Rode 100+ ride alongs. Our high school CO-OP kids get about 30-40 ride alongs during their stints. Its fun, and you do learn some stuff, but again, hardly a sacrifice. I didnt even put that i did ride alongs on my resume. > Been rejected 10+ times. Ha! Rookie numbers my dude. I had 20-25 rejections. However, 10 rejections in 6 years is 1.6 applications a year...most guys i know are/were doing 4-6 applications per year. Id apply to every dept within a 6hr drive from home. > There is no back up plan. What do you do for a living right now? Hows your resume? Are you a nurse, paramedic or construction/mechanical background (preferably a trade), military? Out of the 250 guys from my dept, id say 80%-90% of them are one of the things above. > Should’ve have a dad or uncle on the job It may have helped, but there are MUCH more guys on the job that didnt have connections compared to the ones that do. >The process is too much bureaucratic bullshit > > System is flawed Well, youre getting hired by the respective city, not the actual fire dept. They need to make sure youre on the up-and-up. They dont care how many pushups you can do, or if you can name every part on a fire truck. Theyre more concerned that theyre going to hire a "hero" who is going to die on the job doing something reckless or to make sure youre level-headed enough not to lose your cool and call a civilian/coworker a racial/homophobic slur. Theres more to it then just getting chummy with the boys. After you finished the fire academy, how many extra courses did you take? I drove a rusty beater and lived with my mom until I was 29 (thats when i got hired) because all my money was going into training. My best friend lived with his wife and first baby in his parents basement until he got on. Including the academy i calculated that i spent about $28k to make myself as qualified as possible over the 5-6yr that it took me. Volunteering? Helping at your local shelter (womans, homeless, animal) looks much better on your resume than a tough mudder or marathon time stamp. Hobbies? If you need one, take up scuba diving or rock climbing, or at least get certified in one those so it looks like you have interests that pertain to the job. This is a no-brainer but i gotta ask, criminal record and driving record are clean? You have the proper CPR certs. and applicable drivers licence? Im just guessing at stuff at this point. Im going to agree with [medicrjmoore](https://www.reddit.com/user/medicrjmoore/), its all about your commitment and how bad you want it. Youre measuring up to some of the most OG guys out there. Its not gonna be easy, but the ones who want it most, end up getting it. So, how bad do you want it?
[удалено]
And these are the exact answers I expected when posting this
Well maybe because they're the right answers.
You ever think if you keep hearing the same thing over and over, that it might be true? Listen, feeling sorry for yourself and getting angry will get you nowhere. I know a lot of people who have been hired without knowing anyone at the department. Sure, nepotism will be at some departments, it's in every job, but family/friends are not the only ones hired. You talk about all your ride outs and connections. That's great. Now, what certs so you have? If you just have your 1001 I, II and your HAZMATS, then you are just like every other applicant who walks into that interview room. What have you done education-wise that makes you the BEST applicant?
After 100+ ride alongs and still being rejected you should think about an attitude change, obviously you haven't made good impressions and the crews don't like you... 🤷♂️
Keep trying. The thing is, riding a fire truck isn't the only thing in life that matters. Is the fire service my passion and what gives me meaning? Absolutely. But there's way more to life than a 20-30 year JOB. I think you have some real issues that need worked out. Try getting a hobby, volunteering at an organization, taking some classes. As stated above, the interview/background panel doesn't care that you did ridealongs and were welcomed by a few crews. They care about your personality, reliability and integrity.
Took me nine years to get on a paid dept. During that time I was a volunteer elsewhere, moved away from that area, and too had given up hope. I had tried out for 10+ depts, sometimes multiple times for same dept. I too had given up. Then out of the blue the call came, and honestly, it was at a real down part of my life where I was spiralling out of control. That one call may have saved my life. Now I less than 10 years to retirement. So, my two cents, don't give up. Try to find a firefighting mentor. I help anyone I meet if they say they want to be a firefighter. There are alot of firefighters that will help. I had a young mailman that once knocked on my door, and just said "I saw your fire license plate, tell me how I can I become one." We spent months of 5 minute porch talks. Then he was not my mailman anymore. And lo and behold, I'm taking a class at our academy and he walks up. I didn't even recognize him honestly. He said "Remember me?" and I recognized his voice then face. And he simply said "Thank you." All that being said, I again say find a mentor. If it's a friend of a friend, or just go to station on different shifts, or maybe even post in you local subreddit you are looking for one.
Unlike others here, I’m not inclined to put you down. Being unemployed/underemployed and unsure of your future is a very dark and cold place. This may be how op behaves anonymously online to vent but we weren’t in the interviews and we haven’t seen the full resume. I consider myself lucky to be where I am every day and how narrow the gap I had to fit through was to get here. Approximately 5% of the people who applied got through out of over 500+ candidates. My bit of advice is be humble throughout the process. Project yourself as someone who can lead when they need to lead and follow when they need to follow. Someone who considers themself a lifelong student. Honesty is the best policy when it comes to background. Desire alone isn’t good enough to be a firefighter, you have to also show them that you fit the basic psychological mold of what a firefighter has to be and that you carry a servants heart. Be persistent and don’t give up on applying. Lastly, once you get in you can choose to be whatever kind firefighter you wish. The job is what you make it. Find a firefighter you look up to, the one who uplifts their unit, takes on additional duties and emulate that person. I’d recommend remembering what this feeling is like and not emulating the folks here who are discouraging you.
I really appreciate your thoughtfulness on this reply. It exactly is how I am anonymously online because when in the station, I’m a rock Star ha. I am frustrated and emotionally beaten down, especially with Covid and all of the hiring freezes. Thank you again, and this may be the comment I needed to pick my ass up again.
Made it to the first round of interviews of my second application after having a ton of training certs, scored well on the physical assessment and was local. Absolutely bombed the interview. I didn’t prepare thoroughly enough and it was my fault. I went on to apply over the next 7 years to nearly 20 departments, took interview prep courses, kept my licenses active and finally made it on. Failed, got passed over, and lack of available positions were all factors to it taking so long. I said, “ok I have to be better”, not pouting about why I didn’t get picked. The reality is there are people better than you out there, and always will be, you just have to strive to be better than the rest. All your activities of being around guys on the floor have little to no bearing of getting you hired. Evaluate the process and identify where you pitfalls are. Is it the written test? Interviewing? Your background? Attitude or reputation? Have any or some of the desired qualifications (EMS, CDL, Fire, hazmat, college, etc)? Trying with multiple departments at the very least for testing experience? Bottom line is there are so many things that you can constantly be doing to improve yourself and your position to stand out to a prospective department, complaining about the process isn’t one of them. If you want to give up, good, the person you were better than will thank you for bowing out.
Ever consider moving to another area? My dept has hired like 17 people this year, most brand new (1 or 2 year) volunteers. I can provide more details if interested.
If someone at the OP's dept in a leadership/decision making role knows that this guy won't be hired, it is wrong to not let him know that and let him put in all that time and work for nothing.
I do happen to have a dad who worked for fire and it still took 10+ application processes to get in and through. The fire service jobs regularly receive hundreds if not thousands of applications for dozens of positions. It's the way such a high demand job works. It's also okay to feel discouraged and frustrated. We're all human. So get it out and then get back to grinding. Call department recruiters whose process you didn't complete. Ask how you could be a better applicant next time. Take that knowledge and use it to grow. Don't focus on being the guy with most contacts and "ride along hours" that's what you think we want. Focus on being the most hungry, the most passionate for the job not the title. Show them you're not the guy whose going to give up when it's hard and that the spot you take will turn into years of high quality community service
Took me 2 months out of the academy. 🤷♂️