10 Major Interview Questions

Most candidates will say the thing they find most intimidating about the interview process is they don’t know what questions will be asked. While it’s true a variety of questions can be asked in different ways, interview questions tend to fall into one of the following 10 categories. Once you’ve prepared for these categories, you can use TOP/ACE to answer any of the interviewers’ questions in a way which shows how your specific knowledge, skills and abilities will benefit your prospective employer.

1) Tell us about yourself. This question is an absolute given and is your opportunity to talk about your general background, your prior experience and employment, and, if you choose, your family, hobbies and interests. Examples of this type of question include: Tell us a little about who you are. What do you like to do? Tell us about your life outside of emergency services. How are you involved in your community?

2) What motivates you? Since you’ve already thought about what motivates you professionally this type of question is pretty straightforward. All you have to do is connect to the job using the TOP/ACE methods. Examples include: How did you decide to become a/an (EMT, paramedic, firefighter, police officer)? Why do you want to work for our agency? What does the job of (EMT, paramedic, firefighter, police officer) mean to you? How do you measure success? What are you most passionate about?

3) What are your strengths and weaknesses? Remember those three positive attributes you came up with? Here’s the time to use the best one. You can use the same one more than once, but don’t use it exclusively. If they ask a question looking for a weakness or negative trait, simply use the example of how you have turned (or are working on turning) a negative trait into a positive one. Examples of this type of question include: What are you bringing to this job? What do people praise or criticize you for? How would your friends describe you? How do you work under pressure? Why should we select you over the other candidates?

4) Your “work” history. To answer this question, consider not only where you have worked for pay, but also where you have volunteered or participated as a hobby. You can also include family, group or community activities, as well as your education. Again, think about your best examples ahead of time and use the TOP/ACE method to connect your past with your new job’s future. Examples include: What have you done to prepare for this job? What is your greatest accomplishment or failure? What were your former job expectations? What did you like or dislike most about your previous job(s)? You appear to be over (or under) qualified for this position, so why should we hire you?

5) Site-specific questions. This is your opportunity to show what you know about the job, agency and response area, which you should have already researched. Remember, these aren’t trivial pursuit questions. Don’t just recite facts. Demonstrate your understanding of their implications. Use TOP/ACE to show what you know about the job, and also how you can use that knowledge to excel in the position. Examples of this type of question include: What do you know about our (city, department, agency)? How do you get from (point A) to (point B)? What is the population and makeup of our response area? How will you change your personal schedule to accommodate your new work schedule?

6) Skill-specific questions. Reviewing topics which are likely to be covered is a good idea. Often you’ll know ahead of time if the interview is going to include job skill-specific questions or scenarios. Use the TOP/ACE format to show not only that you know your skills, but your particular skill set fits best with the job. Examples include: Another emergency responder insists on transporting a patient against their will. How will you proceed? What are your incident management priorities at a motor vehicle accident on a busy highway with victims trapped in a burning vehicle? What trends do you see in the current emergency services in our area?

7) Ethical scenarios. These are often perceived as the most difficult interview questions, but the process for answering them is practically universal. When presented with an ethical dilemma in an interview, follow these simple steps:

• Stop: Stop whatever the behaviors or actions are if it’s within the authority of your prospective job to do so. If it’s a safety issue, always intervene. Safety is everyone’s job.

• Question: Gather information. Question and observe to gather the information to either make your decision or pass it up the chain of command.

• Correct: If it’s within the authority of your prospective job to do so, do what you can to correct the problem immediately. Remember, there is always something you can do.

• Report: Whether or not you were able to correct the problem, you must report the issue to your immediate superior. Always follow the chain of command.

Scenarios for this type of question include: Drinking or drugs on the job, conflict with another employee, irate citizen complaint, employee crises during an emergency response, sexual harassment complaint, conflicting orders at an emergency and stealing on the job.

8) Creative thinking questions. Although not often used in interviews for emergency service positions or promotions, creative thinking and problem solving questions are sometimes used to test an applicant’s ability to deal with new or unexpected problems and situations. The key here is to go with the flow in your answer. The only truly wrong answer to a creative thinking question is no answer at all. Examples of this type of question include: How would you figure out how many jelly beans fit in a 747? If you were a chocolate bar, what kind would you be? If you walked into a grocery store to count bottles of milk but the clerk threw you out, what would you do? Why DID the chicken cross the road?

9) Your future here. This is another category of questions based on why you want the job. As with all of the other questions, you’ll look your best using the TOP/ACE format. Keep in mind your future goals with the agency should be reasonable, realistic and reaching forward. Examples include: Where do you see yourself in five years? How far do you want to go in (EMS, the fire service, law enforcement)?

10) Do you have anything to add? This is you chance to ensure you aren’t leaving anything on the table. Whatever remaining positive things you want to say about yourself, this is where you say them. It’s also your last chance to use TOP/ACE to really hit it out of the park. Make this your big finish!

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect, Period!

Give yourself plenty of time to practice these techniques before the interview. Build your interview skills and your confidence one step at a time. Practice asking yourself questions you think might be asked and answering them in different ways. Remember, you want to practice answering different questions to get your ideas across, not memorize exact answers to specific questions. Next, have someone record some questions (or record them yourself) and play them back to simulate the interview process. Take it a step further and videotape yourself while another person asks you questions. When you’re done, review the tape and evaluate how you come across. Are you confident, engaging and sincere? Did you connect yourself using TOP/ACE in each question? Was there still more you wanted to say about yourself? The more comfortable you get with the process, the better your answers will come across.

Finally, enlist one or more people to help you with a full dress rehearsal. Give them a list of questions to ask you in their own words. Wear and bring everything exactly as you would in the real interview. Tell the “interviewers” to have you wait in another room and then call you in. Go through the whole procedure. Practice your introductions and get an idea of how the interview process feels.