This post will seem "rude" to the OP, but it has to be said. I have worked for multiple companies in Central California. Besides Hall, there is only 1 company up here who works 12 hour shifts as a rule and they do want people who live in the general area. However, for all the other companies, location is of secondary importance. I personally know people from Bakersfield who work for or have worked for Lifestar in Tulare, American in Visalia, AMR in Visalia, Exeter District Ambulance, and Imperial in Porterville. All of these are in the next county north of Kern County. All those companies will hire you on 24 hour shifts even if you live in Bakersfield because the vast majority of their shifts are 24 hour shifts. If you have applied to multiple companies and they have not hired you, it is possible the reason lies within you. The standards up here are not so lofty and high that the job is unattainable. Many 18 year olds fresh out of high school get hired right after they get their EMT card. In my experience, there are two reasons that people do not get hired. This applies to MOST people who can not get hired in EMS. Keep in mind I am a paramedic supervisor and paramedic preceptor who regularly does interviews, so I do have experience in this area.
1. The HR people may possibly see you as the person who is not going to be totally committed to the job. They may see you as someone who considers their job secondary to other commitments in their life. If EMS can not be your first commitment, that is OK. It is your life and you prioritize things as you see fit. However, nobody is entitled to an EMS job and HR will hire the person most committed to their organization. It is a pure business decision and not meant personally against you or anyone else. Business decisions hurt people's feelings at times, but they need to be made. However, when you look at it, can you blame them? If you were in their shoes would you want someone who has multiple other commitments, or someone who is completely open to any and every shift. School and other commitments take away from your availability. The fact you are studying chemistry or anything else does not enhance the company in the minds of HR. You can argue that people who have degrees are more well rounded, but that is not the way the EMS industry sees things in general, especially in your specific region. Given the choice of you, who will be limited in when you are available, or some other person with less education but more availability, who do you think they will hire? They are going to hire the person who is available 24/7/365 even if he has less education because he is available to him. They are going to hire the person they can call at 0700 on their day off who will come in because they need them too and not the person who has class so they can not come in. The fact you are being a good student means nothing to them because it does not fill shifts. To them an EMT card is an EMT card.
2. The other option is that the HR people do not like your personality. This may sting, but it is a real possibility. Again, this is not meant as a personal attack on you but to provide possible clarity about your situation. If you speak to people the same way you write posts here, and take criticism the same way you take criticism here, then that may be the reason you have not been hired. I do not know your intent when you write, but you universally came across as entitled and arrogant to the people here. It was not just one or two people, but everyone who replied. I fully realize that none of us know you. However, it is very important to realize how you come across to others. The person interviewing you needs to see if your personality will fit in with not only their organizational culture, but also the population they serve. People who call EMS do not need some intellectual talking down to them. They do not need someone arrogant who believes they are better than those they serve. If you come across as someone like that, then of course you will not be hired. You need to be seen as someone who genuinely wants to serve the community and get along with their co workers You have to come across as a committed team player. Again, I do not know you in real life, but you need to look at yourself and ask if you come across as that. Only you know the true answer, but you do need to be honest with yourself either way.
In conclusion, just because you describe yourself as the ideal candidate, does not mean you are. You obviously have the knowledge and intellect to do this job. You also have not been hired despite interviews. Therefore, it is only logical to conclude there is some other reason you have not been hired. Remember, you need to come across as humble but confident in an interview. People who come across as arrogant, entitled, or over confident do not get hired. I have a BA degree from a nationally ranked university (ranked by US News and World Report). That does not make me any more qualified than a paramedic who went to community college only. We both have the same level of certification. What it comes down to is how we interview and our attitude and performance after we get hired. Again, I do not know you, but there has to be a reason you are not being hired. I wish you the best as you pursue your dream, and home you will consider what I said if any of this applies to you.
but I was thinking "entitlement" just before I read that from him. I urge you to consider the possibility that others see you differently than you see yourself, and that if your tone during an interview is similar to the one we're reading here, you might be at least partly responsible for the lack of job offers so far. To be more specific, if I were hiring, and you were a candidate, and I read your posts here, I'd be thinking you'd probably be too high-maintenance and inflexible to merit further consideration. I might be wrong about all of that, but those would be my impressions.
