Interview tips

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bmarie7

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I recently passed the NREMT and I am going to start going on interviews for EMT positions. Any tips on the interview/application process?
 
Bathe, dress appropriately, don't be late, answer what's asked, tell the truth, don't criticize others, and know enough about your prospective employer to ask a few questions of your own.
 
Bring trauma shears.
 
Wear this shirt.

IMG_6418.JPG



(Don't really. Ever.)
 
Know where the interview is to be conducted. Then drive there as a test run, making note of traffic, hazards or delays. Yes, I am serious. Plan on being at the interview place 30 mins early, I am usually 45-60 mins early for ANY interview (back in the day) and I would sit in the car and gain composure and woosah.

If your interview is at 0900 and you plan on being in the parking lot by 0815, then perform an actual dry run at THAT time. Traffic conditions vary depending on time of day and you may discover something you were not aware of before. Short of your own crash, there is not much excuse to ever be late. And no one wants someone rushing in at the last minute all rushed looking and out of breath. Get there early, go to the bathroom, smooth your clothes, adjust your hair. Build your confidence more.

Khakis or dark slacks with a long sleeve button up is always appropriate. Tie/jacket slight overkill but do not go less than the what I stated first.

Research your employer. Ask questions about THEM. Means you know your stuff and makes you stand out more than other candidates. You will tell them what you will do for them, but ask what they will do for you. Training, promotion opportunities, standbys, etc.

Speak clearly, do not speak too fast and do not chew gum during the interview.
 
akflightmedic said:
Know where the interview is to be conducted. Then drive there as a test run, making note of traffic, hazards or delays. Yes, I am serious. Plan on being at the interview place 30 mins early, I am usually 45-60 mins early for ANY interview (back in the day) and I would sit in the car and gain composure and woosah.

If your interview is at 0900 and you plan on being in the parking lot by 0815, then perform an actual dry run at THAT time. Traffic conditions vary depending on time of day and you may discover something you were not aware of before. Short of your own crash, there is not much excuse to ever be late.
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Wow, I thought I was the only one who did this stuff.
 
akflightmedic said:
Know where the interview is to be conducted. Then drive there as a test run, making note of traffic, hazards or delays. Yes, I am serious. Plan on being at the interview place 30 mins early, I am usually 45-60 mins early for ANY interview (back in the day) and I would sit in the car and gain composure and woosah.

If your interview is at 0900 and you plan on being in the parking lot by 0815, then perform an actual dry run at THAT time. Traffic conditions vary depending on time of day and you may discover something you were not aware of before. Short of your own crash, there is not much excuse to ever be late.
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if I hadn't done a dry run like this for my interview the other day, I almost def would have been late...and since it was with a competitive municipal job that would have meant having to wait all over for another test and starting over again if I wasn't waiting inside when they called my name.....so even for a "pulse and a patch" place practice doing this so it's habit when you do land an interview at your dream place
 
All I can add to the above is make sure you know what you're getting into. Don't be afraid to ask questions regarding compensation and benefits. You're most likely not going to be involved in a multi interview process. Asking about money, in all its forms, before they make an offer might be inappropriate in a high level corporate setting but not here. Know what they offer, know what you need to make it work and know how to find the happy middle.
 
Confidence is key. Dress appropriately, don't use distracting fillers like "umm" or "like," make good eye contact, don't fidget with things that will make you seem nervous, use appropriate language, ask good questions, make yourself seem like you are a high value person and that you are worth the company investing their time into.
 
hometownmedic5 said:
All I can add to the above is make sure you know what you're getting into. Don't be afraid to ask questions regarding compensation and benefits. You're most likely not going to be involved in a multi interview process. Asking about money, in all its forms, before they make an offer might be inappropriate in a high level corporate setting but not here. Know what they offer, know what you need to make it work and know how to find the happy middle.
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Respectfully disagree. Asking about compensation during an interview is bad form, for several reasons. The first being, the person who is interviewing you might not be the person who sets your salary (HR does that). The other is, if you start asking about how much money you are making during the initial interview, the appearance can be that you are only looking for money, and will leave that company once more money is offered to you. Don't get me wrong, compensation is important, and being appropriately compensated for work is also important, but getting into the numerical details is frowned upon.

It is appropriate to ask about compensation after the offer is made (in fact you should always ask how they decided on how much to compensate you, because their calculations may be incorrect backed on incomplete information), but not while they are considering you. Or even better, call HR prior to the interview, discuss the job with the recruiter, ask how they set their salary. They should be able to explain it much clearer than an interviewer. and if you call anonymously, it can't be used negatively in the hiring process.

And dress to impress. you might over dress compared to your interviewer, but it's always better to be over dressed than underdressed.
 
Respectfully disagree.

It is entirely appropriate to ask about the compensation package. The best time to do this is when the interviewer says, "do you have any questions for me?"

You reply should be, "yes, can you detail the compensation package for me?" Ask about ANYTHING that is a make or break for you. Do they pay for card courses and CE? Uniform allowance? When do you start to accrue PTO.

You're also interviewing them. If it sucks, dont take the job. But never accept a job not knowing what you're getting paid!
 
NomadicMedic said:
Respectfully disagree.

It is entirely appropriate to ask about the compensation package. The best time to do this is when the interviewer says, "do you have any questions for me?"

You reply should be, "yes, can you detail the compensation package for me?" Ask about ANYTHING that is a make or break for you. Do they pay for card courses and CE? Uniform allowance? When do you start to accrue PTO.

You're also interviewing them. If it sucks, dont take the job. But never accept a job not knowing what you're getting paid!
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An excellent point. How many times have I, or any young, or naive and inexperienced person replied back "No."? Countless, I'm sure.

Yes, you're excited to get a job offer, but having standards and as---he's mentioned---interviewing them (so to speak) isn't something that will "look bad". If it is chances are the place isn't worth your time.
 
Its been a long time since I've interviewed without an hr rep in the room.

I can't imagine not discussing the total compensation package in the room. That leave so much ground uncovered. It's worthless for you to take the time to write me an offer letter if were say ten dollars an hour apart or you expect me to buy my uniforms and CEs. If I'm paying 90% of my health insurance and it's crappy insurance, you could also save your paper.

As I said, if you were interviewing for the managing directors job, perhaps asking for your salary would be uncouth; but we're not talking about that. We're talking about a job interview for an emt position. An hourly, entry level position. It's perfectly appropriate to discuss compensation.
 
DrParasite said:
Respectfully disagree. Asking about compensation during an interview is bad form, for several reasons. The first being, the person who is interviewing you might not be the person who sets your salary (HR does that). The other is, if you start asking about how much money you are making during the initial interview, the appearance can be that you are only looking for money, and will leave that company once more money is offered to you. Don't get me wrong, compensation is important, and being appropriately compensated for work is also important, but getting into the numerical details is frowned upon.

It is appropriate to ask about compensation after the offer is made (in fact you should always ask how they decided on how much to compensate you, because their calculations may be incorrect backed on incomplete information), but not while they are considering you. Or even better, call HR prior to the interview, discuss the job with the recruiter, ask how they set their salary. They should be able to explain it much clearer than an interviewer. and if you call anonymously, it can't be used negatively in the hiring process.

And dress to impress. you might over dress compared to your interviewer, but it's always better to be over dressed than underdressed.
Click to expand...

The very last sentence of yours is most correct, everything else is off the rails. When I interview someone, if they do NOT ask about money, benefits, etc...I get VERY concerned and somewhat suspicious on why they are not asking about very normal things which SHOULD be discussed IN an interview. I am more concerned and interested in your motivations if compensation is not part of your deciding factors.

Asking about compensation BEFORE you have an interview is not standard and typically will not be answered unless this is a typical government/city/county type job where it is all published publicly anyways (usually on line or in the announcement itself). If this is a private entity and one in which you have input on your compensation package, it will not be and should not be discussed before an interview.

I would never exit an interview without knowing what my package is or what their initial proposal is. I would ask and get the generalities or they might say IF we offer you a position then you will hear from X or HR within certain time period. But you should absolutely ask right then and there and in some situations be prepared to negotiate.

And definitely do more research before you follow any advice from the internet...including mine. Consider your sources, their backgrounds and have them justify why they advise the way they do.
 
NomadicMedic said:
You reply should be, "yes, can you detail the compensation package for me?" Ask about ANYTHING that is a make or break for you. Do they pay for card courses and CE? Uniform allowance? When do you start to accrue PTO.

You're also interviewing them. If it sucks, dont take the job. But never accept a job not knowing what you're getting paid!
Click to expand...
Fair statement. Personally, I'd rather know this information before I even walked in the door (and often before I even showed up for the interview, to know if it was even worth my time). The other questions, while related to compensation, are not hourly wage related, and I would consider to be totally appropriate.
 
hometownmedic5 said:
Its been a long time since I've interviewed without an hr rep in the room.

I can't imagine not discussing the total compensation package in the room. That leave so much ground uncovered. It's worthless for you to take the time to write me an offer letter if were say ten dollars an hour apart or you expect me to buy my uniforms and CEs. If I'm paying 90% of my health insurance and it's crappy insurance, you could also save your paper.

As I said, if you were interviewing for the managing directors job, perhaps asking for your salary would be uncouth; but we're not talking about that. We're talking about a job interview for an emt position. An hourly, entry level position. It's perfectly appropriate to discuss compensation.
Click to expand...

Agree 100% and even for a higher level position it is appropriate to open the discussion just to see where it gets you. It will not be final discussion but opening it could reveal beneficial info for you later on...example, if the HR person or whoever does final offer is not part of interview and people there say something bone headed like "man we really need you and are all very interested, you should ask for X"...that is gold. Sound crazy? It's not, it happens!
 
akflightmedic said:
When I interview someone, if they do NOT ask about money, benefits, etc...I get VERY concerned and somewhat suspicious on why they are not asking about very normal things which SHOULD be discussed IN an interview. I am more concerned and interested in your motivations if compensation is not part of your deciding factors.
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Well, I think you are in the minority on that one, especially considering what many experts say https://www.forbes.com/sites/susana...ng-up-salary-in-a-job-interview/#6866fe647874 and http://bfy.tw/BRuF

TBH, I've never been offered a position during an initial interview. And in recent memory, the last two positions I had to interview for that had an HR person in the room were for public safety jobs (one for EMS, and one for Firefighter), but I think that was more to ensure no illegal questions or comments were made by the other panel staff. But they were public sector job, so salary was common knowledge, and I knew it before I walked in the door. Since I don't do public sector anymore as my full time employment, the rest have been HRless

Every time I get a recruiter contact me about a position, my first question is how much will you pay me. This way I know the job will be worth my time. If it's waaay low, not interested, if it's close, see if there is any wiggle room, if it's what i'm looking for, lets set up an interview.

From one of the experts in the Forbes article: “You don’t want to be negotiating salary until they’re at their maximum love—their maximum enthusiasm for you,” she says. Once a prospective employer has convinced themselves and their colleagues that you are their first choice, they are much more likely to bump up your package in order to get you."

My salary jumped about 20,000 (and above what I was expecting) because I interviewed well, and waited until after the offer was made to discuss total compensation. They knew what I put for my current salary, and I made it very clear that if they wanted me, that I would not accept a paycut. And when they made me the offer, well, it was too good for me to turn down.

But to each his or he own, and your experience might result in a different experience than mine.
 
I'm actually in this process right now. I have a full time job that im content with, however most state police dpt's seem to be low on numbers right now, remember you as the applicant can have the power too. Right now i'm negotiating for them(insert state here) to start me at xyz rank and xyz salary. Which lets me have the power, and as mentioned above, if i don't like the offer, walk away. An interview can truly make or break you to an employer (getting the job, getting them to actually negotiate, ect ect). I suggest interviewing for a similar job at a place where you never want to work to practice (thats what i did anyway).
Good luck :D
 
akflightmedic said:
Know where the interview is to be conducted. Then drive there as a test run, making note of traffic, hazards or delays. Yes, I am serious. Plan on being at the interview place 30 mins early, I am usually 45-60 mins early for ANY interview (back in the day) and I would sit in the car and gain composure and woosah.

If your interview is at 0900 and you plan on being in the parking lot by 0815, then perform an actual dry run at THAT time. Traffic conditions vary depending on time of day and you may discover something you were not aware of before. Short of your own crash, there is not much excuse to ever be late. And no one wants someone rushing in at the last minute all rushed looking and out of breath. Get there early, go to the bathroom, smooth your clothes, adjust your hair. Build your confidence more.

Khakis or dark slacks with a long sleeve button up is always appropriate. Tie/jacket slight overkill but do not go less than the what I stated first.

Research your employer. Ask questions about THEM. Means you know your stuff and makes you stand out more than other candidates. You will tell them what you will do for them, but ask what they will do for you. Training, promotion opportunities, standbys, etc.

Speak clearly, do not speak too fast and do not chew gum during the interview.
Click to expand...

Excellent advice. Though, personally, I think a jacket & tie ALWAYS comes across as respectful.
 
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