Job interview

[dana7681]

Hello everyone,

Well, I have my first job interview on the 17th. I am pretty nervous about it. I finished school a couple of months ago and have my state and NREMT. I feel like I know the stuff...book wise, but the rest has me nervous.

The woman said there would be an oral interview, a computer test, a written test, some scenarios and some lifting and should take about three hours. Any advice or suggestions on how to do well for my first interview?

Dana

[zmedic]

You should take a look online for some general guides about interviewing, I'm no expert but here are my thoughts:

1: Dress appropriately. A little bit tough for a job interview like EMT, where as a guy I might be a bit overdressed in a suit. I'd probably wear a shirt and tie, kaki pants or dockers. You might want to wear the female equivalent (keep in mind you are going to be doing practical stuff, so I wouldn't wear a skirt, I wouldn't wear anything low cut that you are going to be giving a show when you bend down to assess the patient.)

2: Think about the following questions, you don't need to memorize answers but you should have some ideas of things you can talk about:

a) what are you greatest strengths/weaknesses

tell me about a time you've worked well in a group? Worked well under pressure?

c) Why do you want to become an EMT?

d) tell me about a patient that had an impact on you?

e) why do you want to work for this company?

f) What would you do if: you think your partner is doing drugs/stealing

3) Know about the company. Look at the website. ask people about it.

4) Drive to the company where the interview is the day before, last thing you want is to be trying to figure out parking 5 minutes before you interview.

Good luck

[DwayneEMTP]

Man...As zmedic said...

I can only add that nerves are what will kill you in this process. Try and relax. A lot of missed and/or fumbled answers really aren't repaired by someone saying, "Gosh, I'm sorry, I'm just really nervous." Everyone will be nervous, but some will handle it better than others. Often those folks will go to the front of the line.

Good luck..

Dwayne

[BushyFromOz]

Dont reach for the water jug.

Seriously, dont reach for it, if you walk into that room and theres a water jug in the middle of the table and some glasses, dont pour yourself a drink unless you are super confident. Nothing says "Hey everybody, I'm nervous" like trying to pour water from a 4L jug and it shaking all over the place.

[HERBIE1]

All sound advice so far. Be confident- make the company feel that you are someone they NEED to hire. Make eye contact with the interviewer, try not to fidget in your seat. A good trick is to keep your hands folded in your lap. If you aren't sure of a question, have them repeat it. If it's a complicated or multiple part/follow up question, don't be afraid to pause for a moment to collect/organize your answer. There is nothing worse than someone saying "er and "Um" with every sentence. Keep your language and demeanor professional- do not cuss(may sound stupid, but you would be surprised how many folks do it). Overall, be yourself. Promote your skill set, your personality, and your desire to get the job.

Convince them you are motivated to apply what you have learned in school.

Do not slander/bad mouth prior employers or even instructors. In many areas, EMS is a small community and you never know that your interviewer may be best friends/a former student/colleague of your instructors.

They may try to ask your odd/off the wall questions and scenarios to see how you react under pressure or when you are faced with something unexpected. After all, in order to succeed in the business, you need to be quick on your feet.

Good luck and let us know how it goes...

[paramatt_]

Some really good advice in the previous posts.

Just one thing to add regarding the clinical questions/scenarios: don't forget to verbalize that you're doing a primary survey (scene safety, response, most importantly ABCs). No matter what questions you get asked, if you can show that you have a solid & consistent approach you shouldn't have anything to worry about. If you can answer and explain how and why you'd put a traction splint on a patient, great. If you do that without checking if the patient is breathing first, you probably missed something pretty important.

Good luck!

[emtff498]

I've interviewed several times for an EMT-Basic job. All you have to do is remember to let the training take over and just take a deep breath if you feel like you are going to freak out.