Mission Accomplished! (GMFRS Success)

[Andy1]

This has been a long time coming and it seems like forever since I received my conditional offer but I have held off writing this post until my training course had been confirmed. As of yesterday I can now officially say that I will be starting as a Wholetime Firefighter with GMFRS on the 2nd of September. I did get offered to start in May but due to personal circumstances I had to postpone my training.

My Application Journey 

Whilst I can’t say I have been applying for 10 years plus like some, this is the career I have wanted since being very young and I have genuinely worked my socks off for it for the past 2 years.

My first application was in January 2017 with Durham and Darlington FRS. I got a big shock, I passed the online testing by the skin of my teeth but didn’t score high enough to get shortlisted to the role related/physical testing stage so that was me out. I felt deflated and disappointed for weeks that I had missed out simply because I wasn’t properly prepared. 

I decided to venture further afield, next up being West Yorkshire FRS in Easter 2017 however I got sifted out on the situational judgement test (Apollo) not even making it to as far as the ability tests as there was nearly 6500 applications on that campaign. I realised at this point, this wasn’t going to be easy but felt I still had plenty to give.

I signed up to a wholetime recruitment mailing list to find out when services were recruiting, paid for an online testing suite for help with my maths and english etc with How2become and enrolled on an online course with them too. I decided I would start to apply even further afield to get experience with the different application processes in place but did set an approximate two and a half hours from home cut off. It was around this time that I subscribed to this forum. In the first instance I just spent hours hunting through topics trying to learn the best I could but didn’t actually engage much with others. It was only when I started to get more involved on topics that I got far more out of the forum and interacting with others going through the same processes as you is great!

Next up I applied to Staffordshire FRS in early 2018 which frustratingly was the SHL platform for the initial tests (totally different to the Apollo/test partnership I had done before) but somehow for the first time I did make it to job related tests. I passed everything on the physical day apart from a memory test right at the end which I know Hattie mentioned in her success story which in all honestly was a bit ridiculous, again just another sifting process. I achieved 3.5/5 and the pass mark to make interview was 4. That was a long drive home that day.

I can’t talk about every process I’ve been in but I worked harder and harder and did more and more prep. I started to get better and better at the Apollo tests (BSQ and SJT) and Test partnership ability tests that a lot of services use and researched the individual fire services in detail (values/behaviours, IRMPs etc) together with learning, living and breathing the FF PQA’s when it came to my interviews. 

Over the last 2 years I have spent weeks on end writing up my PQA situations from work and personal experiences. STARE method all the way (E being evaluation). My last word count was almost 11,000 words I think. In the lead up to interviews I recorded myself speaking my situations into voice memos on my phone without actually reading them off the sheet and afterwards checked through that I hadn’t missed any valuable points. Then listened through them over and over again, even in my van whilst at work. Interview prep on the go! 

In total I have applied for 13 wholetime jobs with different services including Durham and Darlington, West Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Cumbria, Tyne and Wear, Lincolnshire, Humberside, Cleveland and of course Greater Manchester with a couple of duplicates and attended 9 physical/practical testing days. I progressed through them all apart from Staffs mentioned above. I had a couple of setbacks at assessment centres with again West Yorkshire in the 2018 campaign and Merseyside but made it to 6 interviews since May last year, including my Greater Manchester one in early November. I haven’t really been applying anywhere else since receiving my conditional offer from GMFRS although quite recently I did apply for Cleveland Fire Brigade with it being local for me. I was also successful with them but I am currently in a candidate pool along with 30 others for a 12 month period for a course/s that may or may not go ahead next year as I did not make it into the initial 12 to start in July. 

A little about the GMFRS process now:

I was VERY lucky to get on the very last taster day of 2018 (Oct 5th) after sending a follow up email the day before and I am so glad I cancelled work that Friday afternoon I can tell you. At the taster day I got some helpful tips on how to fill in the application (it is not online tests with GMFRS) and everyone practiced the bleep test. Attending the taster day made me eligible to apply however I only had from that Friday night to the following Wednesday to complete and submit my application. 

The application form was all the usual personal details you’d expect, work history, references, CV and also 3 PQA style questions. That was a weekend from hell finishing it all but luckily I had a lot of PQA stuff already prepared. It was all quite quick after that. I think I found out that Friday I was successful at the application form stage and was being progressed to physical testing and had to book a slot for the following week.

The physical day was quite strict (as it should be) and we were asked to ‘double’ around the drill yard between tests alongside lots of shouting if people didn’t follow instructions. Also if you didn’t have proof of having Maths and English GCSE or equivalent you had to sit tests the same day (thankfully I did). 

Successful at physicals, 4 weeks to the day from me attending that taster session I had my assessment centre/interview which was a group discussion to start with and then 4 separate interview booths. A timed 10 mins at each one. From memory, the questions/topics discussed were on teamwork, preparation (what you had learnt about GMFRS, the role etc), self development and about the community. The rest is history! 

My advice if you’re new to the forum and serious about joining the fire service, subscribe right away (the best £12 you’ll spend) and get involved with others; you will hugely benefit. I must have spent hundreds and hundreds of pounds on recruitment resources and fuel, not to mention my actual time travelling around the country so £12 is nothing. This forum has been so invaluable to me and honestly I don’t think I would have succeeded without it. I fairly recently joined as a lifetime member to help support the forum and I plan to stick around and help others the best I can, just like others helped me. Massive thanks has to go to Carl for starting the forum and everyone else involved in its upkeep. Also I must say a big thank you to everyone on here who I’ve spoken with along the way who have helped me.

To anyone just starting out or someone feeling deflated about their applications: it’s hard, really hard and very competitive. I know that better than anyone and unless you are super lucky, be prepared to work hard and ask for feedback at every opportunity you get if you are unsuccessful. Most importantly though, stay focussed on what you want to achieve, work on strength training and get your fitness up (20m bleep test is on Spotify) and apply to every service you’re eligible to, even if just to get experience so when your local service recruits you are ready! A firefighter helping with one of the tests at a physical day I attended said to me and it sticks in my mind, “If you go fishing in a lake one time you might not catch a fish, but if you go fishing lots of times in lots of different lakes you’re much more likely to catch one!”

I am no different to others on here and have received numerous “I am sorry to inform you on this occasion that you have been unsuccessful”. On receipt of everyone of those emails you feel like someone has just kicked you in the teeth and you wonder why, especially at interview stage when you think it had gone really well but after 24 hours of feeling down I picked myself back up and cracked on! Each knock back I received made me work harder and more determined to prove I could do it.  

I hope I have inspired a few people on here. Do not give up! Thanks for reading. 

[Luminoki]

Well done mate, thats one if the most comprehensive journeys ive read. Youve earned your place on a recruits course and more importantly youve done it with help  from this forum which is a testament to the knowledge on here

Good luck for your course

[Kim]

Wow!! That’s an impressive read Andy!

I’m so happy for you! Good luck for the future.🙂

[Lee88]

Your story is pretty much like for like with my experience I’ve been at it feb 2018 so a year behind you. Just started getting to interviews from struggling to get past maths/ English, lets hope I carry on the same trajectory lol, over moon for you bud 

[CaptainFlack]

Well done. Welcome to the best job in the world. 

From all accounts everyone on the next course has done a sterling job to get where you all are.

Enjoy TDC food !!!

[Carl]

Fantastic post @Andy1 and thanks for the kind words about the forum. It just goes to show that hard work pays off. Well done and clearly well deserved. 

Yes, we have made it stricter due to the fact that the quality and standards of recruits has not been what it should have been over the past few years. That is about to change but equally as enjoyable.

I will of course see you at some point. If you see me, make yourself known. 

Enjoy the course, it will be the best 14 weeks of your life and then some  If you need anything, just shout

[Andy1]

Thank you @Carl, after 9 months of waiting it still hasn’t actually sank in that I am going to be starting in 4 weeks time. It’ll be great to eventually put a face to a name so if I see you I’ll come for a chat.

[Stuajack]

Great read @Andy1 and well deserved! You’re right, all the info on this forum is well worth the money and certainly helped me in my journey also.

See you September 2nd at the training centre 👍

[Andy1]

@Stuajack See you there Stu! It’s great to be eventually starting! 

[Rory-495]

Congratulations! A great summary and I'm sure you'll love the course!

[Carl]

8 hours ago, Stuajack said:

See you September 2nd at the training centre

You not staring your own Success Story

[Noddy]

Top job mate well done 

[AdamFire]

That an inspirational read. Congratulations mate. 

[JuanFran]

Congratulations @Andy1. You deserve it and are a model to follow. You are also one of the most helpful people on the forum and have been "walking the walk" of a firefighter and leader since long ago. 

[CPA1]

Congratulations mate well done

[Danyurl]

Congratulations mate! Goes without saying that you absolutely deserve this opportunity and I wish you nothing but the very best with it. Best of luck for the course and everything that will follow it, I’m sure you’ll smash it!

PS if you ever get homesick down there let me know and I’ll pop a parmo in the post 👍🏻

[Andy1]

@Danyurl thanks mate, hahah best not talk about parmos on here as everyone will wonder what we’re on about 😆 I make a mean parmo so I might even treat the watch if I ever get loose in the kitchen!

Good luck with your applications, anything I can poss help with drop me a message. Fingers crossed for CFB next year!

[HoldFast]

Great effort mate well done. Nice to see someone that’s so helpful to others make a success out of it. Enjoy what lies ahead 👍

[Kamran]

Hi, was informative reading your experiences,  sounded very genuine and has motivated me so thanks for that.

Anyway good luck!!