Derbyshire Success

[Hattie]

Well I have been itching to write this post for weeks! But as one who cautions tempting fate I’ve waited right up to receiving my formal job offer to do so. 

I will be joining Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service! 

Absolutely thrilled, now are you ready for a seriously long post? 

You might have seen my username dotted all over the place on this forum, I had applied for nine brigades in a space of 7 months and hopefully you can gain from my experiences.

*I’m going to include Awareness / Taster / Have a go days as the first round because I genuinely think this stage is the most important. All of the brigades do the same job and the tests tend to be quite similar but they all have different personalities, different things they’re looking for and different directions they want to pursue as a service. The only way you will get a genuine feel for this is to attend a taster day and speak to the staff there, take a notebook and ask all the questions. Do not overlook the HR staff they are super valuable and will be with you the entire way. See if you feel comfortable and this FRS is for you, I was on a sponsored applicant scheme for one FRS that just didn’t gel with me and I didn’t apply in the end. I could have been ruining my chances but I also could have been pretending to be someone else for the rest of my life. 

Have a go at all of the physical tests some of these are significantly easier once you’ve had a few goes and develop a rapport with the staff, they’ll be encouraging on this day however when it comes to the real test day they may be serious but having previously seen them in a friendly capacity before will make you feel more comfortable and calm the nerves! 

*The online tests. This was the stumbling block for four of my attempts and gosh doesn’t it feel cruel to fail here when they’ve not even seen your sparkling presence yet! 
Behavioural Styles Questionnaire is usually the first and the oddest of the lot, pretty much all of the questions tend to be positive attributes of a firefighter.
Situational Judgement Test, for this one think of safety and teamwork, and don’t be afraid to use authority you’re not required to solve the worlds problems all by yourself. They’re never timed so read the scenario carefully.
Maths, English and (for some places) Mechanical. Maths was a flurry of frenzied clicking and a dangerous game of roulette for me! I tried my best to learn but as soon as the timer was on I went into fight or flight haha. This is definitely the weakest part of my applications and mainly to blame for my failures. English is quite fast, so I started reading the questions first then the paragraph just one of those things you’ll work out best for you and Mechanical is basic physics.
A lot of places use the same tests. 

Lancs, GM and Scot have PQAs on their initial application but I’ll cover those in the interview section. 

*Physicals. There are loads of videos on youtube and some FRS send though a fact sheet of the tests. Use these to create a specific gym workout or add the movements to your functional training session. I was regularly running about the gym floor with a kettlebell precariously held aloft or persuading men to let me drag them about the floor. This goal is too big to give a damn what people think of you! Start training well before the tests be overly ready. There could be terrible weather, you’re suffering from a cold or had the most stressful drive in ever, you don’t need to be worrying about your physical ability at that point! Do sprints, the equipment carry is so many sprints! 
Hydrate! It gets super hot when you’re not used to wearing the kit!
I’ll post about the specific tests on other threads when the questions are asked. 

*How to fail gracefully. Its amazingly easy to fail the physical day you can be an absolute juggernaut smashing all the tests then use the wrong round on the ladder or (surprisingly common) come out the wrong end of the enclosed space. I’ve never seen so many people cry before this selection but that’s what a dream job does to you I guess. I’ve failed 3 physical days, Lancs was my first application and I just wasn’t strong enough on the ladder extension couldn’t do it hand over hand. Staffs I was a question short on the memory test, absolutely robbed by the way! And GM I was the idiot who used the wrong round on the ladder climb. 
So having been on both sides of the day I thought I’d share how to fail gracefully. Have a pause, they’re following a strict tick sheet and you just didn’t meet the requirements. That’s not going to change so accept instead of barter. 
Ask to continue the day, you’re already there and this is a valuable practice in real test conditions. 
Be courteous and thank everybody, where suitable, for their time. If you’re in a position to ask advice, go for it and express an interest in the next recruitment opportunities. 
In most cases this is the first time they’ve seen you, you don’t necessarily have to pass to create a good impression. Treat this day as an investment for your next attempt. 
There is always the possibility you’ll be shipped out of the door before your laces are done up but lets hope not!

*Presentation. Enjoy it! You’re the star, people are actually listening to you and pretending to be interested, it’s great! You’ll be given a sheet of information where you can extract and elaborate. The topic will always be different so I’ll just move on to the structure. This is how I was taught to lead a presentation take from it what you want as long as it feels natural to you.
Title & Introduce yourself
Aim of the presentation
List the content you’re going to cover
The main body of the presentation
Repeat the content list you’ve covered
Ask if they have any questions
Thank them for their time

Usually I’d ask the audience questions but I was discouraged from doing that. I ended up sat down which was probably a blessing in disguise as I’m prone to throwing my arms about however standing commands more attention. Plan too much content, as soon as a timer is put on our brains get competitive and rush out all our words ruining everything! So I created time filler points that weren’t particularly special but handy if time was short, ultimately they were used. Don’t write out paragraphs on your paper, use bullet points, no need to panic its all there in your head a few key words will jog your memory. 

*Interview. I went a bit fruitcake in my Derbyshire interview. I’ve had quite a tough life and I find spewing it all out to strangers and desperately trying to put a constructive spin on it all to show I’m worthy of the job a fairly vulnerable experience. As a result my bats**t crazy personality shot out and before I could stop myself I was doing an impression of an angry cat for a wide eyed area manager. 
I had however put some serious graft into my PQAs prior and most of my answers were stunning. None of the questions I’d practiced came up and they saw straight through my Politian’s attempt to bend the question haha but practicing the odd wording of the questions and learning the Values off by heart defiantly set me above others. The Interview thread on this site has great practice questions, copying them into a word document, answering them and adding the new ones you come across will really help you tap into experiences you may not have considered to be valuable in the past but can be used to show development or so forth. Ask your friends and family too, you may have a significant trait you take for granted but they admire.
I didn’t follow the STAR module because it just felt unbelievably unnatural and I lost key parts of what I was trying to convey, I wouldn’t recommend going rogue though it is a good system. 
That was a terrifying drive home, I was convinced I’d been too nuts.

*Medical. This was the worst round for me, I was genuinely scared I’d get this far and be shown the door. You’ve read the post to this point, you’ll not be surprised when I say I’m a little off piste. Now I’m comfy that the FRS likes me but I’ve got a whopping Army discharge lurking behind me and I needed to combat this. I chased up all the medical requirements and contacted the relevant people right back at online test stage, yes tempting fate but I just couldn’t have this get in the way. If you’re concerned about your medical, START NOW. As expected I had my details checked and professionals chased up for a further agonising two weeks after my medical but fortunately I passed. 

*Swim test. I opted for a novelty shark fin swimming cap and proceeded to complete the slowest 100m in history. Pass.

*Background stuff & Finally Job offer! 

*Champagne

Obviously as a regular visitor I’ve found this site fantastic, mainly for people supporting each other through the application stages. However Twitter has been an absolute delight during this process. Follow all of the FRSs your interested in and you’ll see pretty sharpish when recruitment opens, they tend to have Q&As with seniors you participate in and find out about the taster days especially if their email system is pants. Other than this there are loads of serving firefighters who have been fantastic supports throughout, after my first application for Lancs I was pretty upset and there was a flurry of people understanding my disappointment, not making light of it and picking me back up. 

There is nothing worse than hearing ‘you’ll be fine’ when you’re busting your gut for this job! 
So there completes my brief overview of my recruitment process, the novel will be out next summer  

[Slade1890]

Congrats @Hattie

[JonesMrJones]

Sweet work! 

Great insight to the whole process as well 

[Carl]

First of all, congratulations, well deserved after the work you have put in.

Secondly, thank you for such a detailed post, its always nice to see posts of this detail which will of course help lots of others. 

Thirdly, look forward to your course, its the start of an amazing journey. 

Finally, if you fancy completing a diary of your training, we would be more than happy to publish it.

[CraigO987]

Well done and your in depth post will help myself and others to hopefully fulfil our ambitions and join respective services. All will be different but at least we will have an insight to things that may be coming our way. well done again ?

[OscarTango]

Well done mate, You come across as having a great attitude on here and seems well deserved, good effort!

[Luminoki]

Well done Hattie, your post really does speak volumes of what an emotional rollercoaster recruitment can be

[Hibs10]

Well done @Hattie

the times I’ve seen you post that you hadn’t been successful to now posting this is a shining example of your desire and determination!

Enjoy your career 

[TandA]

Congratulations @Hattie.  Great post on the whole process too!

[MichaelB]

Thank you for sharing @Hattie I have fell down at the online tests for some of mine and the physical day for Staffs I will take all your advice on board and hopefully get in a FRS soon. Congratulations on achieving your dream                                 

[TrainHardFightEasy]

Well done & enjoy your new career. 

[HoldFast]

Nice one Hattie ? great to see you get there after seeing bits here and there from various attempts. Well deserved.

[Hattie]

Thankyou all so much! Its lovely to receive your well wishes after what feels like driving through this recruitment together.

Sorry I haven't replied sooner (soo ungrateful) I've moved into my new flat in Derby woop! 

@Carl I'd be happy to write a diary, although I fear it'll probably be overly frank and will need vetting ?

[Steve93]

Well done @Hattie

You’ve been a great inspiration following your progress through the applications, well deserved after all your hard work!

Wish you all the best through training and into your career.

Looking forward to your future posts about how training is going!

[Noddy]

Congratulations Hattie 

[Carl]

For those who have been waiting, @Hattie has kindly started her blog, to add to the other 2 we now have progressing

[Andy1]

@Hattie Just seen this post! I’m thrilled for you! Very well done. 

I will always remember that stupid memory test for staffs ?

Enjoy your career and I hope to share my success story in the future. 

All the best ! ?

[SargentSiri]

First post alert!

Congrats Hattie - such an interesting read and also a confidence booster for somebody who has just been knocked back from the most recent LFB recruitment drive   Suppose i just have to keep trying!

I'm baffled by how you applied for 9 brigades in 7 month, I've only seen 4 recruit so i'm clearly doing something wrong! 

Also do you live in Derbyshire? I'm based in Buxton.

[Hattie]

Thankyou @sargentsiri ?

Yes I live in Derby centre now.
Make sure you attend the awareness days beginning in July they are super helpful. There is a page dedicated to them on the website where you can register. Buxton awareness day was my first ever taste of the fire service! 

[SargentSiri]

Are Derbyshire recruiting again this year that you know of, i get the feeling they are for some reason?! 

I've been to those awareness days a few times, albeit a few years ago & for retained at Buxton. (Unfortunately I was younger & slightly over confident in my skills back then! But we all grow up!) The BA crawl assessment under the floor of the smoke house was a MASSIVE eye opener!!  

Edited June 17, 2018 by Carl
Quote removed as it is a direct reply. See FAQ

[Nufc23]

Great success story Hattie, I think I know you from 170 in Notts!

[Lee88]

This is a brilliant read buddy over the moon for you although I’m abit gutted you’ve got no magic golden ticket for me on how to pass the maths and English as I’ve gone for 3 different services so far and keep failing on these, interesting to see you got through being good at roulette as this is the way I can see me getting through if I ever do lol I’ve had private tuition and have got no problems with maths but for some reason I can’t pass the buggers! All the best