BALANCED APPROACH
Unless a candidate is a naturally “gifted” speaker (which is extremely rare), the amount of time that a candidate intends to devote towards a promotional examination process should be balanced between studying for a written examination and preparing for an oral interview. This will allow a candidate to master the technical knowledge necessary for a written examination and develop the experience, confidence, and presentation techniques that are necessary for an oral interview. Remember that regardless of how well a candidate performs on a written examination, it is generally the interview (or assessment center) that determines your future job position. From an analogy perspective, assume you are about to take a ride on a train. Your performance on the written examination will purchase your ticket, and your interview performance will determine where you will sit on the train (ahead of first class, in the middle of coach, or at the end of economy).
Let us overview a balanced approach towards preparing for a written and oral interview examination process. First, assume the written examination is scheduled for August 2009, and the oral interview is scheduled for November 2009. Next, also assume you want to devote 10 months towards preparing for the examination process (written examination and interview. Also remember that life does go on while studying for a promotional examination). This means you will start your study program during January 2009. However, before starting your study program in January, consider the following recommendations:
Job Description and Announcement Bulletin
If possible, obtain a copy of the job description and announcement bulletins for your anticipated promotional examination. Every fire department and/or personnel department has a job description of every job position in your fire department. Job descriptions overview the elements (a road map) of each job position. This is extremely important and a key starting point for your study program. Job Announcements overview the areas of responsibility that will be examined. As an example, the Los Angeles City Job Announcement for Captain will list the specific chapters in the NFPA Handbook that can be on the examination. Why study material that is not listed unless your personnel department is free to use material that is not on the Announcement. This is a consideration that you must determine before you assemble your study material.
Additionally, Job Announcement bulletins usually indicate the “weighted” (i.e. written examination 50 percent, oral examination 50 percent, etc) portions of the examination process. As an example, assume the written portion of your promotional examination process will comprise 40 percent of the total grade, and the interview will comprise 60 percent of the total grade. How important is the interview? Additionally, as long as we are going to consider the requirements for a balanced study program, remember that a 70 on the written portion in concert with a 92 on the interview does not normally produce a winning final score! The Job Description and Announcement bulletins set the foundation for determining the appropriate material that should be encompassed in a balanced study program.
Assemble Material
Prior to the January date, take the time that is necessary to assemble your study material. You should have a copy of all the written material that you will be responsible for. As an example, this may include your fire and building codes, any appropriate specialized books (IFSTA, NFPA Handbook, Fire Officers Handbook, Truck Company Operations, etc), your departments Manual of Operations and/or Rules and Regulations, and so on. This can mandate the purchase of any necessary books and the copying of your department library. This will allow you to highlight your own material, make notes, and be able to maintain the proper context of the original material while studying. Although study summaries, reference material, and self-help materials can be helpful, you should primarily study the basic material in your department library. Remember, the person preparing the written examination is reading the identical material from your department library.
Study Partners
Decide whether you will study alone or with several partners. Study partners who are equally serious about the examination can enhance the study process for the following reasons:
- Multiple partners provide incentive and accountability during the study program. As an example, it takes a great deal of self-discipline to study a portion of each day for extended periods when your pals are having fun relaxing.
- Multiple partners can effectively cover more material than a single person. This is accomplished by assigning various sources of information to each
person which can be researched and summarized for other members in the study group. I prefer to assign peripheral material (specialized books, fire codes, NFPA Handbook, etc) to individuals. As an example, assume your examination mandates the fact that you are responsible for studying the NFPA Handbook and your Fire Code. Assign one person to cover the first half of the Handbook, another person to cover the last half, and a third person to cover the Fire Code. This will allow these members to give a timely overview of these materials while all study club members simultaneously study the “meaty” stuff (your Rules & Regulations, Department Directives, etc).
When all of the study material has been assembled, begin your study program in January. Initially, set aside appropriate time each day for study. Remember to start slowly and let your capacity for concentrating on the material naturally accelerate during the study program. It is virtually impossible to initially sit down and start studying for several hours without your mind wandering (remember your pals having fun relaxing?). When your mind wanders, George Washington and you have one thing in common; you are both history. So, allow your mind to adapt to a radical change in focus and concentration.
In the next article we will continue a balanced program.
