Even More Strategies to Get an EMT or Paramedic Job

EVEN MORE STRATEGIES to Get An EMT or Paramedic Job

In my previous posts, I set out strategies that could land you the EMT or Paramedic job you want.  As the economy continues its contraction and budgets get tighter, competition for EMS Jobs has gotten more intense.  You must compete with displaced EMS providers from other agencies and possibly part-timers from the same agency who are looking for full-time employment.  The previous strategies were presented to get you on the “Short List” and invited for a 2^nd interview.  This blog will focus on some unique strategies to use during the 2^nd interview that will hopefully land you the job. 

First, “Play” to Win.  What?  You mean that some don’t interview with the intent to get the job?  No, it’s just that so many don’t interview to win.  Refine your responses to the audience you are in front of and for the job you are seeking.  Use proper grammar and do NOT use “big words” that you normally don’t use.  It’s ridiculous to act like someone you are not.  The interview(ers) will see right through that.  You’ll be pegged as a phony and lose the opportunity for the job.  Look at interview examples on YouTube to see good and poor interviewing technique.

Second, Do Not Repeat Your 1^st Interview Answers.   You have advanced to the next step because of your 1^st interview so don’t give the same answers to questions in the 2^nd interview.  Too many candidates think that getting a 2^nd interview or a “call-back” interview means that they have the job.  That is not necessarily true.  Your 2^nd interview is conducted to elicit a deeper response to questions and often will include more situational or scenario based questioning. You must improve upon your 1^st interview performance and tailor your responses to the position.  Be sure to give complete answers to the questions.  Most questions will have multiple parts so be sure to address each part and be certain that your response fits the job you are seeking.

Third, Dress for the Success You Want.   Take pride in yourself.  If you don’t dress appropriately it will affect how you are evaluated.  This doesn’t mean you dress in a Tuxedo, but it also means you don’t dress in worn out clothes or a collarless shirt.  You must “sell” yourself as the best person for the job so dress the part of being the best.  Remember that your hair must also look good.  Now, you could jump up and down and exclaim that you are an individual and it’s not fair that you have to conform to the expectation of others.  You could, but you’d probably not get the job.  If there is one point to think of as you prepare for and actually are involved in your interview is that “You Never Get a Second Chance To Make a First Impression.”  Again, take nothing for granted when interviewing, even if you “know” those who are conducting the interview.   

More Strategies to Get an EMT or Paramedic Job in EMS

MORE STRATEGIES to Get An EMT or Paramedic Job in EMS 

In the previous post, I presented five tips on how to prepare for and answer job interview questions to either start a career in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) or get promoted.  In this blog, I’ll offer additional tips and hints that can work to get you onto the “Short List” or at the Top Of The List!

Know who will be conducting the interviews.  This might be easier if you are a volunteer patient care provider applying for a career position with the agency or county EMS service.  If you are from the outside, you might actually be in a better position than someone from within.  How could that be?  Wouldn’t an agency always hire from a known pool of applicants?  Absolutely no!  In my previous post, I presented a key strategy that most “insiders” simply don’t follow and it’s typically a big shock when the candidate isn’t moved forward and not hired.  Find out who will be on the interview panel, if you can.  This might take a bit of work, but a few phone calls or a couple of emails might produce some bits of important information about the interview.  Use that information to your advantage as you craft your answers to the interview questions.

Be up-to-date on current protocols 

Take time to review local protocol.  Most agencies probably post their protocols on their website.  Look them over and become familiar with them.  Does the agency mirror national standards or are they more advanced?  Is the agency performing advanced procedures that are not authorized in surrounding agencies in the county or state?  Are there protocols or procedures that have resulted in the agency receiving an award or special recognition?  The more you know about the agency and their protocols and procedures will serve you very well if used appropriately during your interview(s).  Don’t just look at an agency’s website’s landing page, spend some time going through the site. The time you spend doing that may very well be what puts you over the top!

Know what emerging technologies or techniques are on the horizon.   Do some “global” research before your interview arrives.  Find out what new technologies or techniques are coming in the next few years.  Be sure to research your target agency to see if they already use any of these emerging technologies or techniques.  If they do, be absolutely certain that you incorporate that knowledge during your interview.  It will show that you have cared enough to spend some time getting to understand how the agency is positioned relative to the global field of EMS.

Prepare and rehearse four or five answers.   If there is any one job interview tip to follow, this should be it.  Never, ever go into an interview cold.  If you do, the agency might just respond to you with a chilling “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You” cold shoulder after your interview.  In your preparation for the interview, write down your key accomplishments, education, any awards or special recognition, and of course your relevant EMS certifications.  Now, you should weave that list into your “prepared” answers.  But, you might be saying “How can I prepare an answer to a question I don’t know?”  For the amateur that is a reasonable question, but for a professional, it is unacceptable.  You can count on a question that will ask you to briefly “introduce” yourself to the interview panel.  This is your opportunity to grab their attention with your background.  Remember that your answer should be 3 minutes or less.  Use your list to develop your response.  You can also count on a question that will challenge your experience.  If you are looking for your first job, your list will be invaluable.  Are you an EMS volunteer?  Have you worked in a hospital Emergency Department or a physician’s office?  Are you the top student in your EMS certification class?  Prepare and then rehearse four or five “stock” answers that you can use for just about any question that is asked of you.  Practicing your answers will also reduce your interview anxiety and will help to eliminate the annoying “Um” that so many fall victim to.

Ask for the job!  This might seem silly at first, but you want to stand out from all the others who are being interviewed.  What can make you memorable?  Once thing is to ask for the job!  Typically at the end of the formal questioning, you will have an opportunity to ask questions.  This is your opportunity to not only obtain information to questions about the job that will help you determine if you are the proper fit for it.  It will also open the door for you to appropriately provide a summary of yourself.  Be certain that during this period you ask for the job, if you are still interested.  You might say something like: “When I applied for this position I was excited about the prospect of working for the agency. As I did my research on the agency and how it is on the cutting edge of emerging technologies, I became more energized at the idea because I kept realizing that my background, training and experience is such a good fit for your agency.  And now, after this interview, I hope to be considered for this job because I would be honored to have you hire me.”

Say Thank You!  Sure, you’ll probably say Thank You when you begin the interview and hopefully when you wrap up.  But, to stand out, you’ll have to do better.  Find out how many will be interviewing you and either get their email addresses, or be different.  Get a small Thank You card for each member.  Immediately after the interview, sit down and write out a brief note for each person who interviewed.  This means that you must remember the names of each person who interviewed you.  If they are all from the same agency, you could either mail the card or hand them to the receptionist for distribution.  You could also use email, but remember that your g

Strategies to Get an EMT or Paramedic Job in EMS

Strategies to Get an EMT or Paramedic Job in EMS

The most important element in getting a job in the field of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is you!  You have much more control over the job situation than you may think.  As a 35-year veteran of EMS, I have interviewed, coached and recommended for hire many who wanted to get a job in EMS.  I have also participated in the promotion process for others.  The current economic difficulties have escalated the level of competition for the few Paramedic or EMT Jobs that come open and have absolutely affected the advancement process for those already employed.  Here are five (5) job interview tips, that if properly followed, have the potential to get you onto the “short list” during the hiring or promotion process or even get you that job!  More hints and tips are planned to appear in later Paramedic Moments blog articles.

The First Job Tip is to have something that the hiring agency wants and needs.  If an agency is advertising for an Intermediate or a Paramedic, chances are, they’d be favoring a Paramedic over an Intermediate.  However, if you are an Intermediate with years of active patient care service in an ambulance environment and you also are experienced as a Hospital Emergency Department staffer, then you might just have more of what the hiring agency is looking for. 

The Second Job Tip is to do your homework.  I can’t count the number of applicants who interviewed and knew very little or absolutely nothing about the agency they were interviewing with.  It was almost as though they didn’t even know how to spell EMS.  They were clueless.  This is such a basic requirement you should consider it as important as ABC (now CAP for CPR) in patient assessment.

The Third Job Tip is to take nothing for granted.  A fatal mistake done by many employment candidates who are interviewing with one, or a panel of people who they know, is to assume that those doing the interview know everything about them and thus they don’t have to give complete answers.  For instance, volunteers who have interviewed for a job with the county or city EMS Department failed miserably at answering a basic question such as “What do you know about XYZ Department?”  Because they thought that their years of volunteer service would have been enough for the panel to realize that they knew a lot about the agency, was flat out wrong and their answers were devoid of information.  Your interview performance will determine if you are selected for the “short list” and the job.

The Forth Job Tip is to practice interview questions don’t “wing it.”  If you do not anticipate questions you will be asked at an interview and thus not practice, you will be at a severe disadvantage.  There are so many resources online and at libraries to coach you to give better answers to interview questions.  You must write down and rehearse your answers.  Keep answers to 3 minutes OR LESS.  More than that and you have lost the panel.

The Fifth Job Tip is to Listen to each question and answer the question!  So many good candidates have been passed over not because they weren’t good patient care providers or weren’t knowledgeable in protocols, but because they just didn’t answer the interview questions.  Some rambled on for five, six, or more minutes and when they finished, they hadn’t answered the question.  The key hint here is to listen to the question, think for a moment or two before you start talking, and whatever your answer is, you must relate it back to the job you are seeking.  Tips #2 and #4 can really help you master this tip.

So there you have it.  A few job interviewing tips for an EMT, Paramedic or EMS job interview. Visit back for more tips and other topics of interest to the EMS world.