Response letters for Cal Fire

[guitardemon]

How many stations have you guys that are applying this season heard back from? I applied to all the northern California stations and a few southern California stations, but Ive only heard back from three (Humboldt/Del Norte, Sonoma/Napa and Tuolumne-Calaveras).

[JulianNorCal]

Well last week I had interviews with Siskiyou, Shasta-Trinity, and San Mateo-Santa Cruz, so those units are done with interviews. Upcoming first week of March I know Santa Clara and Mendocino Units are having interviews, I didn't get an interview with Santa Clara but did with Mendocino. Mid-March the units that I've heard back with for interviews are Amador-El Dorado, Humboldt-Del Norte, and Monterey-San Benito. Butte isn't holding interviews this season and Sonoma-Lake-Napa is limiting to 240 interviews. Myself and others haven't heard back yet form Lassen-Modoc, Nevada-Yuba-Placer, or Tehema-Glenn. Oh and my friend got a letter for an interview with Tuolumne-Calaveras in a couple weeks. Not sure for any other Southern California Units, I only was able to turn in the Monterey-San Benito unit.

[guitardemon]

Wow...not what I wanted to hear. I was told that I would receive a response letter back either way, is this not true. Are you sure they are done with interviews?

[BWTFD2]

Out of the 10 apps I put out Ive gotten 4 back. With 2 interview requests. The problem is that the units, as of Monday don't know how many people they are even going to hire so they are waiting as long as they can until to send out letters. This is because of the budgets. Hopes this helps.

[Ticonderoga]

I have interviews with Calaveras and Mariposa. Out of the 9 I applied for.

Lots of driving for nothing

[slapinjoe]

I have interviews with Calaveras and Mariposa. Out of the 9 I applied for.

Lots of driving for nothing

Are you giving up already? What do you mean for nothing? TCU and MMU are two VERY busy units. You can always transfer if you don't like the unit, but this is a huge opportunity and I hope you take the interviews. Good luck and don't forget to politic stations you like!

[guitardemon]

I keep hearing about "politic stations ", what exactly is this?

[slapinjoe]

Basically politicing is calling the stations you are interested in working at and setting up a meeting with the captains to introduce yourself, show your resume, and ask any questions you may have. Call before hand, dress nice, and then after a month or two call again and visit. Ask if you can come work out with the crew in the morning.

Without politicing, even if you get a 1 on an interview, there is no way for the captains to know who you are, and they will pick someone who came by their station over just a name they don't know. It is a must do if you are serious about getting picked up, especially with the number of applicants in this economy.

[emthaze]

dont get too discouraged if your not getting a bunch of interviews or if you dont get hired right away, if the state blows up again they will do later hires, im a returning seasonal and there is talk of not all returnees gettin jobs right away because of budgets

[Ticonderoga]

The southern units hire later on as well. So keep your options open for those if you did them.

[SecondSeasonFNG]

Whatever it's worth, I'd already taken a couple interviews before I received my last few response letters. Don't lose hope on the rest of them - some send them out really late.

[guitardemon]

Is there anything else I can do to help my standing other than politicing? I am a college student and not near any of the stations that have asked me to come in for an interview. Also if I can drop by the stations and do some policiting, do people do this before or after their interviews, or both?

[martinezc707]

you should politic before and after. I only applied to Sonoma-lake-napa and i got a two on my interview. the scores honestly dont mean a whole lot. its if you show the effort to get face time, and show the effort to go visit and tell them why they should pick you over the guy that also visited. ive visited a few of the stations around, and now that people know my name, its more likely that if they are hiring, i will be one of their picks. also, its recommended that you bring in some sort of snack for the guys if you visit. like ice cream, pastries, etc.

good luck to you

[slapinjoe]

yes, go before and after. Bring a resume. Some people like to bring ice cream or cookies, but you don't have to. it is a nice gesture, but won't make the difference between getting you the job or not. Some captains would tell you not to bring stuff. Again, its not going to be the deciding factor if you choose to or not to. wear a collared shirt. If you are a college student, you can still go on the weekends! The only way to get your name out there is to show your face.

I have heard of seasonals commuting from OTHER STATES on a weekly basis to work for Cal Fire, so consider that before you say it is too far to politic. If you live in CA its not too far. If you are out of state, try to line up a few stations at once, talk to the captains and let them know whats up.

[dief84]

Heard back from BDU a couple weeks ago and MVU yesterday. BDU called about their interviews (no letter) and MVU notified me via letter. These are the only units I applied to so can't help with info on any of the others =/

[guitardemon]

One of the stations that asked me to come in for an interview was the helitack base in Columbia. Do anybody know the phone numbers/ addresses for their stations, or where I can get them? I'm assuming the place that I am going for my interview is their headquarters not one of the stations, is this correct?

[archimusprime]

You're not interviewing just for the Columbia Heli Attack base, actually you're more than likely not interviewing for that station at all unless you have a couple of seasons under your belt. The interviews are being held at Columbia for all of the stations in the TCU/Calaveras Unit. I would highly recommend that you go out Columbia and talk to Capt. Sanders. He was very helpful for me and you also get a feel for the place where your interview will take place.