fairfax county

I'm on the second to last step, Physical. I don't have it until Jan. 3 though cuz of the holidays and stuff. Then after that all i have is psych eval...I've heard nothing in terms of a new class starting soon, I've even read the county's budget FY13 to try and find some info and i don't find much.

As for the finish early and you have a better chance to get hired stuff i don't think is totally true. Could be wrong obviously. My thought for this is that i was supposed to have my first polygraph test in May but it was the first HOT weekend that summer and they said the building was 90+ degrees cuz they didn't turn the AC on yet so they wanted me to reschedule and i did. When they rescheduled me i didn't get tested until like mid august. So point being if that's the case, finish early and you have a higher chance, than i really got screwed by scheduling my poly on the first hot day of summer! It just wouldn't make sense to do that. The person next to me could be 100x the firefighter i could be but because my calender lined up better so i could get my testing done sooner lead to why I got the job wouldn't be right.

The race and language thing well for race they probably have to hire so many minorities and that's for legal reasons. May not be a good reason but a reason still. Languages they might like someone who knows other languages and it could be a deciding factor if two people are all but equal in that department.

Overall, i would just say do your best at everything and treat everyone you come in contact with, with respect and like they are the ones deciding if you get hired or not. Looking back it seemed like it was a 6 week or so window from the time of call to the start of academy but that was like two years ago and thing could of changed. Also, i haven't heard of anyone receiving a call and actually your the only person i've even heard of finishing everything.

@ Cassy:

I've been in the process since November as an FF/EMT applicant. I did my med, poly, psych a month ago all in one week. I'm still waiting to get my official results. I was not being accelerated through the process, they do it that way for out-of-staters for convenience. EVERY applicant goes through the full testing process as long as they are passing everything. This is contrary to many other department recruitments where you only go through med, poly, etc if they really are going to hire you.

I highly doubt it is a "first come, first hire" list. However I'd assume that they will look at people who have been on the "completed" list longer first I'm sure they take into account education, work experience, references in the dept., and etc. I have heard that race and gender do play a part in hiring, unofficially of course. Bi-lingual is definitely a plus too. Having your medic cert is a golden key as well. I'm in medic school now to hopefully help my chances. I actually was planning on never being hired without having my medic cert first. I just wanted to complete the process so that when I got my medic, I just had to update my file and not just start the whole process.

But at the end of the day, the department is going to do whatever they have to based on their needs, wants, finances, etc. So one thing that is said today, the opposite is said tomorrow. I've learned to take everything I see and hear with a grain of salt and continue to focus on achieving things like certs and experience, that will hopefully help increase my chances while I wait.

Talking to recruitment directly is your best source!

it is not first come first serve, you are put in the applicant pool with everyone else and your position can rise and fall as compared to the overall package others that get put in the pool with you. youre eligible for 2 years I believe

@All

Thank you guys for the flash of information shared. It`s very unpredictable how the hiring process runs. But some of these questions can only be answered by the recruitment office and as well as when you are called upon for the class which of course will help you figure out exactly how the process works otherwise all what we write here is just speculative information sharing which of course help to calm our imaginations. If I call recruitment office will they give me information about upcoming schedules?

I started the process Nov last year and had no idea how many positions were up for recruitment but was amazed by the long duration between steps. I dont know whether the long duration was due to the fact that my badge would only be considered for 2013 and beyond or has anybody got any insight to chip on this? Because I havent read about anybody from Nov 2011 called for a class already. Secondly does anyone know besides Nov 2011 if there was any application period before and when was that precisely? This would help us figure out how the old list looks like.

From what I heard from inside the dept, there were over 1,200 people testing from the Nov. 2011 FF/EMT application period. So I'm assuming atleast a good few hundred people will go through/complete the whole process and wait on the list. They typically run 2 classes a year with about 30 recruits each (15medics/15non-medics). In the past, the focus had been on hiring only medics. That has slowed down though. Again, it just depends on the deptartments needs and finances.

I've found that long waits seems to be common with many fire departments. You potentially have shortened waits the more criteria you fit. I have yet to see a hurry-up hiring process anywhere (except Fairfax County about 5 years ago running 4 academies a year, snatching medics immediately). I can say that part for a fact since my buddy was hired and started his academy 2 weeks after medic school.

My advice...Don't worry about how big the list is or the speed of the process. Do what you can to stand out from the rest. There's no perfect recipe to get hired.

But yes, contact recruitment with questions. The worst that are going to tell is that they don't know yet or that they can't disclose that information.

Just put my resume in, how long until you heard about an application for fire/medic?

Well good-luck to everyone who is on the list and still waiting. @Cassey how was the psych exam was it nerve wrecking and how long did it last?

@Pillyphill, Being on the list is one thing and getting called is another thing. One struggles to get the process complete then you start wondering whether you would be called. In anycase thank you.
I want to wish all those still in the process all the best and patience is the key. For me the first part lasted for almost 4 hours because I wanted to make sure that I understood the questions very well before giving any response. The second part, the interview with a psychologist lasted for about 45mins,basically consisting review of the first part, personal information and employment history and it is pretty easy.
Good luck

Well I took my psych exam today and man anybody that takes that almost deserves the job that is a process in itself. Its just the fact that you're sitting there for 3/4 hours just filling in bubbles, I don't think the SOL tests were this bad. But I passed with no red flags so that's a good sign.

Congrats, in about 2-3weeks you will get your completion letter in the mail and become part of the long waiting team always looking at ur phone for any missed call.
@Anybody knows of any fire department hiring right now?

@All, please keep this thread alife by coming back to share experience. Those that are waiting for calls please indicate when you completed the process and also whether you applied as FF/EMT or FF/Medic.

I applied for FF/EMT and completed the process oct 31st.

I applied November of last year when it opened up and finished November 21st. Just over 1 year.

Hey guys, Please come back and share your experience. Any news yet about upcoming class. I am still waiting too, I dont know whether there would be a class for Feb/April since no one has reported having got a call. Normaly, they should have made a few calls for upcoming class but so far no one has got any.

@ Phillyphill, what about your results? No news yet? Dont worry all will be ok.

Fairfax looking for medics?

@cassy

No news yet, still waiting I haven't been waiting too long its only been about a week since i finished. I'm not expecting anything until late December early January

@ PreMedic13

What about you? Any news on your results? Hope you share with us any outcome.
Anyone know of any FD in Virginia hiring?

Hey, guys I applied last year in Nov and finished everything in june but i finally got my completion letter today, like the rest of you just waiting on that call. Any advice on what to do while waiting for the call?

@ onegoal

Happy to read from you and to know that we are many of us out there waiting. Are you for FF/EMT or FF/Medic? Are you out-of-state or a Virginia resident? Did you take all your examination within a short time or they were spread over a long time because it sounds weird that you completed in June but only got ur completion letter today. My was spread over, my CPAT was in Feb, Poly in April and Medicals in June while psycho in Oct. I definitely think that a class is gonna come up soon but dont know exactly when. Please through more light on how the process through.

@cassy:

It's been 6 weeks and I have not heard anything about my exams. I don't really plan on it for awhile.

Also, With all due respect, please stop begging for information. The forum will naturally get busier as other people hear more hiring info.

If anyone is interested, Alexandria, VA is taking apps for medics only. Online application is due this Friday, Nov. 30th. Their academy will start about May.

@ PreMedic13,

If my messages offended you I do apologize and would not address any to you in the future but would like to advice you to sincerely step out of the forum for this is a free speech forum where people come and seek for any information of their likeness without any abusive manner but if you want to define the type of information shared/requested here then creat your own thread and manage it the way you want otherwise you are at the wrong place. How do you know the announcement you just made above is not begging for notice?