Guest guest Posted October 8, 2001 Report Share Posted October 8, 2001 When I had the interview last month they asked had I ever worked in a stressful job. I said no not really. I found they are hiring again ( Didn't they know they should have hired me last month and they wouldn't have to go through hiring again?) and this time I think I will mention that I handle stress very well and maybe give an example of some stressfull event. Just the way the worded it sounded like they didn't want to know an event. Tammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2001 Report Share Posted October 8, 2001 >I know a lot of the dispatchers out there will agree with me. You may not SHOW the stress. You may work right through it and continue doing your job well.... But... it's there... Weintraut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2001 Report Share Posted October 8, 2001 In a message dated 10/8/01 4:52:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, heimdalcmo@... writes: > When I had the interview last month they asked had I ever worked in a > Many hundreds of years ago when I interviewed for my first dispatch job I was asked a similar question. The initial interview was with the Chief, a few Council members and the Mayor. They asked me, " What makes you think you can handle this job? " At the time I was very interested in getting the job, but not overly consumed with the idea that I NEEDED to be a dispatcher so I amswered honestly without being nervous about not giving them the naswer I thought they might want. I simply told them, " I have a husband and 4 children, 3 are teenagers; you can't frighten me " . I guess they liked either my answer or my attitude because I was hired within a week and have been at the job ever since. I have since moved to a larger department, but I spent 10 plus years at that job and they never did frighten me! And I still love the job! Today I still have a husband, 5 children now (1 teen left at home and a 7 yr old) and I think I would have been much smarter if I had frightened a lot more easily!! The teen is driving the car we gave her for graduation and this past weekend she had a minor accident in a " shore area " town in NJ where she rolled thru a stop sign into a PATROL CAR! Gotta have a sense of humor, right?? Stay Safe Patty BTPD NJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2001 Report Share Posted October 8, 2001 At 17:25 10/08/2001 +0000, " Firewife84@... " wrote: >I'm interviewing tomorrow for a county 911 dispatch position. I have >been told by previous applicants that they ask you to tell about the >most stressful situation you've been in...I have been in fire >dispatch for 13 years, but I can't think of a stressful situation >that is not personal (family) in nature. I don't stress on the job! Let me answer from MY perspective as one who hires new dispatchers (and we ask that question, too, in our interviews): We hire entry-level candidates who have never worked in The Biz. (Yes, we prefer previous experience, but our candidate pool doesn't include many such applicants; allied agency Comm Centers around us pay more, so we don't get many folks wanting to work for less money with US.) We're interested in hearing about the personal, stressful situations because that's all most applicants can share with us. The goal is to hear WHAT stressed out the applicant, HOW they reacted to it, and what they learned from it. The question " tests " several ares of interest to us: How articulate is the candidate? How prepared is s/he to present him/herself as someone who has handled a stressful incident in his/her life? What role did the applicant take in this event? What steps did s/he take to mitigate the situation? What was the outcome? >I never have...how do I respond to that? Do I give a personal example >and leave it at that? Do I say I'm low stress and tell how a was able >to reach that mind-set 13 years ago? I'm trained to do my job and I >do it to the best of my ability each and every day! If I have done my >best, there is no room for stress in my opinion! There is certainly not room for " stress reactions which affect performance, " that's for sure. Doesn't mean the stress isn't there. When I was hired by my current department after 14 years of working for another, I answered this interview question by saying my previous experience had helped to make me an adrenalin-dependant person who worked best under stress <dimpling> but that the hardest event for me to recover from was the Loma Prieta Earthquake. (And I explained why that was so...) <snip> > I am much >more likely to feel stress if I have not been involved in a call than >I am if I have been involved in one! Well, it wouldn't hurt to mention that, but I'd leave it for the tail end of your answer (after describing your personal stress-event and your 13 years of training to work under stress). Don't let that statement stand as your total answer. Happy to be here, proud to serve. Olmstead Communications Supervisor ~on the Central California coastline~ " Not presumed to be an official statement of my employing agency. " Home E-mail: mailto:gryeyes@... http://www.gryeyes.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2001 Report Share Posted October 8, 2001 ----- Original Message ----- > > I doubt it would help to tell them if you do your job right, there's no > need to feel stress!! Sometimes we do everything we can do and a call may > still turn out badly - and BELIEVE ME there will be stress, no matter how > well you handle the call!!!!! > > I know a lot of the dispatchers out there will agree with me. OH YES~! I will agree with you with great fevor. Not so much the stress from the call that went badly but, " Generally speaking " the stress comes from knowing the Dispatcher is the one who will be " Credited " for screwing up the incident. Vern Retired Newark,CA PD/FD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2001 Report Share Posted October 8, 2001 Maybe I'll say " what stresses me? Besides road tripping with teenagers you mean?!? " Thanks for the info all! I'll let you know in a few weeks how this turns out! -- In 911console@y..., Gypsy0005@a... wrote: > In a message dated 10/8/01 4:52:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > heimdalcmo@a... writes: > > > > When I had the interview last month they asked had I ever worked in a > > > > Many hundreds of years ago when I interviewed for my first dispatch job I was > asked a similar question. > The initial interview was with the Chief, a few Council members and the > Mayor. They asked me, " What makes you think you can handle this job? " At > the time I was very interested in getting the job, but not overly consumed > with the idea that I NEEDED to be a dispatcher so I amswered honestly without > being nervous about not giving them the naswer I thought they might want. I > simply told them, " I have a husband and 4 children, 3 are teenagers; you > can't frighten me " . I guess they liked either my answer or my attitude > because I was hired within a week and have been at the job ever since. I > have since moved to a larger department, but I spent 10 plus years at that > job and they never did frighten me! And I still love the job! > > Today I still have a husband, 5 children now (1 teen left at home and a 7 yr > old) and I think I would have been much smarter if I had frightened a lot > more easily!! The teen is driving the car we gave her for graduation and > this past weekend she had a minor accident in a " shore area " town in NJ where > she rolled thru a stop sign into a PATROL CAR! Gotta have a sense of humor, > right?? > > Stay Safe > > Patty > BTPD NJ > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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