By Sam Altawil
With the economic recovery moving forward, many organizations (both public and private) are once again beginning their recruitment efforts. Yet for fire departments facing cut backs, fire leaders may have to reevaluate their hiring strategies.
For new hires or replacements for retirees, departments may begin simply apply their old tactics to the current hiring process. While some older processes may still be useful during this period, one should always consider alternatives.
Fire department leaders, working in conjunction with their human resources staff, should be reevaluating their job descriptions; specifically areas in responsibilities, core competencies and overall qualifications for all new hires and/or promotion.
However, before beginning the evaluation process, you must first consider job needs and desires. Ideally of course, experienced and accomplished candidates are best, and while finding them is no easy task, it is possible. However, experience and accomplishments are two different entities.
Experience and accomplishments
Many of my colleagues in the field will tell you that an organization will use experience as a minimum standard for qualification, and unless there is a shortage of candidates, such candidates may never receive an interview.
For instance, some fire departments clearly state EMT certifications are a minimum in their job requirements but prefer candidates with completed paramedic training. Obviously, if there are no candidates with completed paramedic training, candidates with EMT certification will receive interviews, depending if all of the other minimum qualifications are met.
While experience is the amount of time spent doing the job, accomplishments can refer to how you tackled and met specific challenges. For certain positions and organizations, this is the most important part of the hiring process.
Organizations want to know what your challenge was, how you managed it, how it benefitted the overall organization and, in some cases, how can you quantify your successes. Clearly candidates who have achieved the most should be hired for the job.
Standard in hiring
Many organizations (public and/or private) have had the same standard for hiring since the beginning of time. They view years of experience as a standard for excellence, even with minimal accomplishments. Their argument is simple: Those with more experience are more likely to be consistent, loyal, reliable, decisive and, of course, predictable. For such organizations, these attributes maintain the flow of operations consistently, which allows sustainability throughout the years.
However, for those who want to elevate their organization to a higher standard, they are more concerned with candidates who have accomplished things, especially under adverse conditions.
The more one has accomplished, the more likely he/she will do the same in the future. This is especially important with organizations that are competitive and that want to ensure future standards for excellence. That’s not to say that accomplished personnel cannot be reliable, loyal, etc. But accomplished individuals generally take more calculated risks and usually work more efficiently to be effective, resulting in many benefits.
Determining whether to choose an “accomplished” person over simply experience is up to the leaders of the organization and how it fits with their overall plan. Clearly, there are some positions such as management that are designed for accomplished individuals, yet a more technical one can greatly benefit from individuals who are well experienced.