What to wear when introducing myself / visiting stations?

[sredish]

I'm from out of state in regards to a department I tested and interviewed for. I got the call last week that I was in the top 10 and was their first call in a series phone interviews with the chief and asst. chief last week. Not sure if I have a job yet or not but everything seems to be going pretty good. They told me they'd let me know pretty soon how they're going to proceed, but haven't heard anything yet and this is a tad concerning but I'm still optimistic.

Nonetheless, I'm in the process of moving there and will be going out next week to drop off a trailer and some furniture so I thought it would be a good time to try and formally introduce myself to the chief / asst. chief and visit some stations. Due to time constraints with flying in and all, haven't really been able to do this in the past.

In regards to that, what would you consider to be proper attire... obviously I'm not walking around all the time dressed to the top but nice jeans and a nice shirt you think or would a pair of jeans and a nice t shirt be sufficient, maybe a polo shirt? Probably skip the shorts I imagine.

I'm a big enough boy that I can make a decision on my own... but I thought why not just for the sake of conversation let the firehouse peeps say what they'd do as well.

Scott

Edit: you think I ought to shave....

[fire49]

way to go, know you have been working at it for awhile

what state??

do you know how many they mnay be hiring???

would go with at least slacks/ dress pants, like haggar or similar and long sleeve shirt

remember first impressions

good luck

[Jamo]

I would absolutely pass on the jeans. If you're just dropping in to say "hi" and maybe tour the station, I would recommend either dress slacks or khaki pants, long sleeve button down shirt, and a tie. You don't need to wear a jacket, but it wouldn't be bad either. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Dress to impress, don't be lazy and go in wearing what you'd wear out with your friends.

[sredish]

Well, I'm glad I was able to get advice from you guys then. I'm not sure I wouldvecome up with khakis or slacks on my own; makes sense though. I'll probably try to figure out what day I can get there and then call ahead on their shift before to try and maybe arrange or ask about a time and ask for permission to make sure they're not having a special something going on.

[FWDbuff]

You don't know if you got the job, but you are moving there?

If you have been told that you are in the top 10, I would avoid going to any stations or the Chief's Office alltogether. Has the appearance that you are trying to get under the Chief's Desk. Stay away until if/when you are offered the position.

When you go to administration for the first time, THEN you wear a suit and tie.

Until then, stay away.

[ffbam24]

I'm inclined to agree with FWD's advice.
Do not under any circumstance drop in on the administrative offices no matter how good of an idea that sounds to yourself right now. No "I was in the area" excuses. No "It can't hurt to stop by now since everything is going pretty good".
It will backfire.
Is there an interview with the chief still in your process? If yes, then that's when you go. If yes, then that's when you wear a suit.

**Edit regarding fire station visits: Do not go there either. Being one of the finalists and then showing up this late in the process to schmooze is not going to go over well. If'n you do get hired, that will be the time to stop by with cake, ice cream or treats to show your appreciation.**
Good luck!

[firefightinirish217]

100% agreed. Stay away from that department if you are in the final hiring stages, it will only make you look like a kiss arse. I didn't even call about my application when I applied at Dalton. A little known fact, since you are taught in school to consantly call back about your apllication, is that fire department administration, yes even the secrataries, do not have time to answer 1,000+ people's questions about their applications. Believe me, you don't want to be one of those names that does call in or show up before being hired. If you're one of the ones that calls a lot, your name gets remembered and not for the good either. Same if you show up introducing yourself BEFORE you even get offered the job. Trust me friend, stay away.

[paulLepore]

I will look at it a little differently that the rest of the posters. I am in the position of having conducted numerous Chief's Interviews. If I am in the final stages of selecting a firefighter and I have never met him or her face to face (if I understood your post correctly), I am very reluctant to offer a job to someone I have never met.

Put on a suit and tie and drop by the fire admin. Remember to be on your best behavior. There is a good chance that they won't have time to meet with you, but it is certainly worth the effort. I believe it's in your best interest.

[sredish]

Boy, talk about some conflictions here. ALL of you make sense and I surely don't want to come off being a schmooze or high maintenance; this is stuff I've already been weighing out. On the other hand, having owned/ran a business with a few employees myself, I'd probably have a hard time hiring someone I haven't met and was trying to think about how to come across positively while trying to get to know more about the dept first hand. I see both sides and believe how it's taken will ultimately depend on the individuals. Not sure what I'm going to do yet.

In regards to moving, I'm not moving for the job, I'm moving as it's what me and my family are doing and have planned. I've known about this move for awhile and have been testing accordingly, just so happens this opportunity is coming about, talk about timing.

Thanks for all the input.

[EgressOne]

What would be your intentions behind the station visit/admin. visit? It sounds like your pretty far along in the process by now, if the Chief is the type that "wants to know the person before he hires them" wouldn't you think it would have been of his best interest to integrate that into part of the process? It sounds like you've just had phone interviews thus far, which my take is he just wants to get to know your personality for now. This is your decision.

[sredish]

What would be your intentions behind the station visit/admin. visit? It sounds like your pretty far along in the process by now, if the Chief is the type that "wants to know the person before he hires them" wouldn't you think it would have been of his best interest to integrate that into part of the process? It sounds like you've just had phone interviews thus far, which my take is he just wants to get to know your personality for now. This is your decision.

I have had two in person panel interviews (consisting of 5 interviewers each) but due to time constraints and being out of state, the chief and asst chief preferred to do theirs via telephone. I know the area well (used to live near there, moving family back) but don't have a lot of firsthand exp w the dept. My trips for interviewing and testing have always been too quick to make much of them outside the existing appt.

This particular trip out, I'll actually have some spare time. I'm not trying to head game this and kiss ***, I'd just like to see some of the dept, some of the station and maybe meet some of the other people. I've met the ones in the two interviews and maybe two others, they were all incredibly nice and welcoming. Like you said, if the chief wanted to see me personally, I'm sure it wouldve been requested; this could be good or bad really. Either he 1) trusts the panel interviews that I'd be a good fit into his dept or 2) is not ready to hire me.

I can totally see how showing up and one little thing be off or uncomfortable and it all backfire. I just wanna see the stations and dept because it is a huge deal for me to have gotten this far and I'm excited about the possibilities that lay ahead.

[yjbrody]

How big is the dept? Is it large enough that you can swing by as an "interested citizen" and not mention that you are part of the process at all to the guys on shift or would they recognize you?

I did this with one of the depts that I had tested with in the past just to get a feel for the dept, and ask a few questions about their dept. Main reason was I didn't want the guys on shift thinking that I was trying to get some insider info on the upcoming oral board like a lot of visitors they were getting were doing. You could tell they were tired of it.

It wasn't my local neighborhood dept and I really just wanted to get a feel for their operation which it sounds like what you would like to do.

Just my 2 cents. Best of luck!

[harrynuts]

As far as pants go, I am a big fan of assless chaps. Any sleeveless t-shirt should match just fine with those

[paulLepore]

The size of the department does not matter. I was involved in the hiring of recruit classes with 24 new hires and have also been involved in hiring firefighters one at a time.
Certainly hiring one at a time involves more scrutiny, but we carefully screen when we hire 24 at a time.....

[sfd1992]

assless chaps.

That's redundant.

Being assless is what makes them chaps, otherwise they'd just be pants.

OP, visiting a station is probably ok, but stay away from the fire chief's office/ FD admin until you have a reason to be there.

Looks like ***-kissery/whackery otherwise.