Foreword by Anthony Kastros xv
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction xix
101 Tips to Ace Your Promotional Exam
Career development is a journey—not a destination 1
Know your why 9
Voices of Experience—Captain Marc S. Davidson, Fairfax County (VA) Fire & Rescue Department 10
Voices of Experience—Sean Eagen, Fire Captain, Buffalo (NY) Fire Department 12
Voices of Experience—Dennis L. Rubin, Fire Chief 14
Create your own mission statement and personal values statement 17
Prepare for the position you aspire to 19
Voices of Experience—Personal Story #1 22
Voices of Experience—Personal Story #2 25
Think and act like the position you aspire to, whenever the opportunity arises 29
Voices of Experience—Personal Story #3 30
Voices of Experience—Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, EFO, CFO, CSP, Fire Chief (Ret.), Founder of Situational Awareness Matter, Host of the SAMatters Radio Show 31
Voices of Experience—Jim Moss, Captain/Paramedic, Metro West Fire Protection District (MO) and Coauthor of Firefighter Functional Fitness FirefighterFunctionalFitness.com 33
Voices of Experience—Jacob McAfee, EFO, CFO, CTO, FSCEO, Deputy Fire Chief, North Central Fire Protection District, Fresno (CA) 36
Understand positions below and prepare for positions above 39
Voices of Experience—Andrew J. Starnes, Battalion Chief, Charlotte (NC) Fire Department 43
Getting promoted is a “MINDSET” 47
Voices of Experience—Captain Mike Daley, FO, CTO, MFI, CFEI, IAAI-FIT 53
Take charge of your career/professional and personal development 57
Voices of Experience—Captain Jarrod Sergi, Norfolk (VA) Fire Rescue 59
Participate in a promotional process because you want to 60
From this point on, there is nobody else to blame but you 62
Be the one who believes that the glass is half-full, not half-empty 63
Voices of Experience—Captain Jarrod Sergi, Norfolk (VA) Fire Rescue 64
Know where you want to be in 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, etc. 66
Have a vision 67
Voices of Experience—Brian Crandell, Ed.D., EFO, Fire Chief (Ret.) 68
Perform a self-assessment 72
Create and implement your career road map/action plan 74
Voices of Experience—Division Chief Mark Nugent, MPA, CFO, Midway Fire Rescue, SC 75
Continuously evaluate your progress of your road map/action plan 78
Have an up-to-date resume and your application ready to go 79
Have an up-to-date list of references and a cover letter ready to go 81
Understand team-building dynamics and techniques 84
Learn from the mistakes of others 86
Voices of Experience—Dave McGlynn, Career Training Chief, Fire Instructor and Public Speaker 88
Learn from your own mistakes 91
Learn from the positives of others 92
Stay out of trouble 93
Voices of Experience—Billy Goldfeder, Deputy Chief, Loveland-Symmes (OH) Fire Department (Proudly bumped and bruised since 1973) 94
Strive to be a role model, both on and off duty 99
Sometimes you may have to step back to step ahead 100
Don’t let others psych you out in a negative way 103
Talk to those already in the positions you aspire to 104
Talk to those who supervise the position you aspire to 106
Talk to those who have taken previous promotional examinations 107
Talk to your senior command staff 108
Find your mentors within your fire department 109
Find your mentors in other fire departments 110
Voices of Experience—Rommie L. Duckworth, BS, LP, Captain, Ridgefield (CT) Fire Department 111
Find your mentors who work outside of the fire service 115
Be a mentor for someone else 116
Voices of Experience—Chief Tiger Schmittendorf, Deputy Fire Coordinator (Ret.), Erie County (NY) Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Services 116
Look at the job specification/description to ensure you are qualified 120
Look at the latest promotional examination announcement
from your department 121
Look at promotional announcements from other departments
for similar positions 122
Find out what to expect on your next promotional exam 124
Do your research to identify the promotional examination
testing components 148
Take promotional preparation classes 149
Take career/professional and personal development classes 151
Obtain your formal education 152
Finish off any incomplete college degrees 154
Voices of Experience—Phillip Jose, Deputy Chief (Ret.), Seattle (WA) Fire Department 155
Obtain professional credentials 158
Attempt to get elected to your department’s Union/Association Executive Board 161
Get involved at your fire department (on and off duty) 162
Get involved outside of your department and within your community 166
Take advantage of completing special projects at your fire department 168
Start building and maintaining positive working relationships 169
Voices of Experience—Mike Gagliano, Captain (Ret.), Seattle (WA) Fire Department 169
Have at least three personal strengths to share and discuss 174
Have at least three personal weaknesses to share and discuss 175
Voices of Experience—Dan Kerrigan, EFO, CFO, Chief of Fire and Emergency Services, Township of Upper Providence (PA) Fire and Emergency Services 176
Know your fire department inside and out 178
Voices of Experience—Michael M. Dugan, Captain (Ret.), Fire Department of New York 179
Know your community inside and out 181
Know the current SWOT of your department 182
Be open to different assignments that may arise within the department 183
Prepare for and rehearse answers for your oral interview questions 185
Voices of Experience—Jesse Quinalty, Owner, Red Helmet Training 186
Voices of Experience—Dennis Reilly, Fire Chief (Ret.) 188
Understand your role and powers as a supervisor, manager,
and leader 190
Voices of Experience—Anthony Avillo, Deputy Chief (Ret.), North Hudson Regional (NJ) Fire and Rescue 191
Voices of Experience—Captain Dena Ali, Raleigh (NC) Fire Department 192
Prepare for and rehearse the three most important things
you will do at the firehouse 197
Prepare for and rehearse the three most important things
at the emergency scene 199
Voices of Experience—Captain-Paramedic Ryan Pennington, Charleston (WV) Fire Department 201
Voices of Experience—Dave Dodson, Battalion Chief (Ret.) Colorado 204
Practice, practice, practice! 208
Join Toastmasters 209
Understand the term “soft skills” and ensure you possess them 210
Take communication classes 213
Teach classes inside and outside your department 215
Create personnel expectations to share with your new crew
on your first day 216
Voices of Experience—Randall W. Hanifen, PhD, FIFireE, Battalion Commander, West Chester (OH) Fire-Rescue & Chair—IAFC Company Officers Section 216
Strive to read at least one fire service leadership book every
other month 219
Strive to read at least one non-fire service leadership book
on the opposite month 220
Attend at least one fire service conference each year 221
Subscribe to at least one fire service–related publication 222
Subscribe to at least one fire service–related email list 223
Stay up-to-date with your fire service 225
Strive to be a continuous student and lifelong learner 227
Become a member of fire service–related associations and organizations 229
Become a member of non-fire service–related associations
and organizations 230
Anticipate who your competition will be on test day 231
Find your quality study partners 232
Demonstrate you are not just a safe beginner, but you can
hit the ground running 233
Know what the raters and the fire chief are looking for in candidates 234
Know what dimensions the raters are evaluating you on
during the process 235
Remember that every point counts 236
Don’t be a box-checker 237
Focus on quality, not quantity 239
It’s always about the details, details, details 240
Voices of Experience—Sean Gray, Captain, Cobb County (GA)
Fire & Emergency Services 242
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know 243
It’s not what you say; it’s how you justify what you say 244
Take charge of your reputation management and social
media footprint 245
Continuously strive for credibility and respect, as opposed
to just being liked 248
Voices of Experience—Benjamin Martin, Captain & Founder of
www.embracetheresistance.com 249
Voices of Experience—Reginald D. Freeman, MS, CFO, FIFireE, Fire Chief, Hartford (CT) Fire Department 251
Know your leadership style 255
Voices of Experience—John Dixon, FO, TO, Battalion Chief, Instructor, EGH Volunteer Advocate 256
Never give up 259
Always have an “all-in” attitude 260
Voices of Experience—Nicol Juratovac, Assistant Chief, San Francisco (CA) Fire Department 260
Don’t forget why we are here 263
Voices of Experience—Todd LeDuc, Assistant Fire Chief (Ret.), Broward County (FL) Fire Rescue & Chief Strategy Officer, LifeScan Wellness Centers 264
Do not allow mediocrity, incompetence, arrogance, or complacency 266
Voices of Experience—Billy D. Hayes, Fire Chief (Ret.) 266
Remember we promote people, not resumes 270
Voices of Experience—Larry Conley, Leadership Development Concepts, LLC 271
Have a plan for your firsts in the promoted position (first day, month, year, etc.) 273
Don’t wait too long to start preparing for the next
promotional examination 274
Understand the higher up you go, more of getting the
promotion is about “fit” 275
Go into the process positive, but not so positive you set
yourself up for failure 277
Volunteer to serve as a rater for a promotional process 279
Realize you may have to test outside of your department
to get promoted 280
Involve your family, friends, and crew in the process as
soon as possible 282
Don’t sell yourself to the devil just to get the badge;
it isn’t worth it! 286
Voices of Experience—John A. Hayowyk Jr., Captain, City of Passaic (NJ) Fire Department 294
Prepare For the Position You Aspire To (Reprise) 297
You Didn’t Pass the Promotional Exam—Now What? 298
You Made the List but Didn’t Get Promoted—Now What? 302
Voices of Experience—P.J. Norwood, Deputy Chief/Training Officer, East Haven (CT) Fire Department 305
Voices of Experience—Personal Story #4: 309
In Summary 311
Closing Thoughts 313
Index 315