My Firefighter Nation
Firefighter Psychological Evaluations
Hi all. I'm new around here and wanted to discuss the hiring process for firefighters, career and paid/non-paid positions. Most of the hiring process is basic but one part I've always had questions about is the psychological evaluation. I know around 40% of those applying for positions don't pass the psych but I'm wondering if anyone could share their experiences with it or provide suggestions, tips, etc. for those applying either for their first position or transferring.
Some specific questions people are asking are:
- What types of information should I NOT tell the psychiatrist/psychologist?
- What are they looking for when they give the MMPI-2 test? A specific profile?
- What things have people said during the psych interview that disqualified them?
From what I've read, sometimes if you say things like "My father left our family when I was young" or "My childhood wasn't the best and I had challenges" you can be DQ'd (though I don't think you should). I know it depends on the department but I think there are probably some general rules of thumb to follow for it.
Thanks all for the input!
Janice Moore
This is understandable, considering most information like this is confidential. I guess all he can do is hope that he passes the next time. I think it's nice that most departments seem to allow applicants to reapply if they don't make it the first time.
Sep 5, 2013
John Crabbe
I think it's nice that most departments seem to allow applicants to reapply if they don't make it the first time.
They have to, if they don't the employer could be subject to discrimination lawsuits.
Sep 5, 2013
Janice Moore
Does anyone know of anything specific that has caused someone to fail a psych test? I've read so many stories but wanted something a little more fresh and personal. I've read that some fail the evaluation/interview part because of providing too much information regarding their family life (father not being around, troubles with siblings) while others have had too many inconsistencies on the written part of the evaluation. I actually took the written evaluation (MMPI-2) test myself recently just to see if I would "pass" at this point in my career and it actually said it found inconsistencies and a few areas showed that I was telling more than the truth. It's amazing for me to think that a person can be completely honest on something like that, yet the score says otherwise. This is just another reason I feel they shouldn't use the actual written test at least, but my small opinion doesn't matter enough to change that :)
Sep 6, 2013