These resumes are general in nature and invite you to make any changes you like.  Each resume will be geared toward achieving a position or promotion, but don’t let that stop you from using it if you’re not aiming for that particular job or title.  As an example, the first resume I will post here is for an experienced firefighter II/Engineer who might be applying for a Captains position.

If you have no firefighting experience, you can still effectively use this resume by downloading it and changing the text to fit your current career profile.  Easy-schmeezy.

Though the resumes are set up in a format which is conducive to highlighting important items departments will be looking for, you should add, remove or adjust anything you feel necessary.  If you’re not sure, write me and ask.  I’m happy to help.

Firefighter II Resume

Firefighter Resume with Job History

Firefighter Letter of Introduction

The purpose of a resume is to say “This is who I am!” in 30-60 seconds.  That’s it!  That’s all you get!  Long winded explanations how you did your job and why you were so great are best saved for the interview.  The resume should highlight the path you’ve taken up until now, you’re educational achievements and any other forms of skills or successes you’ve had.

When writing any kind of resume, but especially a firefighters resume, you want to punctuate the most applicable and relevant items first.  This means just what I said – “first”, as in put them at the top.  If you take a look at my resume you’ll see that while I have no experience directly relevant to firefighting, I am enrolled in the Fire Academy and with the academy I’ll be completing my degree in Fire Technology.  For this reason, I put my education at the top of my resume.

Being that I am 32 (33 in three weeks though), I followed Education with Experience because the Captains and Chiefs reading my resume are going to want to know what I’ve been up to.  This won’t be quite the same for a early to mid-twenties person who’s been going to school.  If that’s you, you might want to consider other skills you may have.  Anything technical or mechanical is highly appreciated by hiring fire departments.

Do you work on cars, know a trade like plumbing or carpentry, or just enjoy fixing things?  Find a way to highlight that and put in a skills section closer to the top of the resume.  You don’t have to make it sound so formal or stuffy.  Just tell them what you do.  Remember, a Hobbies category on your resume is perfectly acceptable, especially if you’re younger!

On my resume I have an Objective statement and a Summary.  Both of these are optional, but a good idea to include if you can fit it.  If you have an objective statement, make sure to customize it specifically for the department you’re applying to.  (i.e. To gain employment as a professional Firefighter with the San Francisco Fire Department).  This means modifying your resume every time you apply somewhere.  On that note, make sure to keep your resumes in a folder of their own and figure out a good way to keep organized.  I almost never delete old resumes, but I maintain an organized and methodical filing system for them.

In truth, while your resume speaks volumes about you, and usually is your first impression on an interview panel, resumes are unfortunately not held to the standard that corporations and other business hold them.  This is because firefighting is a government job and the interview process for firefighters is frequently standardized.  This can result in less attention being paid to your resume.  I know this sounds contrary to what I’ve been telling you, but it does not lessen the degree to which having a strong resume can help you.

Your resume is a paper representation of you.  Make it as good as it can be.

Contact me if you have any questions, and be sure to check out the list of fire interview questions!

Nonetheless, congratulations to me!  I am now proud to call myself an employed EMT.

One thing I’d like to note is that Bay Medic Ambulance does not have a contract with 911 which means that we do not get called to the scenes of emergencies.  We specialize in transporting the sick and injured in a safe and efficient (though sure not cheap – no ambulance company is inexpensive) manner.  For me this raises an interesting personal conflict which I believe is actually rare among ambulance jockeys.

As an EMT we want to put our skills to use.  We want to be challenged, and we want to see action.  Delivering an elderly medical patient from one facility to another is not action – it is taxi service.  On the other hand, action means that somebody is suffering.  It means getting excited at the prospect of another’s pain and misfortune; two things which don’t excite me.  Nonetheless, as an EMT, I want to be involved in that.

To be clear (and I believe this is shared among the majority of EMT’s), it’s not that I want bad things to happen to people, but if they’re going to happen anyway, I want to be there.  …to help of course.

My point in this is that I don’t expect action with Bay Medic, but I am thrilled to have the job and I am very, very curious to find out if I will actually see some excitement or if I am merely destined to learn the county hospitals better than I ever could have imagined.  We’ll see…..