The selection process

There are different interview approaches to consider. The option you choose will depend on the resources available, for example budget and the availability of trained interviewers.

1. One-to-one interviews

These are more common in small organisations and are not recommended for Fire service interviews.

2. Panel interviews

Panel interviews use two or more interviewers. Before the interview, agree:

• who will ask each question;
• who will open and close the interview;
• who will provide the final moderated documents to HR/recruitment.

Each panel member should take their own notes. After the interview, the panel should discuss scores and notes, resolve differences, and agree a final moderated score.

3. Assessment centres

Assessment centres take place at a designated centre with other candidates. They are used to assess behaviours, including how candidates interact and communicate in a team environment, present ideas, and behave towards others.

There are several types of interview questions you can use, depending on what you want to assess. The following list gives a brief explanation of each.

Once you have chosen your question style, you can include some examples in your candidate information pack to help candidates prepare and perform at their best.

Competency-based questions

Competency-based questions focus on candidates’ abilities. Candidates should give examples (from work or personal life) that demonstrate relevant skills. Questions should link clearly to the competencies needed for the role, and you should define what a ‘successful’ answer looks like.

Strengths-based questions

Strengths-based questions explore what your candidates enjoy or do well including practical skills, teamwork, and working under pressure.

Technical questions

Technical questions test job-related knowledge and understanding of work processes. These usually require relevant work experience and are more common in sectors such as IT, engineering, finance and law. They are unlikely to be suitable for an entry-level firefighter role.

Situational judgement questions

Situational judgement questions explore how candidates would respond in a typical work scenario. They are used to assess problem-solving, decision-making and working with others.

Values-based questions

Assess whether candidates share your service values, understand your culture, and can work in line with those values.

Motivational questions

Help you understand what motivates a candidate and whether they are likely to find the role satisfying and rewarding.

Interviews can be subjective because they rely on personal assessment. To reduce subjectivity, you may choose to combine interviews with other assessment methods, such as psychometric testing or assessment centres.

We have created Excel spreadsheets containing examples of interview questions across a range of question styles, kindly provided by UK fire and rescue services for the NFCC Recruitment Toolkit. These examples have not been accredited individually, but we would like to take this opportunity to thank all those services who have contributed.

The spreadsheets include filterable columns for:

• competency-based questions for commonly assessed areas (column B);
• the NFCC Leadership Framework quadrants (column C);
• the NFCC Core Code of Ethics areas (column D).

After downloading a local copy, you can also filter column A by question style:

• Strengths-based
• Technical
• Situational judgement
• Values-based
• Motivational

There are three interview question spreadsheets. Please download and save your own version before making any amendments.

• 1. Questions categorised by type, topic and leadership behaviour
• 2. Questions categorised by leadership behaviour quadrants
• 3. Questions categorised by leadership behaviours for supervisory managers/CM/WM and Senior managers/SM

Some people are naturally better at interviewing and can put the candidates at ease so they perform at their best. Choosing the right interviewers matters.

All interviewers should be trained and experienced. If needed, potential interviewers can attend interviews as observers to gain experience.

Good interviewers should be:

• empathetic, and considerate of candidates’ nerves;
• mindful not to show judgemental reactions (for example avoiding visible shock or discomfort);
• attentive and engaged, while keeping to timings;
• active listeners;
• comfortable with silence when prompting candidates to reflect or expand;
• trained to support consistency and fairness;
• mindful of bias and familiar with the process they will need to follow (See Step 2 – Application and candidate review for guidance on bias).

Opening and closing the interview

Using a script supports consistency and ensures that every candidate receives the same information.

An opening script should cover:

• the interview format;
• timings per question;
• health and safety considerations;
• panel introductions and roles;
• a non-scored warm-up question.

A closing script should cover:

• next steps and expected timelines;
• an opportunity for candidate questions;
• any reminder to request supporting documents (if needed);
• thanks for attending.

Candidate’s previous fire and rescue service experience

If the candidate has previous fire and rescue service history, explore that history and reasons employment ended.

To support consistent scoring and evaluation:

• use a template for recording responses that includes assessment standards (for example selection criteria);
• record factual notes on what was said – not impressions or judgements;
• use a rating scale and apply it consistently;
• ensure interviewers understand the rating scale and behavioural indicators for each selection criteria.

Rating scales

Interview rating scales help reduce bias by providing a consistent way to measure candidate responses. Each question is scored based on how well it is answered, and scores are totalled to produce an overall interview score. Scores can then be compared across candidates to support fair decisions.

Interview rating scales typically include:

• responses to individual questions;
• job-related competencies;
• overall interview score.

Presentations are simple to plan and can be incorporated at the start of an interview. They are especially useful where formal communication is part of the role.

Presentations can be used to assess:

• oral communication skills;
• specific areas of knowledge;
• ability to plan and organise information;
• understanding of the wider service context.

There are two common approaches:

1. Topic provided in advance

Provide the topic when you invite the candidate to interview and ask them to submit their digital presentation a few days before. This allows you to assess their ability to prepare, meet deadlines, use IT, carry out research, and communicate a prepared message. You might use this approach to understand a candidate’s expectations of working in an operational role, or their perception of the role of a modern-day firefighter in the community.

2. Topic provided on the day

If you want to assess communication in the moment and under time pressure, ask candidates to arrive 20 minutes before their interview. Provide a more generic topic and give them 10–15 minutes to plan a short presentation using a flip chart and their notes. Here are some presentation topic examples you may find helpful.

Role-play interviews involve asking candidates to act out a scenario with other candidates or an interviewer. Scenarios should reflect common work situations. Role play can be used to assess under pressure and competencies such as leadership and communication.

However, role-play exercises have limitations that services should consider. Some candidates find role play uncomfortable and may not perform at their best, which can disadvantage quieter or more introverted candidates. If not used carefully, this may affect fairness, particularly if role play is weighted equally with interview question scores.

There may also be EDI considerations, as some neurodivergent candidates could be disadvantaged this type of assessment. (See EDI considerations section).

Written exercises can help assess verbal comprehension and communication skills where this is a crucial part of the role. Exercises can include report writing, composing emails or other job-related written tasks. They can also assess a candidate’s ability to work quickly and decisively under time pressure.

EDI considerations should be given to candidates who may require reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, such as those with dyslexia.

English language tests

English language tests are designed to evaluate a candidate’s proficiency in English. They typically cover comprehension of formal and informal language, grammar, and sentence composition.

Numerical reasoning tests

Numerical reasoning tests assess a candidate’s numerical ability and their ability to interpret, analyse and draw conclusions from sets of data.

Psychometric tests evaluate a candidate’s suitability for a role by analysing aspects of their thinking, attitude, personality, and behaviour. They are usually delivered online and often use multiple-choice questions.

Many services use psychometric tests alongside other assessment methods such as interviews or written applications to help identify the most suitable candidates. They are usually administered by a specialist team or provider, and results are interpreted and shared once analysis is complete.

Psychometric tests are often grouped into different categories:

• Personality tests – measure different aspects of personality
• Aptitude tests – measure ability to perform functions related to the job role

Some tests include elements of both.

Online and psychometric testing involves additional administration and may incur costs if you use an external supplier. This can be costly in recruitment campaigns with high volumes of applications. You should therefore consider carefully how testing supports your process, especially if resources are limited.

To support candidates:

• help candidates prepare by including examples in your candidate application pack;
• consider reasonable adjustments and provide appropriate support;
• if running group sessions, provide enough administrators to support candidates and answer questions.

Practical tests are used to assess a candidate’s ability to carry out role-related tasks in a practical setting. They can help you evaluate performance against job-related criteria, alongside other selection methods such as interviews and online testing.

When assessing the EDI impact, you should complete an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA). The NFCC Equality Impact Assessment Toolkit provides guidance on this topic.

Reasonable adjustments are changes to remove or reduce disadvantage for candidates who may need additional support during the selection process. Adjustments should be considered on an individual basis and be appropriate to your approach and circumstances.

We will signpost to the Reasonable Adjustments Toolkit here once it is available.

When using role-play exercises, consider that individual differences will affect how comfortable candidates may feel with this type of task. While some may feel at ease, others may find it challenging and may not perform at their best. This may mean that you will, by default, favour the more extrovert personalities in the group over those who are more naturally quiet or introverted. There may also be EDI considerations for people who are neurodivergent, and who could be disadvantaged by being asked to participate in this type of assessment.

Written exercises should take account of candidates who may require reasonable adjustments on the grounds of living with a disability under the Equality Act 2010, such as those with dyslexia.

Do: 

• Be honest.
• Be timely.
• Avoid clichés.
• Include praise and be positive where appropriate.
• Nurture and inform.
• Actively listen.
• Prepare in advance.
• Keep it brief.
• Keep to the facts
• Suggest areas for improvement.
• End on a positive note.

Do not:

• Delay or procrastinate.
• Argue.
• Invite legal risk or use discriminatory language.
• Give unnecessarily negative feedback.
• Give feedback on aspects that the candidate is unable to change
• Use negative labels to describe behaviours.
• Use accusatory language.

When delivered well, feedback can support positive change and improved performance. It can also increase confidence, improve morale, inspire personal development and provide valuable insights that may not otherwise be known.

Because of this, consistency matters. You may want to adopt a feedback model within your service and provide training to anyone who will be giving feedback, to help ensure candidates receive a consistent experience.

Some well-known models include

• The AID model (Action, Impact, Development)
• The strengths-based approach model
• The SBI model (Situation, Behaviour, Impact)

• The STAR model (Situation, Task, Action and Result)
• The DESC feedback model (Describe, Express, Specify and Consequences)

Whichever approach you adopt, make sure those delivering feedback are trained to use it effectively.

On your interview form, include a space for assessors to record notes on the candidate’s answers.

Clear, detailed notes make it much easier to provide feedback later (if requested). Where relevant, assessors should:

• record what the candidate said (not opinions);
• note areas for improvement (for example, where communication was unclear);
• record the rationale for scores.

For example, if a candidate did not provide clear or complete answers, feedback could suggest practical ways to improve next time. These might include using the paper provided to note key parts of the question, taking time to structure a response, and using a model such as STAR.

Depending on your approach, feedback may be more coaching based, encouraging candidates towards their own solution. However, in large campaigns, you may not have the time or resource to take this approach for everyone and may choose to offer it only to internal applicants.

Whichever approach you use, prepare for any feedback session in advance by reviewing the interview notes and writing structured points. Keep feedback alongside interview notes in line with your service’s retention schedule and data protection requirements, in case of future challenge.

Obtaining feedback from applicants and candidates helps you understand what is working well in your recruitment process and where you may need to make changes. How you collect and store feedback can vary but using a range of channels will give you a more rounded view and help you capture both qualitative and quantitative data.

You may want to use a combination of:

• Social media listening –monitoring mentions of your service on social media and respond where appropriate.
• Surveys and polls – allow anonymous feedback, keep these short to maximise completion
• Feedback groups – invite applicants and candidates to discuss a specific aspect of the process in more detail.
• Website feedback widgets – enable users to share quick feedback about their online experience.
• Internal feedback – gather insights from colleagues handling queries by phone, email or online contact forms to identify trends early and resolve issues quickly.
• Chatbots feedback – capture questions and feedback through online chat interactions.

Using a combination of channels will help you build a clearer understanding of applicant and candidate behaviours and expectations across each stage of recruitment. If feedback does not align with your intended recruitment approach, you can adjust your strategy ahead of your next wholetime recruitment campaign.

Most importantly, once you have collected and collated feedback, you need to act on it. This helps you create a more person-centred recruitment process and improve the experience for future applicants and candidates.