Preparing for your interview

Our recruitment and selection processes are designed to be fair, transparent and evidence based.

Every candidate is assessed against the same published criteria and provided with an equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, behaviours and experience.

Before your interview

Familiarise yourself with the role and the Service

Before attending your interview, you should read and understand:

• The Job Description and Person Specification. (LINK)

• Any additional information provided with your interview invitation.

• The Service's Core Values.

• The relevant level of the NFCC Leadership Framework.

Prepare your examples

Most interview questions will ask you to describe situations from your own experience.

Think about examples that demonstrate your:

• Leadership

• Teamwork

• Communication

• Problem solving

• Decision making

• Managing change

• Delivering results

• Working inclusively

• Professional integrity

• Customer or community focus

Choose examples that clearly demonstrate your personal contribution.

STAR approach

A useful way to structure your responses is the STAR method.

• Situation - Briefly explain the context

• Task - Describe your role and responsibilities

• Action - Explain what you did. Focus on your individual actions rather than what the team did collectively

• Result - Describe the outcome of your actions.

Where possible, include:

• Improvements achieved;

• Challenges overcome;

• Lessons learned;

• Measurable outcomes; and

• How your learning has influenced your future practice.

During the interview

The interview panel will normally:

• Welcome you and introduce themselves;

• Explain the interview format;

• Confirm any reasonable adjustments;

• Explain emergency arrangements;

• Ask the same core questions of every candidate; and

• Ask follow-up questions where clarification or further evidence is required.

Follow-up questions are intended to help you provide additional evidence and are asked consistently across candidates.

Scoring

Candidates will be assessed on the evidence they provide during the interview.

The panel will score the quality and relevance of the evidence against the assessment criteria and required behaviours.

The panel will not score candidates based on their confidence, personality, communication style, length of response or perceived potential.

Marks will only be awarded for behaviours, actions and evidence that are demonstrated during the interview.

What the Panel is looking for

The panel will assess the evidence you provide against the requirements of the role.

They are interested in understanding:

• What you did;

• Why you took that approach;

• The impact of your actions;

• What you learned; and

• How your experience demonstrates your suitability for the role.

The strongest responses are usually specific, evidence-based and clearly explain your personal contribution.

Tips for Success

• Read the Job Description and Person Specification carefully

• Prepare a range of examples from your experience

• Listen carefully to each question

• Take a moment to think before responding if needed

• Ask for a question to be repeated or clarified if necessary

• Answer the question that has been asked

• Use "I" rather than "we" wherever possible to explain your individual contribution

• Be honest if something did not go as planned and explain what you learned

• Avoid assuming the panel knows your current role, projects or responsibilities—even if you already work for the Service.

Reasonable adjustments

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process.

These include:

• Relevant reading materials provided in advance

• 30 minutes pre interview preparation

• Structured evaluation process

• Welsh or English interview choice.

If you require any further reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate fully in the assessment process, please let us know as soon as possible.

This may include adjustments relating to disability, neurodiversity, health conditions or language requirements.

At the end of the interview

The panel will advise you when you can expect to receive the outcome of the interview and the next steps.

Finally

The interview is your opportunity to demonstrate your suitability for the role.

Recruitment decisions are based solely on the evidence you provide during the assessment process against the published criteria.

The panel is interested in your knowledge, skills, behaviours and experience, not assumptions about your current role, length of service or previous experience within the Service.

We wish you every success with your interview.