National Firefighter Questionaire - NFQ Tests

[Adam V]

I have my NFA & NFQ tests this Thursday and after doing these tests around 6 months ago i am now about to a have another go, hopefully with a bit more success. After not passing this stage in my last application i asked and was given feedback from my results, the feedback i received back was very good and quite in-depth. The area of the ability tests i failed on was problem solving, so this time round i have concentrated extra on the practice questions available for this tests and hopefully i will improve on my last go. On the questionaire the two areas i was told i needed developement in was 'diversity and integrity' and 'openness to change', i have taken the feedback on board and will try to remember where i went wrong with this last time.

I know this is a question that is probably not straight forward to answer and different people may have different opinions but i would be interested in what different people think. When i did this questionaire last time i remember thinking, where is the line between agreeing/disagreeing and stronlgy agreeing/disagreeing? I have recently been speaking to a friends colleague who is the new probationer at his station and he felt he answered most if his questions as agreeing/disagreeing and only a handful or so was strongly, what does anyone else think?

These are the 6 practice questions you get from the brigades website, what would your answers be? (a) Stongly disagree  (b) disagree  (c)  neither agree or disagree  (d) agree  (e) strongly agree


1.   It gives me pleasure to work with other people.

2.   I am comfortable when people are treated unfairly.

3.   I tend not to get distracted when I am faced with a tight deadline.

4.   If I’ve been unsuccessful at something, I try to forget about it.

5.   Others would probably say I don’t pick up on what’s going on around me.

6.   I don’t see the need for the Fire and Rescue Service to change.


Any opinions would be appreciated.

[Midland Retty]

Hi Adam

Please find below my answers to the test questions and a short explanation as to why Ive chosen those particular answers!


1(e) The brigade wont want to employ someone who hates working with people - afterall firefighting is a job where teamwork is essential

2(a) The brigade is rightly trying to achieve a working environment, free from bullying, harrasment, rascist or sexist behvaiour - if you strongly agree that you would feel comfortable to let someone be treated as such then youre not the right person for the job!

3(e) - Someone with the Focus and ability to concentrate in strenuous situations is what the brigade is looking for

4(a) - If i ve been unsuccesful I do think about it - I think of ways I could improve next time round (I recognise however that some recruits may look at this question and wonder if it means "if you dont do well at something do you sit and brood about it all day long?")

5(a) - As a firefighter you need to be on the ball, if youre not picking up on the things that go on around you and are just day dreaming then you might miss something vitally important !

6(a) - The brigade is looking for someone who is flexible and open to change! Enough Said.

Ive had a lot of dealings with the new NVQ Tests.

It throws a lot of people. The questions are a littleambiguous, particulalrly in the situational awareness and problem solving sections.

All i can say is read each question carefully... also there will be an introduction to each section - reaad that carefully too - it gives you some clues on how they want you to answer

[Adam V]

Thanks for your reply retty, really helpful answers. Any other opinions will be appreciated, does not need to be as detailed as retty's.

Thanks.

[Midland Retty]

Does not need to be as detailed as retty's.

Thanks.

What are you trying to say ? Did I ramble on

[Adam V]

Not at all mate. Just trying to encourage a few more replies. Anyway off to my tests now, thanks for your help.

[fireftrm]

I deliberatley didn't read the Retty's answers so that these are mine alone:
1.    It gives me pleasure to work with other people.
e - we want people who like working with others!

2.    I am comfortable when people are treated unfairly.
a - we want everyone treated fairly and expect unfair treatment to be challenged

3.    I tend not to get distracted when I am faced with a tight deadline.
a - we want people who can work under pressure without being distracted

4.    If I’ve been unsuccessful at something, I try to forget about it.
a - we want people who are always learning and who are ready to accept their mistakes and learn from them

5.    Others would probably say I don’t pick up on what’s going on around me.
a - we need staff to be aware of their surroundings and to be observant

6.    I don’t see the need for the Fire and Rescue Service to change.
a - we do not need Luddites


Having now read his reply I am sure Retty meant a for 3
Now all these are so damned easy and which answer is wanted is clear that I can't believe that people would have any difficulty with them!

[Frank6912]

" I tend not...." to me puts it right smack bang in between strongly agree and strongly disagree, as this could mean sometimes i do and sometimes i dont. Have i over read the question?

[kurnal]

I deliberatley didn't read the Retty's answers so that these are mine alone:
1.    It gives me pleasure to work with other people.
e - we want people who like working with others!

2.    I am comfortable when people are treated unfairly.
a - we want everyone treated fairly and expect unfair treatment to be challenged

3.    I tend not to get distracted when I am faced with a tight deadline.
a - we want people who can work under pressure without being distracted

4.    If I’ve been unsuccessful at something, I try to forget about it.
a - we want people who are always learning and who are ready to accept their mistakes and learn from them

5.    Others would probably say I don’t pick up on what’s going on around me.
a - we need staff to be aware of their surroundings and to be observant

6.    I don’t see the need for the Fire and Rescue Service to change.
a - we do not need Luddites


Having now read his reply I am sure Retty meant a for 3
Now all these are so damned easy and which answer is wanted is clear that I can't believe that people would have any difficulty with them!

But all your answers are extremes- "a"s or "e"s do we really want to employ people with such polarised views - this would tend to suggest that any views that we have not tested may be equally extreme in a direction that the service may not support- and people with strongly polarised views can be difficult to influence and educate.

The answer to 6 is interesting. Obviously from your answer the service is looking to recruit people who think that the fire service is not succeeding and needs to change radically. No you dont want luddites but equally you dont want the newbie who denegrates everthing you stand for and do.  As Kenny Everett once said just before being sacked- "You are doing it all wrong"

[kurnal]

Having now read his reply I am sure Retty meant a for 3

Ah. A typical manager in the modern fire service. Ask someone a question, listen to their answer and then tell them what they meant to say!!!!!!.

[Andy Cole]

Having now read his reply I am sure Retty meant a for 3

Ah. A typical manager in the modern fire service. Ask someone a question, listen to their answer and then tell them what they meant to say!!!!!!.

Are you sure Firetrm?

Read the question again... don't fall in to the age old trap of not reading the question properly!.. I would have said that Kurnal was right

I tend not to get distracted when I am faced with a tight deadline..

Surely saying 'a' (strongly disagree) implies you are easily distracted??

[Frank6912]

I think i agree with Andy Cole.
I've got my test on the 19th for WMFS and i have done quite a lot of revision and find that the on the whole you can pick the answer straight away but some of them are quite tricky and open to interpretation.

[Midland Retty]

Having now read his reply I am sure Retty meant a for 3

Ah. A typical manager in the modern fire service. Ask someone a question, listen to their answer and then tell them what they meant to say!!!!!!.

Are you sure Firetrm?

Read the question again... don't fall in to the age old trap of not reading the question properly!.. I would have said that Kurnal was right

I tend not to get distracted when I am faced with a tight deadline..

Surely saying 'a' (strongly disagree) implies you are easily distracted??

Andy Andy Andy

Here you are lecturing everyone about reading the question properly and then say it was Kurnal who answered the question correctl when actually it was me.

Must pay more attention in future Mr Cole tut tut :-)

[Andy Cole]

Whoops... sorry! :rolleyes:

Well done for answering it right though!!

[fireftrm]

Yep sorry to all - misread the wuestion in haste - should definitley be as Retty answered it - it was the 'not' I missed - serves me right! Did read Retty's reason and agreed with it totally, but got the a and e the wrong way round!! To the 'typical that a manager tries to tell someone their answer' I must respond that this was based on me having read the reason adn thought Retty had made the error that in fact I had!

Admit your errors.............

[Clevelandfire]

Yep sorry to all - misread the wuestion in haste - should definitley be as Retty answered it - it was the 'not' I missed - serves me right! Did read Retty's reason and agreed with it totally, but got the a and e the wrong way round!! To the 'typical that a manager tries to tell someone their answer' I must respond that this was based on me having read the reason adn thought Retty had made the error that in fact I had!

Admit your errors.............

See how easy it is to get caught out!!!!!!!!!

Well Done Retty !!!!  Top Marks youve passed!