Re: 911:: Dispatcher Testing

[Guest guest]

All our applicants must be able to pass a standard typing test and type 35

wpm.

From there they are given a " perfex " test....then the oral interview which

consists

of several supervisors, police, and fire personnel. The questions vary from

" how would you handle this....? " and " what would you do in this situation? "

Jen s

Abilene PD/Abilene TX

[Guest guest]

...............Our agency is looking for information on how other agencies

test

> potential employees for the position of 9-1-1 calltaker /

Our agency also utilizes Employee Evaluation Program, and I have recommended

it county wide. The tests and their proram are validated and you can see

that if you go to their web site that Steve mentioned,

http://www.pei-911.com. The program is very easy to follow. The interview

questions they provide for you to select from (if you choose) are amazing,

and job relevant! There are pages of questions to choose from. You select

your questions based on what you are looking for in a candidate,

ie:commitment to the job, ability to handle stress, decision making skills

or multi tasking ability. I have found them to be a wonderful company. The

home-grown test that used to be used was miserable and focused on spelling

rather than selection of a quality dispatcher, besides no one ever spells

out Lt. or Sgt. We give no weight for *any* reason, everyone is considered

equal at the start. We do however require all candidates to attend an

" informational meeting " where they are given information about the job. We

set up a panel of dispatchers and let the candidates ask them questions.

This meeting has immediately eliminated people from the process, by their

choice- some have left during the meeting. When they find out what

dispatching is really like...shift work, overtime, extensive training,

working holidays/nights, etc they decide it is not for them. This meeting

has also assured some of the candidates that the job really is something

that they are interested in doing. We have found it to be a tremendous

benefit to our hiring process. At this meeting anyone still interested

signs up for the written test as they leave. It has worked very well for

us. By the way, look for us to be hiring soon if you would like to try

northern Colorado

Dispatch Supervisor

Fort CO