Will becoming a retained firefighter help me get a whole-time job?

This is a misconception; being retained does not usually give you any specific advantages. How well you do in the selection process depends on how well you write your application. You can be retained and still miss the point of the questions and not present your evidence correctly. To successfully apply you need to use all the evidence you have of meeting the Firefighter criteria. There can be valuable experience in being a retained firefighter and if you draw on this correctly it will help you provide strong answers. But don’t rely on the fact of being in the retained service alone to get you through.

If you’re not sure how to use your work experience to your best advantage you can use our application workbook to learn how, use our review service to get feedback on how likely your application is to pass or contact us with you more questions.