With exam day comes a lot of pressure and the chances of making avoidable mistakes are high. Slow down, and review the following common mistakes so you can avoid them. You don’t want to lose points for silly mistakes and risk your firefighter promotion after all of your hard work.
Arriving Late
An easy way to mess up on test day is not getting there on time. Whether it's because you get lost, write down the wrong time, or sleep through an alarm, they will all be equally as painful when you fail. So double check your location, time, and alarm setting ahead of time so you do not miss the exam.
Not Listening to Everything the Proctor Says
After all the anticipation and studying for your firefighter promotional exam you likely will want to just begin the second you get your test, but you will need to wait. You must listen to everything the proctor says before you begin to make sure you hear all of the rules and instructions. Don’t mess up on the exam because you are negligent and don’t follow all of the instructions.
Skimming the Instructions
As excited as you are to take your firefighter promotional exam, or get it over with, you may just briefly read the instructions. Don’t do that. Take your time and read the instructions thoroughly and then read them again. There could be some small but important instructions that you do not want to miss, if you do it may cost you the entire exam.
Coming Without a Pencil
Do not come to your test empty handed. Do not expect to be given a pencil or pen to take your exam unless explicitly stated. Bring a number 2 pencil, because that is likely the only utensil you can use, and also bring a back up and a pencil sharpener. If you forget one the proctor likely has extra or another tester might but you do not want to be put into that position on the off chance they don't.
Reading the Question Too Fast
Another common error people make when taking tests is reading over the question too fast resulting in a wrong answer. You see a few key words and think you know what the question is asking but miss a “not” or other important words that change the question completely. You need to slow down. Even though the test is timed, you must read everything, sometimes even twice to avoid mistakes that can cost you points.
Rushing Out the Door
Once your exam is over you may want to run to hand it in and get out of there. Before you do that though, just review your exam. Make sure no questions were skipped, if there are questions you didn’t know the answer to, make a guess anyways. A quick review of your work could save you some points off your exam score which may be the difference between passing this time and having to retake it.
The Takeaway
When the day finally comes to sit down and take your firefighter promotional exam, remember to slow down. Your adrenaline will be pumping but make sure you listen, read every word in front of you and come prepared. You do not want to make mistakes that lead to a lower score on your exam over something that simple.