M eet Jéneen Gilliam, our Firefighter Candidate Mentorship Program (FFCMP) Coordinator. Since 2012, she has been leading this career beneficial program, which is the first of its kind in the history of the FDNY.
Before joining the Department, the Brooklyn native served as a contract manager for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) for nearly 15 years, where she led efforts to ensure that NYCHA contractors hired a resident workforce. Her passion for helping the community, she noted, was greatly influenced by her family since she is a third generation civil servant. Her mother, Wanda, is a retired Administrative Housing Manager for NYCHA and her father, Paul, is a retired New York City Firefighter.
Now, she’s helping to connect Firefighter Candidates with Mentors who can assist them through the challenging hiring process. The Mentors are veteran Firefighters who are knowledgeable about their career and they communicate with their Mentees each week to guide them in their journey to join New York’s Bravest. Mentees have ongoing opportunities to ask their Mentors questions about the job and they can visit their Mentor’s firehouse to learn more about the responsibilities of a FDNY Firefighter. To date, more than 5,300 candidates have participated in the program.
“In my family, it’s important to give back to the city that we live in and that is something that I’ve always valued growing up and I still value now as an adult,” she said. “In my role as the FFCMP Coordinator, I work directly with our firefighters, lieutenants, captains and chiefs and we work as a team to ensure that each Firefighter Candidate is aware of the resources available to them throughout the hiring process, throughout Probationary Firefighter School and their first few tours in the firehouse.”
Join FDNY recently attended one of her Mentor meetings at Fort Totten in Queens to chat about the FFCMP and she had a special message for all Exam #7001 Candidates.
Join FDNY: The Exam #7001 test scores are now public and we have thousands of Firefighter Candidates who are learning more about the hiring process. Why should candidates participate in the FFCMP?
Jéneen Gilliam: The FFCMP is important because it provides Firefighter Candidates with insight into the hiring process. The process to join this Department can be challenging and having a Mentor can ease some of their anxiety and really enable them to focus on getting prepared for this job as much as possible. We want all of our candidates to know that our Senior Mentors and Mentors are here to help them and if you’re a candidate who is serious about getting this job, we will help you become a step closer to making your career goal a reality.
JF: We always see you working here or at the Recruitment Office in Brooklyn, but what’s your spare time looking like these days?
JG: I love spending quality time with my family. That’s really special to me and I enjoy shopping, cooking and sharing laughs with them.
Exam #7001 Candidates: Having a Mentor can help you succeed throughout the hiring process. When it’s your turn to join this program, you will be contacted via phone, mail and e-mail and that’s when you can register. Until then, please review our fact sheet to get started. Learn more about the FFCMP here.
