How to hire dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Arrange for necessary repairs to restore service and schedules.
• Confer with customers or supervising personnel to address questions, problems, or requests for service or equipment.
• Monitor personnel or equipment locations and utilization to coordinate service and schedules.
• Prepare daily work and run schedules.
• Receive or prepare work orders.
• Record and maintain files or records of customer requests, work or services performed, charges, expenses, inventory, or other dispatch information.
• Relay work orders, messages, or information to or from work crews, supervisors, or field inspectors, using telephones or two-way radios.
• Schedule or dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles to appropriate locations, according to customer requests, specifications, or needs, using radios or telephones.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong active listening, speaking, monitoring, reading comprehension, critical thinking and writing skills
• Working knowledge of customer and personal service, public safety and security, administration and management and administrative
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $24.20 an hour ($50,340 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to arrange for necessary repairs to restore service and schedules. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to confer with customers or supervising personnel to address questions, problems, or requests for service or equipment. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to monitor personnel or equipment locations and utilization to coordinate service and schedules. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to prepare daily work and run schedules. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
6. Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
7. How do you keep track of your own work quality during a busy shift or week? Give an example of catching a problem early.
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance do

• Arrange for necessary repairs to restore service and schedules.
• Confer with customers or supervising personnel to address questions, problems, or requests for service or equipment.
• Monitor personnel or equipment locations and utilization to coordinate service and schedules.
• Prepare daily work and run schedules.
• Receive or prepare work orders.
• Record and maintain files or records of customer requests, work or services performed, charges, expenses, inventory, or other dispatch information.
• Relay work orders, messages, or information to or from work crews, supervisors, or field inspectors, using telephones or two-way radios.
• Schedule or dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles to appropriate locations, according to customer requests, specifications, or needs, using radios or telephones.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningSpeakingMonitoringReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingWritingCustomer and Personal ServicePublic Safety and SecurityAdministration and ManagementAdministrative

Education, experience and outlook for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: -0.7% over ten years, little or no change · about 16,000 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance pay in every state

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Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.