Only the Best? Dissuasion and Recruitment of US Firefighters

This paper examines deterrent messaging as a recruitment strategy in specialized occupations. Focusing on U.S. firefighting, I draw on 25 in-depth interviews with career and volunteer firefighters to document how dissuasive recruitment practices operate in career fire departments, which face an oversupply of applicants, but not in volunteer departments, which experience chronic labor shortages. To encourage self-selection and participation, promote conformity, and reduce occupational mismatch, career departments deter applicants with emotionally charged slogans, rigorous screening, and cultural scripts. In contrast, volunteer departments emphasize inclusivity, flexibility, and community belonging to expand their applicant pool. Situating these findings within literature on self-selection, symbolic boundaries, and organizational culture, I argue that deterrent messaging can cultivate applicant commitment and group cohesion. However, it also narrows the occupational ideal, potentially excluding capable nontraditional candidates and reinforcing outdated cultural scripts. This analysis underscores recruitment as a critical site where not only the supply of labor but also organizational identity and the symbolic boundaries of specialized service work are negotiated.