Random: State job interview advice

[Pom]

Mr. P has an interview next week for a mid level job and is cramming like crazy. He is mid career with zero govt job experience. I’m sure all states are different but any advice to prepare is appreciated. This job is unique to his skill set from a management/industry level but he has little regulatory experience and this is a state regulatory unit.

[Mushe]

Hi Pom! I hope you are well.

Ok, so my experience with government is in an attorney role, but now hiring at the exec level. We have hired recently and had a wide range of applicants. I’m not sure that I’m clear on the type of role as compared to his private industry experience, but generally, there are a few things I find evident in someone who can hit the ground running.

First, I really appreciate when someone has researched our agency. Nothing is worse than someone coming in who has zero idea about what we do, and answers our questions with bad assumptions about our work. Ugh! If he can reach out to connections (or connections of connections) for some insight, that would be helpful. Second, study the duty statement. I’m shocked that even at the exec level, some don’t seem to have read what the job entails.

Good luck to Mr. Pom at the interview and with your move!

[minzy]

I don’t have state experience, but federal (and was just offered a job this week) but I’d see if he can Google the interviewers if possible. You don’t want to be creepy, but sometimes it helps give you a better sense of what you’re dealing with, and they’ve probably googled him. I’d also try to find out what the hot issue is in that field by checking their website, news for that agency, any kind of recent report I could find. In my case, there is a big policy decision that majorly impacts the work right now, and it certainly didn’t hurt that I was conversant rather than oblivious about that. Good luck to him!

[Pom]

Mar 25, 2021 23:44:45 GMT -5 Mushe said:

Hi Pom! I hope you are well.

Ok, so my experience with government is in an attorney role, but now hiring at the exec level. We have hired recently and had a wide range of applicants. I’m not sure that I’m clear on the type of role as compared to his private industry experience, but generally, there are a few things I find evident in someone who can hit the ground running.

First, I really appreciate when someone has researched our agency. Nothing is worse than someone coming in who has zero idea about what we do, and answers our questions with bad assumptions about our work. Ugh! If he can reach out to connections (or connections of connections) for some insight, that would be helpful. Second, study the duty statement. I’m shocked that even at the exec level, some don’t seem to have read what the job entails.

Good luck to Mr. Pom at the interview and with your move!

Hi! This definitely helps. I don’t want to reveal too much, but this tells me he is on the correct path as he prepares. It’s been a crazy month but we so appreciate the luck. Thank you!

[Pom]

Mar 26, 2021 6:03:54 GMT -5 minzy said:

I don’t have state experience, but federal (and was just offered a job this week) but I’d see if he can Google the interviewers if possible. You don’t want to be creepy, but sometimes it helps give you a better sense of what you’re dealing with, and they’ve probably googled him. I’d also try to find out what the hot issue is in that field by checking their website, news for that agency, any kind of recent report I could find. In my case, there is a big policy decision that majorly impacts the work right now, and it certainly didn’t hurt that I was conversant rather than oblivious about that. Good luck to him!

Congratulations on your new job! I hope it is wonderful for you. These are all great points. We are so “clueless” about this particular type of hiring (the state/government) process, we’ve both been reading every spare minute and trying to get him up to speed. I will definitely pass along all of your suggestions and the luck. Thanks so much.

[inpectore]

Does he know the format of the interview? I think it would be very reasonable to ask HR what to expect (and people do call ahead to ask). State interviews can be a lot different than private company interviews! People often walk out of their first state interview saying "This was the strangest interview I've ever had." And often even the best candidate feels they did terribly.

I would recommend reviewing the state law and regulations, possibly any guidance documents, as well as any federal laws and regulations that apply. (Also understand the difference between a law, a regulations, and state guidance documents). I would recommend reviewing anything that is posted on the program's website. If it's a permit writing program, review the copy of the permit application and have an understanding of the type of information they require to be submitted. If a copy of an issued permit is posted on the website, review that too. If it's an enforcement program, know what would be a violation, and an understanding of how a violation would be handled. Major current events related to the topic are probably nice to know about. If it's a job that would involve supervising others, I would expect some questions about that. Sometimes writing samples are expected on the spot... draft a letter about XX.

The interview format I'm familiar with awards points for correct answers, and the person with the most points at the end is offered the job. There is often an interview panel, questions are exactly the same for each candidate with no deviation. Questions where you would need to list things are popular because they are easy to score. You don't lose points for wrong answers, and you can't get points if you don't say it, so guessing and over-explaining answers in great detail can only help. If the question is... how do you wash dishes?, don't answer "I put them in the dishwasher", instead answer "I move them from the table, scrape meat into the trash and veggies into the compost, open the dishwasher, make sure it is safe to go on the lower rack of the dishwasher, put in in a spot where it won't bang against other dishes. When the dishwasher is full I add one dishwasher tablet to the soap dispenser and close the door, and select normal wash and push the start button."

Although you don't get points for coming with prepared questions, it does show you're interested in the position and can't hurt.

Feel free to PM me if you want more specific examples of questions. Every state is probably different, but hopefully this helps a little. And good luck to Mr. P!

[Pom]

@inspectore

Thank you so much. Definitely not certain on the interview format. We do appreciate you making us aware of that potential method and hope that we can find out more.

Mr P also said thank you so much.