Head Staff’s Guide to Federal Jobs Part 6- Interviews

Head Staff’s Guide to Federal Jobs Part 6- Interviews

Interviews- somehow, I got off one count- I think interviews were supposed to be section 5, but here we are.

The first thing is there are almost no regulations about interviews- they cannot ask the prohibited questions from EEOC- https://www.eeoc.gov/employers/small-business/what-shouldnt-i-ask-when-hiring, but that is about it.

Agencies may have their own policies- requiring panel interviews or that questions have to be approved by HR.

Interviews serve various purposes: they can be part of the qualifications process- some public facing jobs may require you to show that you have the skills to deal with the public. This is usually a panel interview. If you do not pass the assessment, you will no longer be considered for the position.

Occasionally, an interview may be scored and used to determine your final score for referral. This is fairly unusual for open competitive announcements, but it does happen.

But the most common interview is that you have been referred and the selecting official is trying to determine who to select. Just because you are referred, does not mean you will get an interview- although some agencies have policies that require a certain number of people or categories to be interviewed. And (amazingly to me) sometimes people are hired without interviews.

How do you know what kind of interview you have been called for – well first step would be to review the announcement- look at the how you will be evaluated section. The next step would be to ask- is this a panel interview? Will it affect my score? Have I been referred?

Some interviews are a chat with a supervisor. You may or may not be interviewing with the person who actually has the decision to hire you. You may be interviewed by a panel. There may be multiple interviews. Most likely you will have a set of standard interview questions that are asked of all candidates. Look at that how you will be evaluated section- most likely your questions will be your chance to show how you meet those requirements.

Many people recommend brushing up on the STAR method. This is certainly one of the most common ways of formulating questions, but it is not required. You can read about the STAR method here- https://www.themuse.com/advice/star-interview-method

This is pretty brief- comments, corrections and questions welcome.

Next up- Offers.