government job interview questions and answers

Civil Service Interviews

You’ll have at least one interview and maybe two civil service interviews to be hired for a government job.

First, a civil service interview may be one of the tests included in a civil service exam. You may be required to take a multiple choice or other test and pass to receive an interview or a civil service interview may be the only test. You will be notified of whether an interview is part of the civil service test either on the job bulletin or after your application has been accepted. Civil service interviews are typically scheduled at one of the agency’s central facilities.

Second, if you score high enough on the exam to be placed on the hiring list, department(s) with job vacancies will conduct an interview from the hiring list to fill position(s). Your

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Civil Service Test Guides
Civil Service Interviews

performance in the civil service interview(s) will have a significant impact in determining whether you are placed on a hiring list and whether you are offered a job.

There is no set time period before civil service interviews are scheduled.

The best preparation for the civil service interview is to start as soon as you know you’ll have an interview. Because civil service interviews are different from private industry interviews, you’ll need time to prepare and practice for your interview.

Civil service interviews are scored and the interview process is competitive – the higher your score, the greater the chances are that you’ll be offered a job.

Civil service interviews are different from private industry interviews.

The Complete Civil Service Interview Guide will teach you how to handle the challenges of a civil service interview:

Questions to ask the interviewers? If you are interviewing to be placed on a civil service hiring list, the questions to ask the interviewer will most likely not be useful. Why? The hiring list is the list from which job openings are filled. You are being interviewed for a job title, not a specific job. Except for smaller agencies, the openings may be from various departments. You should ask interviewers questions when you are being interviewed off a hiring list (for a specific job). While your questions aren’t formally scored, your questions can work to your advantage.
How will you handle illegal interview questions? The civil service hiring process has a strict prohibition against illegal interview questions.
Negotiate your salary and benefits? Don’t. With the exception of select positions (typically executive), salaries and benefits are typically negotiated with organized labor. In addition, most agencies have a salary schedule that determines the pay of new employees.

The Complete Civil Service Interview Guide answers the above and more:

How to be yourself, stay calm, and answer interview questions with confidence.
Answers to the toughest civil service interview questions and situations.
Identify what will be asked before the civil service interview.
Avoid possible civil service interview tricks and traps
Short on time? Use our 24 hour interview prep plan.
How civil service interviews are scored and which words to say to raise your score.