Ten Questions You're Likely to Be Asked in a Government Interview!

 

Ten Questions You're Likely to Be Asked in a Government Interview!

Almost every job interview will include questions about your previous experience, including what you learned from your last job and how you would apply those lessons to the role you’re interviewing for now.

However, not all job interviews are the same, so it’s essential to be prepared to answer questions that may be specific to the government industry. Here are 10 questions you’re likely to be asked in a government interview that can help you prepare with your own answers.

 1) Tell me about yourself

I am currently looking for a job with the government and am trying to prepare myself for an interview. I don't know what types of questions I can expect, but I've compiled a list of 10 questions that are likely asked at interviews with the government.

1) What is your greatest accomplishment?

2) Why do you want this position?

3) Do you have any difficulties working with other people? (if so, what is it about them that bothers you?)

4) How would your friends describe you? 2]Do you consider yourself ambitious?

 6) What sets you apart from others who are interviewing for this position?

7) What excites or interests you about the position/agency that we are recruiting for?

8) If you were given $100 and told not to spend it on anything else, what would you spend it on?

9) Tell me about your ideal boss.

10) What is your idea of success?

2) Why do you want this job?

I want this job because I'm looking for a way to make an impact and contribute to the work of government.

Working for the US Forest Service would allow me to provide valuable services and public programs to support the sustainable management of America's forests, help ensure American natural resources are used wisely, and maintain our nation's wild lands so they can be enjoyed by future generations. With my education and experience.

I am confident that I have the qualifications necessary for this position. The interview questions asked of me focused primarily on my skills, qualifications, and professional values.

The employer had reviewed my resume beforehand so there were no surprises. The interviewers' questions sought information on topics not previously covered on my resume which let me know they had done their research!

They wanted to know about what makes me unique as a candidate, how I would handle potential conflict with coworkers or supervisors, and how I might deal with difficult situations at work such as dealing with people who resist change or becoming frustrated when things don't go as planned.

I was also asked about my interest in physical fitness-specifically if it played any role in what positions I apply for. They wanted to know if it could affect whether or not I could handle the long hours required of some positions-in general, working in federal service requires full-time commitment (40 hours per week).

 3) Why should we hire you?

Now that you've learned what types of questions you may be asked, make sure you are fully prepared with answers. Prepare some responses that align with the strengths and experience we discussed earlier.

This way, when someone asks Why should we hire you? you'll have something prepared! The more confident you feel when answering interview questions, the better your chances of getting hired. Also, always prepare for the unanticipated.

At any point during an interview, the hiring manager might shift gears and ask something out of the left field. While it's impossible to prepare for everything, there are a few questions that commonly come up in interviews for government jobs.

What is your greatest weakness? Don't panic! Chances are, this question will be asked by most companies you go on interviews with, so think carefully about how to answer this question.

Make sure not to mention anything too personal or offensive (like being messy), but talk about how you work on improving yourself every day while never forgetting the lessons from your past mistakes.

 4) Why were you fired from your last job/promotion/raise?

How would you have handled the situation if you were on the interviewing team? Or if it was you that was interviewed and the interviewer asked this question?

What do you think of it as an interview question, and what is the purpose of asking this question in an interview setting?

The point of this question is to assess how someone handles difficult situations. The employer wants to know how well they can manage conflict when things don't go their way.

 5) What's something stupid you did at work?

When I was young, my boss called me into his office, pointed to a map, and said: What's that? I leaned in and looked at the map for some time before saying, I don't know what that is.

That's when he told me it was Russia. He then yelled at me for not having any idea how to do my job. After a few seconds of yelling, he took pity on me and asked if I knew what France was on the map. My response: Oh yes! France is right there! So close to Russia!

6) Why did you get fired (from any job)?

That's an easy one. The recession started, and I was laid off and couldn't find work. Eventually, I ended up as a store clerk for minimum wage and lived paycheck to paycheck.

I left that job when my dad got sick and couldn't take care of himself anymore, so he moved into my basement. After two years, I had saved enough money from the overtime hours at my part-time job to start this business on the side.

When my dad passed away three years ago, it just made sense for me to focus on this full-time instead of trying to keep up with two jobs. What do you like about your current position?: A lot of things.

I have a flexible schedule, which is great because I have a son who is autistic and needs more supervision than the average child. Plus, they offer tuition reimbursement if you want to go back to school.

Why are you interested in this particular position?: Well, right now all our money goes toward rent and childcare, so having health insurance would be really helpful since my son has asthma and ADHD.

What type of hobbies do you enjoy?: Knitting (and other crafts), yoga (and meditation), listening to podcasts...pretty much anything not involving screens!

 7) Describe a time you failed at something. How did you recover?

Last year, I tried out for my high school's lacrosse team. I've always been terrible at the sport, but I figured that after all these years of not playing it, it would be time for me to try again.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get the hang of it and had an awfully difficult time staying with the group. Being self-conscious made things even more difficult.

Luckily, this is just one of many setbacks that are bound to happen and as long as you learn from them, you can continue to move forward.

 8) Tell me about an instance where you proved that you could work under pressure

I have been heavily involved with our theater organization for years. As President, I am constantly being put under pressure to produce something fantastic on the budget that we have.

The last show I led came out of my own pocket because no one else wanted to make the sacrifice for our theater company and this was before we were even incorporated as a non-profit.

Since then, we have never gone into debt for any products that I've been in charge of and every show has been profitable from day one.

 9) Tell me about the biggest accomplishment in your career so far

Most recently, I helped the government design and launch a new program to help people find jobs. First, we did some demographic research on what skills and occupations are most needed by employers.

Second, we mapped out all of the places where these types of jobs exist. And third, we created guidelines for helping the unemployed navigate their job search so they have better success rates finding employment.

This was my favorite project I've worked on because it is something that's helping so many people that need help with their career opportunities.

10) Give me an example of when you used leadership skills at your past job

In one instance, we were closing down an office that was located downtown. I had been with the company for seven years and during the six months prior, I had seen multiple friends get laid off.

With this looming over me as well as my family who depended on my income, I knew this was going to be an emotional process. As our manager explained that we would be out of work by the end of the year, he gave us time and space to collect ourselves.

He took into account all of our individual situations and needs and scheduled meetings with each person individually. It is because of this leadership that I still work for the company today and have such a great relationship with my manager today.