City of Portland (Oregon) Interview Questions
& Process

They were hiring to fill a class of trainees. It was the most organized and transparent process I've ever seen. The dates of each step of the process were posted and the dates were met. The process starts with typing tests. If you pass you move on to the Criticall test. 1st interview, 2nd interview, then they do the background check.

So for this role, there wasn't an initial phone screen. Instead, we were given a week to get ready for five interview questions. They mentioned that our answers should total about an hour in length and would be graded on how well we addressed the City of Portland's Core Values, which cover 18 different points. Then, there was a second interview with another set of 5 questions. However, these questions seemed to be asking for experience that went beyond what was originally stated in the job description. It felt like they were asking for a lot more experience than initially described. To be fair, they said, they made the process kind of cold and stressful.

You start with an online application. If you meet the minimum qualifications, you'll get a letter in the mail inviting you to a test. This test is held in a big room, like a hotel banquet room, with around 200 people who also met the minimum requirements. You'll get another letter in the mail to let you know if you made the cut and that you'll be contacted for a second interview. About three weeks later, you'll get the date and time for that interview, which is a panel interview. If you pass that, you'll be put on a list with 60 other equally qualified applicants. Pretty neat.

The application process was quite involved, including an essay. I had a panel interview, which was pretty standard. Then, I got invited back for a second interview, which I felt went really well. They asked for my references a week or two later. While I didn't get the job in the end, the hiring manager sent me a really nice, personal email. Overall, it was a good experience.