City of Santa Clara Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process involved a preliminary chat with the recruiter, then a panel interview with people from different teams. Everything was pretty organized. It would have been cool to meet more of the people I'd actually be working with.

I applied online and then I was interviewed by a three-person panel and the HR professional. Whenever I tried to answer interview questions, the HR Professional told me to keep quiet. I thought interviews were supposed to be where you learn about people's qualifications and experiences and how they apply to the job. This interview was not that. I was told to shut up whenever I responded to interview questions. If this is how they run interviews, imagine how the city is run. I asked for a copy of my score and how it came about. To this day, HR refuses to do this. I suspect the city of Santa Clara is run pretty badly. Suspect cronyism in their hiring decisions.

This position has been posted 3 times and still not filled. Applicant pool has decreased from 40 to 5 applicants because people know it's unlikely to get filled. There are many stages to apply. First, a written test on engineering and California Building Code. Second, a panel interview where they ask things like what you'd do if someone altered your plan reviews. The panelists disliked all my answers, even technical ones. Third, another group interview with the chief building official. HR mentioned the position was created without approval. They never got back to me after the interview, so applying is a waste of time.

So I applied online back in August for this job, and since it's a government gig, I knew it would take forever. I had to take a written test at the start of September, then a panel interview later that month. After that, I had the department interview in mid-October and I'm still waiting to hear back. The panel interview had people from other cities and the county because our Fire Department here is a CUPA agency and works with others. It felt super rushed though; they told me my time was being watched because the person before me went over. I get why they'd monitor time, but it wasn't fair since they didn't control the last person. I didn't say anything though, 'cause I was just glad to be there. But honestly, it kinda threw me off and I think I could've done better if that hadn't happened. Anyway, I passed the panel interview and got to the department interview with the Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, and Fire Marshal. I actually loved this part! It felt like they genuinely cared about my answers and were really listening, which is rare. They'd ask follow-up questions like, "And what was the staff's response when you implemented xxxxxxx?" It was way better than the usual interviews where everyone asks the same old stuff. I really enjoyed it and felt I could truly show my experience and how I work. Big props to whoever made the questions and to the interviewers!