Columbus Metropolitan Library Interview Questions
& Process

I sent in my application online, and then about two weeks later I had a preliminary phone interview. The person interviewing me was really nice and made me feel welcome. The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes. They got back to me about a week after that.

Got a call back within a week of applying to set up an interview. Went to the branch I was applying to for the interview. First thing when I sat down, they handed me a stack of cards with dewey decimal numbers on them and a stack with book titles/author names on them. I was given an instruction sheet and asked to organize the cards. Once I was done they came back into the room, looked over my cards and then proceeded with the interview. Standard questions like describe a time I was challenged by a coworker, a time I received good customer service, why I see myself as a fit for this position. The only question I wasn't prepared for was 'how do you see the library as part of the community?' but I think I answered it fine. The day after my interview they followed up with a background check form. A day or two after that they called to offer me the job.

I applied online and heard back about a week after the job closed. I scheduled an interview and spoke with the team lead and branch manager. They asked a lot of questions about how I'd handle workplace situations, like dealing with a coworker who struggles with change, what they'd need to adjust to with me, and my best and worst customer service experiences. I heard back two weeks later and didn't get the job. The interview process itself was straightforward and the interviewers were very pleasant.

My interview was at the main office downtown at 7:30 in the morning. I was assured that the garage would be open. It wasn't, so in the middle of a freezing storm, I hustled to surface parking and made my way through horrible weather to the front door. Security wouldn't respond to my attempts to enter at the front door because no one from HR altered them to such an early interview. They thought I was an unhoused person looking to enter earlier. Once I was admitted, it took 15 mins for anyone to get a message to the CXO was interviewing me. Her "welcome" when I got to her office, was "Nice of you to make it. you're late." I was stunned, but diplomatically explained that I was early, there were communications issues with getting me to her office. The interview was unremarkable and perfunctory. The CXO was pretty clearly just trying to go through the motions. The opening would function heavily in the education outreach space of the org, a subject area she had a lot of opinions but very little practical experience in, based on her questions. Her entire demeanor was disappointing and high handed. In the end, I was stunned by the disarray and general arrogance of the stakeholders at an organization I value so much.