County of Riverside Interview Questions
& Process

It was pretty easy, I applied online and then about 1-2 months later, I got an email to interview. The first part involved listening to a call and answering some questions about it. After that, there was a Panel interview with two supervisors. They gave us the questions on a sheet of paper during the interview.

I went to a group interview, and there were two interviewers. The questions were pretty standard, like asking how I'd handle a lot of work, about my past experience, and my reasons for wanting to work for the County.

I applied back in September and got the offer in March, so the whole process took about 6 months. First, I submitted my application. Then, I got an invitation to take an online test or assessment. After passing that, I was emailed and invited to interview. The interview itself wasn't super hard, but it wasn't easy either. About a month after the interview, I was told I was on a potential hiring list and they'd contact me for background checks. It took 7 weeks for the background check to start, and then I had to do a live scan for my fingerprints. Two weeks after the fingerprint scan, I got the job offer. It was a really long process, but totally worth it!

The job was complex with many responsibilities. I had to prepare evidence of my experience on flash drives, which they said they'd copy and return. I spent days preparing and loading samples onto two flash drives. The interview was scheduled for 45 minutes: 30 for their questions and 15 for my presentation. I arrived and had to wait over an hour past my appointment time. I could hear laughter from the previous interview. After another half hour, I was called in. Inside, I saw no way for them to view my flash drives, making all my prep seem useless. I gave them a contents list anyway. They asked their questions, and during the last 15 minutes, they seemed to expect me to fill it with my questions. I did ask some, but then decided to present my most relevant project. This was difficult without visuals, as they were on the flash drives. The interviewers showed no interest and asked no follow-up questions. I left feeling they had already chosen someone. I sent thank-you emails and reminded the supervisor about the flash drives. I was offered interview times on Wednesday or Thursday, suggesting interviews were ongoing. On Friday night, I got an email saying the job was filled by someone else. I suspect they had an internal candidate all along. While that's common, the job ad should have indicated potential preference for internal candidates so I wouldn't waste hours on the application.