Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Interview Questions
& Process

So the hiring manager showed up 40 minutes late to our interview even though they told me to be on time because they were super strict about it. When they finally got there, they didn't even apologize and started asking me stuff the other interviewer already asked, and they were kinda aggressive. The first interviewer told the manager that I already answered those questions, and the manager got mad, so I just ended the interview right there, thanked the other interviewer, and left.

My first interview was a screening call on camera, where the recruiter asked me some questions about the Federal Reserve and the job I applied for. They said they'd let me know by the beginning of next week if I'd get a second interview. It took two weeks, but I eventually got an email inviting me to a second interview. The second interview involved meeting with a few team members, and each of them asked me about 4-5 questions. Most of these questions were about my past experiences working with others and times I'd made mistakes. I heard back about a job offer a week and a half after that.

The interview process was lengthy (1 month), but the Talent Acquisition Consultant advised this during the initial screen. TAC would be my point of contact throughout the process. Recruiting Coord scheduled the interviews. First round was with an AVP and Manager (hiring Manager) who were so welcoming and broke the ice with "tell me about you PERSONALLY". Following week, 2nd round was scheduled. Second (final) round was the another AVP, a VP, a Sr. Executive Admin and a Executive Admin, along with the Hiring Manager. The group was very welcoming again (a trait that really stood out to me about the team and really reinforced my desire to join the team). That interview was on a Friday. Monday, TAC contacted me advising the team wanted to being reference check. Tuesday mid-morning TAC advised reference report was completed. Wednesday evening TAC called to extend offer and Thursday afternoon I accepted! TAC was very knowledgeable, thorough and stayed very much in communication with me throughout the process. TAC welcomed me the Fed and expressed the team's excitement to have me join them. TAC advised next steps was to begin the background check and timeframe, as well as my On-Boarding Specialist. TAC congratulated and welcomed me once more to the Fed! If the interview process is any indication of what the Fed is like, I KNOW I made the right choice and am going to be happy to hang my hat there at the Fed!

I applied for a Senior Application Developer (Java) role and got a response a couple of months later for a different position. The HR person set up a phone screen for the following week, which lasted 45 minutes. Two team members conducted it, asking about 40-50 questions on Java, JSP, SQL, security, ORM, JTA, and OOPS. It was very much a Q&A session, not interactive. A week later, I was invited for an onsite interview. The HR provided directions and check-in info. The onsite schedule didn't list who I'd meet or the org/dept. The onsite interview took about 2 hours, which felt pretty easy for a senior role. It involved whiteboarding and some Q&A. They asked me to design a typical 3-tier HR app. The HR then asked for 5 references, 2 being managers, due in 2 days, which was tough. I didn't hear back for a week, emailed, no response. Waited another 2 weeks, still nothing. After 3.5 weeks, HR called about filling the position internally and asked if I was open to a lower-level role (App Dev III), as the manager would consider me due to my salary expectations. They scheduled another 1-hour phone screen and a 2-hour in-person interview within a week. I asked HR about the salary range for different levels, and she explained one was in tech and the other in business. During the 2-hour onsite, no one gave details about the org/business/service, despite my asking. I mentioned to HR that if I'd known it was a business role, I could have highlighted my finance experience better. HR said she'd pass the feedback. I emailed after 2 weeks for an update. HR called 3 days later saying they selected another candidate and gave feedback that I lacked sufficient business knowledge, despite my 15 years in banking/finance. Overall, HR/hiring managers don't share expectations, the process is one-way Q&A, it doesn't leverage experience, and HR doesn't give official feedback.