Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Interview Questions
& Process

I applied online and then waited for my application to be processed. About 3 weeks after it was processed, I got my first call, and then about 6 weeks after processing, the manager called me directly to see if I was interested. She did a quick phone interview without me being prepared, asking about my experience with homelessness and mental health, if I'd used evidence-based modalities and which ones, if I knew about the program's funding policy, and if I was okay with fieldwork. I answered everything, though I was surprised. We then scheduled an in-person interview for the next week, and I got an email confirmation. They asked for my resume, last two evaluations, attendance record, and references, which I sent. I didn't know there would be supervisors there, though I kind of figured when the manager attached my resume to the invite. It's annoying that the managers calling don't have the resume from the initial application; calling just based on exam scores isn't helpful. While I get they don't want bias, for fieldwork, they should share the address. The interview was with the manager and two supervisors. I could tell they were looking at my resume for the first time as they made comments while settling in. They were nice and made positive comments. The interview was structured with a list of questions; they all took turns asking, made eye contact, smiled, and summarized my answers. I also got two scenario questions. It was going well, and I liked the structure. The manager even mentioned my strengths for the team and the population I'd work with. Then, the manager saw my current city on my resume and realized it was far from where they needed services most. Commuting there would mean about 2 hours each way in LA traffic, plus more travel within the area for clients. The manager commented on the car mileage, and I agreed internally; with fieldwork needing 6 hours of client contact, I'd likely get home at 9 pm, not 5 pm. It seemed like it wasn't a good fit, and they could probably find someone closer. I felt like an hour was wasted for both of us, which could have been avoided if they'd reviewed my resume beforehand or if the manager had been upfront about the location during the initial phone call, as she only mentioned a city near Dodger Stadium. It's been almost a month since the interview, and I haven't heard back, likely for obvious reasons. LAC should really provide managers with candidate info earlier.

I went in early for the Spanish language test. After checking in with security, the interviewer was called. The test has three parts: written translation from English to Spanish, then oral translation from English to Spanish, and finally a spoken discussion about the last prompt. The prompts were about the DMH introductory paragraph for their directory, why typing skills are important, and what general clerical skills are needed. These prompts aren't specific to the job. If you fail any section, you can't move on, you're disqualified, and won't be considered for any level of Spanish proficiency.

It took like 2 months just to get ranked on the eligibility list. Then, another 7 months later, I got an email about a vacancy where they asked for my resume. After that, they contacted me about interview times. It took another 2 months for them to give me a day and I could pick a time for that day. I showed up to the interview, they asked a few questions, some of them weren't even related to the job, and then they sent me home. Most of the time, you don't hear back and have to assume someone else got the job. This whole process needs to be faster.

applied on governmentjobs.com for the LA County pool, then got calls/emails from the clinic expressing interest. Had a phone call to check my interest and schedule an interview. Then I met with the program director and 4 clinical supervisors. After about two months, the program director called with an offer.