State of Maine Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was straightforward and efficient, moving at a good pace. There was a strong emphasis on team compatibility, and the coordination among the interviewers was excellent. Every interviewer was very respectful and took the time to clarify or repeat questions when necessary.

I saw the Auditor II job posting on the State of Maine's website, applied online, and sent in three copies of my resume and transcripts. I got a call for an interview and scheduled a date and time. I went in for the interview, and it was a panel interview with a manager, supervisors, and sometimes a clerk asking questions. After the interview, I sent an email thanking them and offering to provide any further information.

It was a direct hire position, so I had to mail in a handwritten application because the fillable form wasn't working well, which was a bit of a hassle. I was contacted about two and a half weeks after the closing date for two Environmental Specialist IV roles, which had slightly different duties. The interviews were set for the next week. Driving to the interviews required several hours and an overnight stay in Augusta since they weren't on the same day. My travel expenses weren't covered because it's a state government job, which I thought was a bit much considering the salary was about $20k less than I'd make in many other states and half of what I'd earn in the private sector. Still, I was interested in the jobs and living in Maine. For the interviews, I had to bring a writing sample and references. The interviewers were a panel of three people who each asked a couple of questions, mostly about project management skills, but no technical questions. What really stood out was that most questions were hypothetical ('what would you do...') rather than based on past experience. Both interviews started with a very long hypothetical question that required note-taking, which was stressful and unclear what they were looking for in the answer. I even asked for clarification during the second interview, and the interviewer just shrugged. Two of the interviewers were also quite rude. One pointed out rudely that they couldn't write notes as fast as I spoke, and another condescendingly said a question about interacting with departments had already been covered. The interviewers' rude and distant behavior, along with the hypothetical questions, made it hard for me to perform well. I usually do better in interviews and felt like I wasted my time and effort, especially for a low-paying job. It's also been 21 days since the second interview, and I still haven't received any rejection letter, even though I sent them two self-addressed stamped envelopes.

So after I applied online, I had to wait about two months. Then a recruiter called to set up an in-person interview. I met with two supervisors who asked about my past experience and why I wanted this job. They gave me a scenario to read and respond to, and I had about 30 minutes to an hour to do it. They came back to talk about it with me. A day or two later, I got another call to come back and meet with two hiring supervisors. They asked more behavioral questions, I guess to see who would be a good fit for their team. I got an email offer the very next day. So, in total, it was about 2 1/2 months from when I applied until I got the job, and only a week from the first phone call to getting the offer.