Interviewing
If someone calls you for an interview, usually within a 3 week period, be prepared! Research the organization that you are interviewing with. Washtenaw County's website has tons of information about all county departments. If you do a little research, it will show.
Behavior-Based Interviewing
We feel that past experience is the best predictor of future performance. We will ask you for examples of how you handled a real or actual job related situation to understand how you would resolve it. Typical Washtenaw County job interviews use the Behavior-Based Interview technique. Here is an example of one of our interview questions:
- Please describe a situation where you used customer feedback to correct a problem and improve service? How was the feedback collected? What did you do with it? What changes did you make? What was the effect?
Be Specific
You are expected to answer Behavior-Based Interview questions by telling stories. The best way to get off on the right foot in your answer is to start your story with some specifics that will ground your story: Date, place, situation. Carry on with details about what you did. For example:
- Three months ago, while working as a customer service representative, a customer told me that the service she received was not good. I asked her for some specifics. She told me that.... I took her suggestions and changed the way I answered questions and passed the specific suggestions on to my supervisor. I followed up with my supervisor.... The result was...
Telling stories is easy. Remember to take your time. Think of specific examples. Talk about what you did. talk about results.
Resources
The are a lot of resources online that can help you prepare for a Behavior-Based Interview.