Many veterans believe that “getting the good, government job” is the next step to success in their post-military careers. I can assure you, having had one, that that may not be the case. Such decisions are personal, though, and it is up to the individual to decide.
Even with our “point-preference“ for government jobs, the challenge many veterans and military spouses have is articulating, during the interview, the levels of responsibility they held in their previous jobs. In an effort to be of service, I’m going to give you the top ten questions that are asked on the performance based interview. Please prepare answers that a civilian person can relate to. And, good luck!
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Give a specific example of a situation where the group of people you work with on a regular basis had a serious conflict. What was the conflict about? How were you involved in the conflict and what was the outcome?
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Tell me about a specific time when those with whom you were working could not agree upon a course of action. How did you approach the situation and what was the outcome.
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Explain a specific situation where you met resistance from your staff or work group about a directive that was mandated. Explain your role by describing dialogue related to the situation. What was the ultimate outcome?
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Think about a specific time when you had to negotiate with several service chiefs to obtain cooperation to implement a specific initiative. Tell me specifically how you negotiated with them to attain the desired cooperation and how the implementation of the initiative went?
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Tell me about a specific time when you resolved a difficult customer complaint. What did you do? What was the outcome?
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In your current job, who are your internal customers and external customers? Specifically, how do you get satisfaction feedback from your customers? Give specific examples of how you have used both positive and negative feedback
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Give an example to illustrate how you have improved the experience of your internal customers and your external customers. How did you determine the effectiveness of the improvement?
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Describe a time when you went over and above your job expectation. What motivated you to put forth the extra effort? What feedback did you get for your effort?
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Tell me about a time when you had to take on extra duties or make some other sacrifice in order for an overall improvement in the service of your unit to its customers to occur.
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In your current job, what organizational change have you made or contributed to that you are proud of? How did you go about making the change? What has been the impact of the change?
Here are two bonus questions that may come up as well:
- Tell me about a specific time when you had to assist your staff in understanding the relevance to the organization of an aspect of their work? What mechanisms did you use to communicate with them? How effective was the communication? How did you evaluate the effectiveness?
- Describe a major change you have made in the past two years. How did you accomplish the change? What difficulties did you encounter and how did you work through the difficulties? What personal factors assisted you in making the change? Would you do anything differently if you had to do it over again?
I’d love to know if having these questions helped you to prepare for an interview. Please leave me a comment here on my blog or on my Facebook Page. Good Luck!
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Deanna Wharwood’s passion is to help veterans, service-disabled veterans and their dependents create the systems they need to start and grow businesses from their first dollar to six-figures. Unlike other coaches, consultants, mentors and trainers, she is a veteran who successfully transitioned from military life to entrepreneurship. Learn more about Deanna – The Veterans’ Coach and how she can help you!
