I applied through other source. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at US Census Bureau (New York, NY) in Apr 2012
Interview
I worked on the 2010 decennial operation as an enumerator and enjoyed my experience. After the decennial operation was completed, I contacted Census to see if they had any other job openings, and was told that they were testing people for the position of Field Representative (this was in April 2012). Unfortunately, working on the decennial operation will not get you any special consideration or credit when applying for other Census jobs....the application process begins anew as if you'd never worked for them.
The hiring processes for the Field Rep position begins with a basic skills test (28 questions with a 30 minute time limit). This test is very similar to the one that was given for the decennial operation. Unlike the decennial operation, the Field Rep test is not given a percent score, but is pass/fail.
Next up is a mock interview. The applicant is provided a script to read from. This was easy so long as you followed all the instructions on the script. Some questions will instruct you to ask the respondent to spell their answer and the like. They want to see if you can pay attention to detail, and can follow instructions.
After the mock interview, there is a short structured interview....5-10 minutes. The interviewer asked basic questions such as, "Tell me about a time that you needed to deal with a difficult person."
You are also required to provide a resume. The skills test, mock interview, structured interview and resume are then all used to assign a score to the applicant.
After completing all of the above, I heard nothing back from the Census. I had no idea if I was being considered for a job. After some months, I called to inquire about the status of my application, and was told that I was on their list of "qualified applicants" and that I would be called if they had any openings. I was also told that the applicant list was good for 2 years.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time that you needed to deal with a difficult person, and how you handled it.
Long process but considering the number of applicants it should be expected It was a phone interview and was not difficult at all they seem to want to be certain the candidates like people and are able to onock on doors
The interview looks more at checking certain boxes as opposed to skill. It looks like this is a constantly vacant position. The position is part-time with no guaranteed hours. Cannot say that it's a difficult job or anything, but the application was tedious than the interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
It was more of a description of the job and whether I was still interested.
After an online application they called with a simple telephone interview. They want to know about your availability and preferred schedule. They ask for basic background information. The online application has all of the information that they really need to place you so it is mostly a verification of the information you have already provided.
