I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Will County Health Department (Joliet, IL)
Interview
Prior to this interview, I had come across a review that was posted here about an individual's interview for the same position last year. I didn't think much of it and decided to give the interviewers the benefit of the doubt, but unfortunately my experience was similar. First, why even call someone in for an interview if you aren't really interested in pursuing them as a candidate? The website listed the minimum qualifications which included just a master's degree and no prior work experience. This is why I applied. Right at the beginning of my interview, I felt like I was being interrogated as to why I have no communicable disease experience and basically why am I even there. Later in the interview, it was just more interrogation and I felt like I had to defend myself the entire time. Questions like why do I have so many interests (as I had prior work experience in different areas, PRIOR to my earning a master's degree), etc. Also, the job description itself is very misleading. They said it's 8:30am-4:30pm, but then proceeded to say if your work is not done by the end of the day, you have to finish before you go home. Overall, worst interview experience of my entire life.
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Will County Health Department (Joliet, IL) in Dec 2022
Interview
I was interviewed by two people in the family health services department: one man and one woman. Both interviewers were HIGHLY UNPROFESSIONAL. They heavily implied that I did not qualify for the position despite the fact that 1) I exceeded the minimum requirements for CDI I & CDI II + met the minimum requirements for CDI III and 2) they're the ones who called me in for an interview in the first place!
The woman asked me to tell them about myself and as I was going through my resume (explaining my degrees + previous work experience), she cut me off in the middle and asked me if I had experience using certain public health software. My experience using those programs was clearly written in my resume which they would have known if they bothered to allow me to finish talking.
The man was more focused on where I received my Masters degree (which was 4 years ago) rather than the recent work experience I've had in the public health field (within the last 2+ years). He kept asking me to explain why I wanted to work in public health and even when I answered the question, he refused to accept the answer. He implied my previous work experience was "all over the place" despite having recent job experience within the field which was related the position I was interviewing for.
Halfway through the interview, the man started BROWSING THROUGH HIS PHONE. He didn't even have the decency to explain why he was on his phone or apologize for his rude behavior. At the end of the interview, I asked them a very straightforward question: how does leadership/management responded to errors in the workplace? Their answer: "What do you mean?"
I noticed that this job has been posted on the Will County Department of Health website 3 times now in the past 6 months... Now I know why. Even if I was offered this position, I would have declined with how uncomfortable and unwelcomed these two interviewers made me feel. If they treat interviewees poorly despite exceeding/meeting the minimum job requirements, imagine how poorly they must treat their actual employees.
I interviewed at Will County Health Department (Joliet, IL)
Interview
The environment: Firstly, the current location is an outdated building - it was dimly lit and had office supply carts in the middle of the hallway.
The people: The staff was very quiet. No one spoke to me other than the person who was sent to retrieve me from the lobby, even though I saw at least eight people while waiting.
The interview: They did not ask me one question about my qualifications even though my resume was in front of their face on their desk. The interviewer repeatedly said they did not want to "waste their time" on potential candidates who did not plan on retiring from the organization (this was said at least 3 times). They also spent the majority of their time trying to talk me out of the position, and complaining about all of the changes the organization was going through. Why invite a candidate in for an "interview" and not discuss their qualifications? Why have someone use their time and resources to come to your establishment just to try and talk them out of the position they applied for? As candidates we do not want to “waste time”, either.