Applying for State Jobs: Tips regarding the application

process, your resume/cover letter and interviewing

Ashley Harris

DES Recruiter/HR Consultant

ashley.harris@des.wa.gov

Before you Apply

O Think about what you want to do next. How does

your past experience fit in with your goals and

what are some of the gaps?

O Once gaps are identified, what next steps should

you take to get you to that dream job? Do you

have mentors in that field of work? Have you

done any informational interviews to learn more

about that career field?

Reading the Job Announcement

O As you review the job announcement, take a careful look at the Required Qualifications for the position. In most cases, in order for you to be considered for a position, you MUST meet or exceed the required qualifications.

O Your application, attachments and supplemental question responses will all be reviewed manually. If there’s no evidence that you meet or exceed the required qualifications, you will likely be screened out.

Reading the Job Announcement (Cont.)

O If you’re not sure whether you’ll meet the requirements or not,

feel free to call the person listed at the bottom of the job posting

before you apply.

O It may be a good idea to also make a copy of the job posting for

your records or save it electronically. Once a posting has closed

on careers.wa.gov, you won’t be able to refer back to it. Chances

are, you’ll be applying for more than one job at a time. This will

help you keep track of all the positions you’ve applied for. And if

you are to get called in for an interview, having a copy of that job

posting will be helpful so you can refresh yourself on the duties

and requirements of that particular position.

Reading the Job Announcement (Duties)

O Once you’ve determined that you meet all of the required

qualifications, spend some time reviewing the Duties for the

position. Highlight any of the duties that you’ve had experience with

in the past.

Tailoring your ResumeO Your resume should be tailored to each position you are applying for. Take a

look at all of the areas you have highlighted on the duties section of the job

posting. If you have a lot of experience highlighted, you may be a competitive

candidate.

O Use the duties you’ve highlighted and the required qualifications to tailor your

resume for the position. For example: if the required qualifications are two

years of experience using spreadsheets, make sure your resume shows two

years of experience using spreadsheets. Do not assume!

O Create a correlation between the position being recruited for and the

qualifications and experience you possess. Include special knowledge that you

possess (Example: Comprehensive knowledge of Washington State laws and

regulations.)

O Be sure you back up your work experience in your application and cover letter.

All of your materials will be reviewed to get the full picture of your work history.

Tailoring your Resume (Cont.)O Remember that more does not necessarily mean better. Only include

qualifications and experiences that are useful and specific to the

position you’re applying for. You’ll want to avoid drowning out your

specific experience with non-essential information.

O You could include a Summary of Qualifications section at the top of

your resume that highlights any specific skills you possess. (Examples:

typing 40 words per minute or three years of experience performing

data entry).

How Should my Resume be Formatted?

O There are many formats of resumes and it can be quite

subjective. Again, it is most important to tailor your resume

for the position you’re applying for.

O Chronological order makes it easier for an employer to

clearly follow your work history.

O Include your Job Title and dates of employment for each

position.

O Use concise statements to explain the duties of that position

in a bulleted format.

O Your resume should include your first and last name and

contact information (phone, email, address).

O Include any education, certification or licenses.

O Choose a layout and font that emphasizes readability.

What is the Purpose of a Cover Letter/Letter of Interest?

O Cover Letters are used by employers to assess:

O Writing skills of applicants (while staying concise).

O Applicants ability to convey ideas in a logical and coherent

manner.

O Applicants ability to follow directions.

O Specific qualifications applicants possess and how it relates

to the position they’re applying for.

O One size fits all letters are easily detectable and show a lack of

interest and motivation.

O Many hiring managers say the cover letter is as important, or

sometimes even more important than the resume itself.

What should I Write about in my Cover Letter?

O The cover letter gives you the opportunity to describe why you’re

interested in the position, what your passions and goals are to grow in

this career field and what drew you to applying in the first place.

O Address the required and desired qualifications and how you meet

them. Make sure your resume supports these claims.

O Talk about your work history and how it relates to the duties and

qualifications listed in the announcement.

O Address any skills, accomplishments, special projects or value you

could add to the organization you’re applying for.

O Make sure you address the hiring manager in your letter, or the

recruiter. Proof read your letter and have someone else review it if

possible.

O Typos and grammatical errors lead hiring managers to believe you lack

attention to detail.

What Should be Included in my Application Materials?

O The Supplemental Information section will tell you what is required.

O Employers may screen out candidates that do not follow

application instructions. This includes providing all of the

requested materials. Be sure to pay close attention to the

application instructions. Often times following directions will

be the first screening method an employer will use.

Supplemental QuestionsO The supplemental questions are commonly written around the

required and desired qualifications. Pay close attention to how you

respond to these questions as they are typically scored and utilized to

screen applicants.

O For supplemental questions that require a text response, you may

want to copy the question and paste it into a Word document before

applying. That way you can take your time with responding to the

question and check for any spelling errors. Once you’re ready to

apply, simply copy and paste what you’ve written into your

application.

Preparing for the InterviewO If you are being called in for an interview, that usually means your

application was done well and you have a strong resume and cover

letter. Now the agency wants to learn more about you and assess if

you’d be a good fit for their team. If you do not make it to the interview

phase, you may want to follow up with the agency to see where you

were screened out for future reference.

O Refer back to the job posting for the position so you can remind yourself

what the duties were as well as the mission and values of the agency.

O Ask if you can obtain a copy of the Position Description and/or the

Organizational Chart from the agency. This will give you more in-depth

information regarding the duties of the position and who you will be

reporting to within the agency.

O Visit the agency’s website and become familiar with the services they

provide. What are their goals for the year; details regarding their vision

for the year can typically be found in their Strategic Plan.

O Scope out the location of the agency and any parking restrictions.

Preparing for the Interview (Cont)O Make a list of about 20 possible interview questions. You can search online for

commonly asked questions or ask people you know for sample questions. Many

agencies are using “Performance Based” interview questions that are designed to

learn more about your past behaviors in specific work situations. How you have

behaved in certain situations in the past will give them clues on how you’ll behave in

those same situations when working for them in the future.

O Practice responding to the questions with a friend or writing out detailed responses

to each question.

O Write down a few specific events from your work history (major career

accomplishments, projects that you were challenged by, mistakes you have made and

what you learned from them, etc.)

O The interview is a two-way street. Have a few sample questions ready for the

interview panel as well. At the end of most interviews, the panel will ask if you have

any questions for them. This is your opportunity to learn more about the specifics of

the job, what challenges you might face in this new role, what some of the top

priorities will be, the agency culture, or expand on anything you may have forgotten to

cover during the interview.

Interview TipsO On the day of your interview, give yourself plenty of time to find the agency,

deal with parking and avoid being stuck in traffic. You’ll want to feel prepared, not rushed on the day of your interview.

O Your interview starts the moment you arrive. When checking in with the front desk, greet the receptionist with a warm smile.

O Typically, state agencies will conduct both a first and a second round interview. For your first round, it will usually consist of an interview panel of 3 to 5 people. If possible, as you enter the room, ensure you shake the hands of each panel member.

O Some agencies will provide you with a copy of the interview questions on the table. If they don’t, you may want to jot down notes as the question is being asked to ensure you fully understand the question.

O Panel members will usually take turns asking you the interview questions. Make eye contact with everyone on the panel when responding, not just to the person that asked the question.

O Use the STAR technique to stay on task when responding to questions. Describe the Situation/Task that you needed to accomplish, the Action you took, and the Results that you achieved.

After the InterviewO If you progress to a second round interview, follow

the same tips as the first round interview.

O Reference and/or background checks are usually

conducted on second round applicants. Let your

references know they may be contacted. Provide

them with the name of the agency you interviewed

with and the type of position it is.

O If you would like, feel free to send a thank you email

to the interview panel or the HR department.

O If you are not selected for the position, ask for

feedback so that you can identify areas of

improvement for future interviews.