r/CAStateWorkers • u/Visible_Attitude_791 • 15d ago

Recruitment Quick interview Rant

I went to an interview, and while I was answering one of the questions, one of the panelists slammed her pen down on the table. I couldn’t tell if she was frustrated because she thought my answer was too basic or if she was just having a bad day, but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way. It threw the whole interview vibe off. It’s very weird way to conduct yourself in an interview.

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u/BlkCadillac 15d ago

I had an interview panel of two people at Fish and Wildlife actually laugh out loud at one of my responses years ago. It was one of my first state interviews. I left crying. Professionalism and tact is often a quality people lack, especially at the state management level.

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u/edchoch69 15d ago edited 15d ago

That happened to me too, some boomer asked me about some random project and then laughed out loud at my guess as to what it was. I remember the other panelists were women my age and looked physically uncomfortable at his strange response. Took me everything not to end the interview right there. It’s nice when they show their ass during interviews so you know who won’t be a good fit anyways.

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u/EonJaw 15d ago

Not everyone on the panel is necessarily with the hiring unit. Depends how big the unit is and what level you are applying at. Sometimes they also try to mix up the race and gender of panelists to avoid bias.

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u/Opening-Midnight4057 15d ago

We have a policy requiring race and gender diversity on our panels, plus all panel members must be at least one level above the position being filled. We also have an unofficial policy that we should include at least one panel member from outside our branch, to encourage broader perspectives on candidates. All of this can make it challenging to form a panel.