500 applicants in 2 days, led to a mass hiring of 30 people. It was the first hiring in 2 years. Hiring was done across multiple departments, and the interviewers alternated questions.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
8 questions, all of which were pretty standard interview questions. Nothing specifically related to science or the position, moreso in the realm of handing adversity, etc.
The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Environmental Protection Agency (Dallas, TX) in Sep 2009
Interview
I interviewed for a Physical Scientist at pay grade 09. The job dealt with storm water, storm water pollution prevention plans, and NPDES. It was a phone interview that lasted about an hour, then I had questions that took about another 30 minutes. There were two interviewers, but only one talked to me. They started by telling me about the position and the Dallas, TX office. Next they told me how excited they were that they were able to hire from outside and not have to promote from within the agency. Apparently it was very rare to hire from outside and they could not believe they god approval to hire from outside. They asked 5 questions. Very standard government job type questions. 1. Tell me about 3 professional accomplishments. 2. Tell me about the Clean Water Act as it pertains to storm water. 3. How would you handle a disagreement? 4. Why do you want to work at the EPA? 5. What are your short and long-term goals?