Port of Seattle Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – I had two interviews for this job. The process was very smooth, the people were nice and the questions asked were very relevant to the work. I was impressed by the inside of the building, the art work, the fountains, and the friendly faces. Overall a great interview experience.

Negotiation Details – There wasn't much room for negotiation.

Interview Details – The Port of Seattle did not do a phone screen or phone interview. I was contacted by someone in HR about a month after I'd applied for an open position and she scheduled a phone interview with me for a date 3 weeks out. The interview was very straightforward and consisted of 45 minutes of what were basically STAR-type questions, 7 in all, with one being just a yes or no question. They related the questions more to the job posting and duties than most STAR interviews so it is important to be able to tie your experience to the job you would be doing. It was a panel interview with the hiring manager, HR, and two people from other groups. They recorded my answers for each question and did not really ask follow-up questions. After that, I had to do a 30 minute "test" which was done on a laptop in another room. I was contacted by HR a little less than 2 weeks after my interview with a job offer, which I ultimately did not accept. Of all the Seattle-area employers I've been speaking with, the Port of Seattle was by far the most professional and had the fastest turnaround, which really impressed me. The workspace is beautiful, everyone seemed engaged in their work and very friendly and sincere, and if the job had been a better fit it would have been fantastic.

Reason for Declining – The job wasn't quite the right fit for what I want to do in the future.

Interview Details – Very quick hiring process, I was interviewed by a panel and they had a list of questions they had to get through. I heard back early next week and was scheduled for a telephone interview, then offered the following Monday.

Negotiation Details – They offered $28 hr which was very reasonable, they said they were comfortable offering me more since I had so much experience in safety already.

Interview Details – The interview was standard. It was a panel interview, lasted about an hour, and consisted of maybe 10 questions. It was a structured interview with behavior-based questions. They wanted me to provide examples of past behavior and experience to demonstrate certain skills.

Interview Details – I I received a call on Friday for a Monday interview. It was a panel interview with 3 managers and 1 HR rep. It lasted 1.5 hours. It consisted of 8 questions. 3 were the warm up questions, such as “tell me about your work history”. The remaining 5 were in regards to policy and procedures. “Tell me about a time when you affected a policy, created a policy, changed a policy”. It was a bit odd to answer questions on policy as opposed to tell me about a time you when you worked with a difficult customer type questions. I received a call 2 weeks later to tell me they went in another direction, but would like for me to keep an eye on the port web site for future openings. They were very professional and were able to answer my questions regarding the job and the Port.

Interview Details – Initiial phone interview was more focused on experience, for the in-person interview I didn't have enough context to fully answer their questions. Interviewers were polite and courteous.

Interview Details – Discussed internship learning objectives, examples of group work experience, etc. Some time for me to ask questions.