US Investigations Services Interview Questions & Reviews
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Updated Feb 7, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 11 ratings 
“Easy” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 11 ratings
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| 1–10 of 11 US Investigations Services Interviews | Sort by |
Associate Investigator at US Investigations Services
Posted Feb 7, 2012
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1.0
Very Easy Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2012 (took a day)
Wow is all I can say. I applied online for the position of Associate Investigator and received an email from the recruiter two days later. The intitial screening interview is conducted over the phone with the recruiter and then you are passed to a team leader in the area where you apply. After speaking to the recruiter I can understand why so many poor reviews are posted here about USIS. After discussing the position briefly the recruiter told me that qualifications above the minimum posted are not factored into job offers. They seem to pride themselves on the fact that you are offered a personal use car in exchange for a poor salary. The starting salary for an associate investigator is $41,000. A senior investigator makes about $53,000. An associate investigator is someone with no skill set what so ever. And let's be clear, you're not an investigator.... you are a fact checker, meaning you confirm the information provided by the candidate looking for a security clearance.
For whatever reason they require the applicant to live within 20 miles of a location listed in the job posting even though that listed location may not be where the actual work is performed. As the crow flies I live 19 miles from the listed location but the distance by road travel is 29 miles. I was asked if I would be willing to move 9 miles closer to the listed location.... when I said no the interview was over. So rather than excercise sound judgement and refer an obviously otherwise qualified candidate for further interview they are willing to let the candidate go because everything is interpreted literally.
Here's the bottom line with USIS, they are a government contractor whose bread and butter comes from producing timely results no matter what the cost to low level workers. Low level employees are expendable because there's always someone else willing to jump into the position. Pay is low and morale among workers is even lower. I've been around government work my whole life so I'm not surprised it's all about money to ownership. The less they pay the baseline worker the more profit that is left over. After speaking to the recruiter I am certain I would have turned any offer down because my resume puts me at the investigation director level not as an associate investigator. If you have nothing else going for you then take the job until you find something better..... It's always better to have a job while you're looking for a job. If you don't need the job then pass on USIS.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
General Consultant at US Investigations Services
Posted Nov 19, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2011 (took 2 weeks)
I was contacted about a job with USIS and had a phone interview. Then another phone interview followed by drug testing, and background checks....after my clearance waiver was processed, I was offered a job...I relocated and paid for it myself...I waited about 3 months...When I arrived, it really didn't work out...I was 1200 miles away from home and removed from the contract after I paid over a couple thousand dollars to move....It was a terrible experience...
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
I did not negotiate anything
Other Details
I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a Drug Test and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Field Investigator at US Investigations Services
Posted Sep 29, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2011 in Dallas, TX (took 3 months)
Main thing is that USIS will not negotiate salary and threaten to charge employee up to $5,000 for training costs if employee does not remain with company for at least 1-year.
Interview Questions
Reason for Declining
Salary too low and no expectation of promotion.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Personality Test and a Background Check.
More US Investigations Services Field Investigator Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Field Investigator at US Investigations Services
Posted Mar 13, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Dec 2010 (took 2 weeks)
Although I was not offered a job, the interviewer was very informative and answered all questions I had. Email communication was quick and easy.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
More US Investigations Services Field Investigator Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Investigator at US Investigations Services
Posted Nov 17, 2010
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed May 2010 in Plano, TX (took 2 weeks)
To start, I applied for this job because it appeared it would be a challenge with a "clear" path of promotions. Also, I was willing to take a pay cut to move my family to the target city to be closer to relatives. Also, I had several years of detailed personnel security positions where I was responsible for the administration of clearances and handling of individual application packages, so I know the process better than most people in the applicant pool.
Approximately 95% of the contact during the application-interview-offer process was with a recruiter. This individual could not answer basic questions (especially, what are the top three goals that USIS wishes to achieve in the next year to two years?). This was quite frustrating.
After the initial screening, I received an e-mail with a link to a web site where I was given several multiple choice questions and two essay questions. The time to complete this was three to five hours.
Following this, the same individual called with a status update. As I was still interested, I was told to await information regarding an interview. As I was applying for a job in another state, I assumed that the interview would take place there or that the interviewer would be from that regional office. As it turned out, the interviewer was from the "local" region. The interviewer was a mid-level manager who could not explain what the process was for the other region. He also could not answer any of the questions that I had asked the recruiter. All-in-all, it was a very frustrating and basic interview.
After my interview and before I received the job offer, I contacted a relative who was working in my target region. He was very vague about the hiring procedures, promotion opportunities, use of technology (and any forthcoming upgrades) and almost defensive at the amount of time it "should" take me to learn the system and the job requirements. This was NOT encouraging. (The only information that was hopeful was that no one knew the salary of anyone else. It was only "guessed" because of posted job titles and pay scales.)
Interview Questions
Reason for Declining
I was contacted a few weeks after the one-on-one interview by the same recruiter and was e-mailed a contract. I had several areas of disagreement. The contract was "at-will," offered (sort of) relocation expenses, allowed for investment with matching, allowed for opt-in on medical and dental care, and had an option for life insurance. As I am currently a vet with greater than 50% VA disability rating and married to an active duty officer who will be retiring soon, several of the compensation offerings would be a superfluous expense on the part of USIS. Also, the salary was barely over $34,000, which was less than what the application site had posted.
I counter-offered for $50,000 in salary (which is about 1/3 of my current earning potential but I was willing to take this drastic cut in pay for my family). I also included "for-cause" employment, an increase in the matching percentage for the retirement fund (from 6% to 10%), and requested 50% of cost savings (ONLY for the first year!) from not utilizing several of their programs be put in a trust fund for "joint use with USIS for other occupation expenses" and the other 50% be a bonus. Finally, I requested $1,000 in a one-time clothing allowance.
The same recruiter e-mailed that the counter-offer was not acceptable and the offer was to be as originally stated or not at all. I then replied to her e-mail with several exceptions I had to her statements and her handling of this negotiation in general. I included the senior USIS recruiter and the USIS director of human relations (both of which I had to retrieve from two separate internet sites!).
I received an e-mail from the senior USIS recruiter (courtesy copied to the recruiter and the USIS director of human relations) that stated that the basic contract is "the only contract that has been approved by the USIS legal department."
My final correspondence with them was to state (via e-mail) that "it [was] obvious that my contract rejection by counter offer was not going to be accepted and that further discussions and/or negotiations based on both the original contract and my counter-offer would not be productive, I respectfully reject [their] offer of employment and [wished them] well in their future hirings."
All-in-all, I found the entire process demeaning and distant. It appears to me that USIS is trying to do "business on the cheap" by hiring the lowest skilled individuals for the lowest salary and providing them minimal training. As a result, they are getting a significant rate of resignations, especially within the first 1-2 years of employment (as stated to me by the USIS interviewer). Additionally, their promotion and pay increase process is a closely guarded secret but is mainly based on quotas and the "personal impressions and recommendations" of the district manager.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
More US Investigations Services Investigator Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
IT at US Investigations Services
Posted Jun 10, 2010
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Sep 2008 in Vienna, VA (took a day)
First interview with HR went well, but interview questions asked by the IT rep were challenging and also a bit uncomfortable. I felt as if the interviewer was more interested in showing me how smart he was and not how qualified or unqualified I was. I didn't get the job, and I am glad. I don't think I would be happy working for this person.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Instructor/Subject Matter Expert at US Investigations Services
Posted Mar 25, 2010
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1.0
Very Easy Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jun 2008 (took 2 days)
Internet driven interview with a automated response
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Field Investigator at US Investigations Services
Posted Mar 18, 2010
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2010 (took 5 months)
From application to initial interview a long period of time elapsed, approximately three months. Then, I had a phone interview, a personality test, a writing sample requirement, a face-to-face interview and an extensive background investigation.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Skills Test, a Personality Test, a Drug Test and a Background Check.
More US Investigations Services Field Investigator Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Investigator at US Investigations Services
Posted Mar 8, 2010
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Mar 2010 (took a day)
I was asked questions like, 1) give an example of a project that required a lot of attention to detail, 2)strengths and weaknesses, 3) What is an example of an error or mistake on the job- what did I do about it and what was the outcome.
Interview Questions
3) What is an example of an error or mistake on the job- what did I do about it and what was the outcome.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
More US Investigations Services Investigator Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Field Investigator at US Investigations Services
Posted Jan 7, 2010
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1.0
Very Easy Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2010 (took 6 weeks)
applied online. 3 months later got an email to schedule a phone interview. 1 week later got phone interview. during interview listened to the whole schpiel and answered the questions of did i ever get fired from a job and why. then i was asked to explain each line of my resume. the last task i was given was to write down and answer 2 questions in word format and email them the next day.
Interview Questions
Reason for Declining
because of jobvent.com
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Personality Test, a Drug Test and a Background Check.
More US Investigations Services Field Investigator Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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