VA Health Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – I applied online through USAJOBS.gov. About two weeks after the announcement closed, I was contacted by the Nurse Manager to arrange an interview. About two weeks after that I was contacted by HR with tentative job offer.

Negotiation Details – With the VA you go through a credentialing process that rates your experience and education and goes to a committee where they decide what "grade" you are going to come in at. I get the feeling that you can't easily negotiate this. From applying to entry date it was about 10 weeks.

Interview Details – Hiring involves a 3 time interview depending on the type of job one is applying for. During my 10+ years with the V.A., I got caught up in the racism and back stabbing consequently, the work environment was not very healthy at times-----again, depending on what department you might be in with the above statement written in re generalalities.

Negotiation Details – negotiations were not an option at time of accepting employment---again, depending on the department but generally.

Interview Details – The hiring process involved a phone interview which lasted about 30 minutes. After I was offered the job, I had to complete various packets of information for vetting and background checks. The process was timing consuming but once you are in the system you can move between jobs pretty quickly.

Negotiation Details – Little room for negotiation at the time. I know that some folks have negotiated for salary and other type of bonuses. The VA tends to offer hiring incentives for locations in out of the way places.

Interview Details – contacted by VA rep, discussed job duties for outpatient clinic near my home, flet good about the initial conversation, was told would call to set up meeting to further the process, never heard back ,even though i was led to believe there was going to be a one on one interview. Never heard anything, not thanks for the interest or sorry.....we hired someone else

Interview Details – Complicated online application process. The USAjobs.com tells you to summit a resume and work history. Unfortunately what it doesn't tell you is that your resume needs to be in a certain format along with everything else that you need to summit. After the closing date, I received a call to schedule an interview for a week later. The interview was a group phone interview, with 5 other people asking questions. They were behavioral questions, but they were long and complex with multiple parts to them. I felt I couldn't answer them with focused answers because they were so complex. I didn't feel the interview went very well. The next day I received a job offer.

Negotiation Details – You are paid according to the GS pay scale.

Interview Details – Interviews conducted soon after job closing. Pleasant interview, fairly informal, but I got the impression that a final decision had already been made prior to my interview. Applying for Federal positions can be frustrating to those outside the system - VA is loyal to internal applicants. While the local Interviewer and HR personnel provided a positive experience, I would rate the overall Federal Hiring process as a negative experience.