As you prepare for your coveted VA interview, you may be wondering what to expect. After all, you want to make the best impression and get to work serving Veterans right away.
We can help.
At VA, we use a performance-based interview (PBI) process. With these kinds of questions, we’re going to ask you to describe what you have done in a specific but broadly applicable situation. We’ll present a scenario and ask you to tell us what you did in that instance.
These questions typically start with “Tell me about a time when you…” and offer you the opportunity to fill in the blanks.
Answering these kinds of questions can be tricky, though, as you may find yourself offering more information than is warranted. Like any of us, when you start telling a story, you may have a tendency to wander off on a tangent, just following the train of thought until it brings you back to the heart of the story.
Don’t do that! Instead, keep your answers focused by explaining the “problem” you encountered, the “action” you took, and the “results” you experienced: PAR. Answering in this fashion allows you to keep your narrative on track and focused on the most pertinent information.
Work at VA
Take a deep dive into the VA interview process, including more about PBIs and the PAR answering method, at VA Careers.
