DCSA Interview Coming up

Hello,

I have a DCSA interview coming up for a Special Agent position and wanted some insight on what to expect or if anyone could share their experience.

Thank you!

They are going to go over your questionnaire with you. If they have any flagged items or found something you didn’t disclose, they will ask you questions trying to get you to disclose this issue before confronting you with it. Expect 2 to 3 to 4 to 6 hrs…

Thanks for your response. I meant an interview for a Special Agent position LOL.

The interview will most likely be a three panel interview with each person asking a set of pre-fab questions. Will discuss a lot of your past experience, etc.

Relax and good luck.

Thanks so much!
I’m a nervous wreck.
Any insight on the timed written assignment after the interview?

No idea what that is. Might be something new, might be specific to that supervisor.

I’ve taken timed tests for other positions, usually it is read a scenario then take a position and defend it using the information provided. It is basic reading comprehension coupled with a little analysis and your reporting abilities.

Best advice is to be comfortable, eat, get plenty of sleep, relax as much as you you can.

What part of the country are you interviewing with?

Does the local SAC have any influence over who gets selected? In non-governmental positions, the hiring manager, direct manager and even co-workers can “put in a good word” and it may help. Or will these positions go to someone with a preference (Vet, etc.) automatically (I have heard that reason in the past - “This person had to be hired because of…and they were a lousy investigator”).

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Not sure, hiring has changed a bit under DCSA but the local SAC is historically the final say. Usually veterans preference applies to the cert but I am sure there are always exceptions.

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Thank you for the response!

Hi there. Just wondering how this went and if you have heard anything yet? Best of luck

Just wondering how this went?

I have not heard back on the job application. Posting just closed. I will be calling the local SAC later this week.

Interview went well! Lasted about 45 mins with the Local SAC introducing the agency for the first 10mins, followed by a timed writing exercise. I have not yet heard back.

Bad news - email received from DCSA. “Tentatively qualified” but “not referred for interview”. Oh well, moving on! Good luck to everyone else!!

Something better will show up.

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That’s great. Good luck to you!

Do you know if they called your references? I haven’t heard mine have been called so just wondering

They have not. Still waiting as well. Good luck!

Before everyone thinks this gig is rainbows and sunshine I want you to understand this:

1.) Management only looks out for themselves. Meaning it is numbers driven, SACs (Special Agent in Charge) tries to compete with each other in the office to have the highest amount of cases done for their team to try to suck up to a useless, overpaid, Area Chief in hopes to get a good rating. This burns the agents out.

2.) Management will throw you under the bus, meaning if you made a minor mistake which normally wouldn’t mean anything but then gets found out, they will say “well you signed a document stating you read everything to include this 400 page manual”

3.) Management is only in their positions to try to keep moving up, they don’t care about the team, their workers, they only care about their stats and trying to apply to a higher grade meaning every supervisor whom comes through will burn out their agents as they are trying to get ahead which includes throwing their agents under the bus knowing nothing can be done.

4.) Word of advice, do not come work for this agency. Management is the biggest snake/drawback of the agency. They are so numbers/stat driven they don’t see the damage they are doing. I and other agents have discussed, we will no longer work as hard as we can, we will do the basic minimum but have all lost motivation to do anymore than is needed where we have before.

5.) There are snakes of co-workers, things that you gossip or talk about will get back to whomever you talked about. These are usually the people that suck up to the boss (SAC).

6.) The job is very repetitive and creates anxiety, meaning you get work assigned every 4-5 weeks after you spent so much time into all the cases, then you get slammed with another load. Also it counts against you if you take too long briefing your cases stats wise, if someone you were supposed to interview cancelled or left you hanging, it counts against you stats wise.

7). SACS will take crap about you behind your back to other SACS. Most SACs in my area have left to other positions or offices after burning out their team so they can look good and get ahead.

Do not come or consider working for this agency, the people whom left a good rating as Special Agents are either lying, bots or they retired from somewhere else and this is a job that they don’t need. But for the people that have this job as their primary income, stay far away. You might say “it can’t be that bad?”…you’ve been warned. People only stay with this job because they have gotten so used to the flexibility schedule or this is their post-retirement job.

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Well said. But realistically you could be describing so many many jobs out there. Humans do what they do and they do it everywhere in every job. Very few people are lucky enough to find the perfect job with no complaints.