# Building Official Position Interview



## Bryan Holland

So, the City of Venice, FL - Director of Building & Code Enforcement position opening resulted in nearly 40 applicants.  Of these applicants, 5 were selected to be interviewed; myself and 4 highly qualified individuals with a wide range of skills and experiences.  It appears the city uses some sort-of scoring system to establish the top candidates.

The interviews were conducted today.  It was a real experience.  The interview was very formal and professionally conducted.  The city had a panel of 5 city employees to give the interview.  This included the interim BO, the Director of Community Development, the Director of IT, the Director of HR, and a city planner / engineer.  Exactly 12 questions were asked and 45 minutes was allotted for the entire interview.  Each of the panelists took turns asking the questions.  There was no feed-back or response after any of my answers.  Each applicant received the same question from the same person and allotted the same amount of time.  We were also given an opportunity to make an opening and closing statement.

I was really impressed with scope of the questions asked.  They were not your run-of-the-mill vanilla questions you typically get at job interviews.  Each question addressed a specific topic or subject matter.  The interviews were conducted at 9 AM, 10 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, and 2 PM.  I had the first, 9 AM interview.

Over the next several days, the 5 member panel will meet to discuss the interviews and will select the top 2 of the 5 interviewed.  The top 2 will be asked to come back in for a second meeting which will consist of 3 job assessment exercises.  The first will be a 5-minute speaking presentation on a specific scenario using a PowerPoint presentation.  The second will be a short written essay on a specific industry topic.  And the third will be a 2 page memorandum which presents a staff recommendation to the city managers on a personal matter.

The top applicant following this meeting will be interviewed by the city manager, have background checks completed, and other various administrative "checks" and procedures.  If all goes through, the applicant will be offered the position.

So, I will keep you guys updated.  I feel pretty good about today's interview.  I feel I have a real good chance of being called back in for the second meeting but can't say for sure.  It appears I have the endorsement of the interim BO and the Director of Community Development considers me #1 or #2.  I believe these two carry the most weight for the final decision.

Take care...


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## pyrguy

Good Luck!!


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## Francis Vineyard

Brian congratulations on being one of the top five candidates. May you be fortunate with continued opportunities.

This is very similar to the way we do our interviews; curious if some of the questions were character based similar to the personal recommendation memorandum. These type of questions surprises candidates expecting to be interviewed solely on the basis of their achievements.

Well done


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## Coug Dad

Congratulations, and good luck with the next step.


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## Code Neophyte

I would say you have every reason to be optimistic!  Good luck!!


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## peach

Good luck Bryan


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## fatboy

Sounds like a pretty intense process, I also wish you the best of luck.


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## Uncle Bob

Bryan,

I wish you well on the position.  Whatever the outcome; you are the best in my book.

Best Wishes to you and your family,

Uncle Bob


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## packsaddle

That's such a horrible way to conduct interviews.

It's fair (in a socialist kinda way), but a horrible way to get to know someone.

A one-size-fits-all interview process could very easily eliminate some of the top candidates.

I always preferred to let interviews flow naturally, letting the candidate talk his/her way into (or out of) the position.

Oh well, to each his own.

Good luck, Bryan!


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## jar546

That certainly sounds like a well run, professional system.  Especially for local government.  Good luck Bryan, although you won't need it because you have something more important than luck.


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## Yankee

That would indicate to me that they are looking for a square peg-square hole type of candidate, which is fine if they understand that is what will pan out with that interview process.

Good luck (I'd love to know the questions)


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## peach

oh, hey Pack.. I can think of much worse ways to conduct an interview ..


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## mmmarvel

Bryan - out of pure curiosity, do you remember a question that they asked that stood out in your mind?  Either a very pointed question or a rather unusual one?  Sometimes it helps to learn what the question was as it can help people who are looking for a job get their minds ready for a similar question during an interview.  Just wondering.


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## Yankee

peach said:
			
		

> oh, hey Pack.. I can think of much worse ways to conduct an interview ..


. . . let me guess . . .take them out in the field (and carry a paper bag and a pair of scissors)?


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## Bryan Holland

Thanks for all your nice comments.  I greatly appreciate your votes of confidence...

So, I was notified that I made the top two and will be having a second meeting with the interview committee.  For this meeting, I have been asked to submit several documents to be reviewed by the committee and discussed at the second meeting.

The first request is two separate, professional correspondences that I have made to a member of the public, a contractor, or another code professional in the role of my current position.  These correspondences can be emails, memos, or a letters.  The second request is a draft response to a citizen making a compliant about a code enforcement issue.  A letter was provided to me with the citizen complaint.  I am to respond to this complaint letter in the role of the new Building Director.  The final request will be a 5-minute oral presentation on "why we have a building code."  A PowerPoint accompaniment is optional.

The second meeting will be with the same five persons from the first meeting.  Questions will be asked about my correspondence submittals and the compliant response.  The meeting will close with the 5-minute presentation.  From there, I will meet with the Building Department Administrative Assistant for a 15-20 minute meeting.  This will be my opportunity to ask questions about the department operation and its staff.  Meanwhile, the 5 member committee will be briefing the City Manager on my second interview and presentation.  Once they are done, I will be having a 15-20 minute meeting with the City Manager.  Again, I will be given an opportunity to ask questions about the city in general, the position, and whatever else I feel necessary.

I have a 10:30 AM appointment, and the other candidate has a 1:00 PM appointment on the same day.

I will update you on how the second meeting goes.  It feels a little like jumping through hoops at this point, but I am enjoying the process for the most part.

Have a good night and take care...


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## cda

Way to go!!!!

Just don't let them know anyone on This website, might sink you!!


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## fatboy

Schweet! I'm sure you'll shine Bryan!

When is it?

(I like being the first interview, set the bar high)


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## rshuey

Sounds like the ProBoard exercises for fire inspector. Easy easy. Good job man!


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## Bryan Holland

Hello Again.

So, the second meeting occurred yesterday and it went great.

They had me open the meeting with my 5-minute presentation.  The City Manager walked in (unexpectedly) when I was about 2 slides in and watched the remaining presentation.  Afterwards, we broke away to his office for an extremely brief but pleasant conversation.  I then went back to the meeting with the committee to answer questions about my earlier submittals and some additional questions about the specific job duties.

As I indicated in my previous message, the other candidate's meeting was at 1:00 PM.  The committee will spend the rest of this week on into next week making their decision.  The Director of HR indicated they will likely make an offer within the first week of the New Year.

So, I still feel pretty good about my chances.  I will keep you updated.

Thanks for all your support…


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## cda

Happy new year!!!


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## Mule

Good luck! Hope you have a GREAT New Year!


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## Mule

Good luck! Hope you have a GREAT New Year!


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## FM William Burns

Nice touch with the City Mgr.  Best wishes for your new year.


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## fatboy

I would have to say that's a real positive result, the bonus meeting with the CM. Good luck, may the new year bring good news!


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## Alias

Woo hoo!  Sounds like a good interview.  Wishing you a new job for the new year!

Sue


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## Bryan Holland

Exciting news today.

I was notified today that I have been recommended for the position by the interview committee.  The recommendation was made last week to the City Manager.  A brief meeting occurred yesterday afternoon and the CM indicated he would also endorse the recommendation moving the process forward to the City Council which meets on January 11th.  They are expecting that I will be asked to come in at the end of next week or the beginning of the following week to finalize the deal.

If all things go to plan, I would likely be able to start the new job by late February or early March.

So needless to say, I am feeling pretty good right now.

Even though this new opportunity is an immense advancement in my career both professionally and economically, I feel a tinge of guilt and a sense of abandonment to my current co-workers, local contractors, and community.  I have been faithfully committed to my current employer longer than any previous job I have ever held and have made huge emotional investments with the City of North Port.  I know I can and will do the same for the City of Venice, but I both look forward to and don't look forward to my last day...  If you know what I mean...


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## Coug Dad

Congrats!  I hope the new opportunity works out well for you.


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## mtlogcabin

congradulation


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## fatboy

Way to go Bryan! I'm sure you will shine in the new position. And, that is great that you still have good feeling for your old position, and your coworkers, all to often, folks can't wait to get the heck outa Dodge. Congratulations.


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## jpranch

Congratulations Bryan and ditto to fatboys post!


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## cda

Road trip:::

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g34705-Venice_Florida.html


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## Jobsaver

Attaboy! Congratulations! I am sure you will be missed as well!


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## TimNY

Great new Bryan, congratulations.  The City of Venice is lucky to have you.


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## FM William Burns

Congratulations and best wishes.  Regarding leaving the present jurisdiction, as long as you made it better then it was before you began, that's all anyone could ever strive for and do similar in the new one.  Totally understand your feelings though.


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## pyrguy

Congratulations!!!!!!

Best of luck.


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## Francis Vineyard

Congrats Bryan, you did it!  May Venice be a fun place for you to work.


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## peach

Bryan... saying goodbye is hard... I've left jobs without saying it.. to move on to bigger and better.  Way to go and congrats!


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## Code Neophyte

Didn't I tell you?  Congratulations!!


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## Mule

Congratulations! Let us know how it goes once you're there for a while!


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## FredK

Way cool.  Enjoy the job.


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## Alias

New Year, New job........Congratulations!

Sue


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## cboboggs

Congrats!! Hope you enjoy it.


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