I worked on the 2010 decennial operation as an enumerator and enjoyed my experience. After the decennial operation was completed, I contacted Census to see if they had any other job openings, and was told that they were testing people for the position of Field Representative (this was in April 2012). Unfortunately, working on the decennial operation will not get you any special consideration or credit when applying for other Census jobs....the application process begins anew as if you'd never worked for them.
The hiring processes for the Field Rep position begins with a basic skills test (28 questions with a 30 minute time limit). This test is very similar to the one that was given for the decennial operation. Unlike the decennial operation, the Field Rep test is not given a percent score, but is pass/fail.
Next up is a mock interview. The applicant is provided a script to read from. This was easy so long as you followed all the instructions on the script. Some questions will instruct you to ask the respondent to spell their answer and the like. They want to see if you can pay attention to detail, and can follow instructions.
After the mock interview, there is a short structured interview....5-10 minutes. The interviewer asked basic questions such as, "Tell me about a time that you needed to deal with a difficult person."
You are also required to provide a resume. The skills test, mock interview, structured interview and resume are then all used to assign a score to the applicant.
After completing all of the above, I heard nothing back from the Census. I had no idea if I was being considered for a job. After some months, I called to inquire about the status of my application, and was told that I was on their list of "qualified applicants" and that I would be called if they had any openings. I was also told that the applicant list was good for 2 years.
