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The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) was established in 1995. They have a team responsible for supervising the state park system, overseeing state forest lands, and increasing outdoor education opportunities throughout Pennsylvania. DCNR has around 1,400 full-time employees, as well as another 1,300 seasonal employees. They seek to hire candidates who are passionate about the preservation of the environment.

DCNR provides civil and non-civil service job opportunities, such as clerical, HR, technology, law enforcement, maintenance, and educational positions. The DCNR internship program and the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps both offer job training and educational opportunities to young people seeking career experience.

The step-by-step hiring process is below:

Application: Candidates can apply online or through a campus recruiter. Civil service positions require one to fill out an application form and submit it along with their resume.

Telephone Interview: An HR recruiter may at first conduct an interview with applicants on the phone. These screening conversations determine how suitable one is for the job, by evaluating their work experience, and personality.

In-Person Interview: For the next stage, an applicant will be invited to come in for face-to-face interviews, led by one employee or a panel of judges.

Tests: Taking one or more pre-employment DCNR tests may be a part of the employment process. Entrance exams help employers further evaluate applicants’ abilities and skill set.

Often, applicants are required to take psychometric exams which evaluate one’s vital skills, knowledge, and temperament. Such tests are given to assess applicants’ cognitive abilities, such as their mathematical, verbal, and logical reasoning skills. Other DCNR assessment tests include the situational judgement (SJT) and personality tests, both measuring candidates’ behaviors, positive attributes, and managerial skills. If one is applying for a forest ranger position, they may have to take an in-depth exam. This Forest Ranger test assesses applicants’ memory, reading and interpretation skills of written data, and their capabilities regarding wilderness management and outdoor recreation. Additionally, the Supervisory Test Battery (STB) may be given to candidates interested in a civil service supervisor position. Applicants are presented with a fabricated organization and are told to act as the supervisor. The exam deals with questions regarding challenges, responsibilities, and decisions which need to be made. Test-takers’ problem-solving, leadership, communication, and team-building capabilities are measured when deciding whether they have what it takes to be a supervisor.

Start Preparing for the DCNR Test Process with JobTestPrep.

There are different types of interviews which may occur, such as behavioral and competency-based interviews. Interviewers aim to assess candidates’ previous actions as well as their behavioral tendencies, in order to predict how well they will progress in the desired career.

Potential interview questions are:

• Why DCNR?
• Give an example of a time that you felt you went above and beyond the call of duty at work.
• Tell me about a time where you had to deal with conflict on the job.
• What is your greatest failure, and what did you learn from it?