This position requires a qualification through the Merit system website sponsored by the State of Minnesota. This website accepts application for many positions for MN counties social services. Similar to many online applications, you will create a profile and submit interests for particular positions. You will then be evaluated against basic criteria and if you are a match, scheduled for a skills test in your area. If you pass the skills test, your overall score will be added to your profile. When positions open up in your selected counties, the state sends lists of qualified candidates based on your scores. The qualification lasts for up to a year. The total time from application to the skills test lasted about a month. After that, I received a phone call from one of my counties about a month later saying they had an opening. I scheduled an interview a week later. After arriving to the interview, I was given a list of questions that would be asked and was allowed time to approximately 10 minutes to review and make notes. I then interviewed in front of a panel of approximately 8 financial workers and their manager. The questions were pretty basic questions like an example of when I've had to deal with a difficult customer. Example of a conflict I've had with colleagues, etc. After the interview, I was taken to a room to complete two essay questions. They were questions about the position and what I would do in that situation. One was regarding customer service and taking initiative to extend additional services to the individual.