Forwarding Interview Questions

Senators (Rules & Calendar Committee)*

• What is a problem that you have seen on campus and want to fix?
• What are the 5 standing committees within the Senate and what are their functions?
• What led you to become interested in becoming a student Senator?
• Will you be able to fully commit to your position as Senator?
• What is the purpose of the SGA Senate?
• What are some ideas you have to better facilitate communication with your constituents?
• How will you improve the FSU experience for your constituents?
• Will you be a Senator who works behind the scenes or actively legislates?
• As an appointed senator, how will you represent your constituents as if you were elected?

RTAC & PAC Committee Members

• What does RTAC/PAC stand for?
• What is the budget of your board for the next fiscal year?
• How familiar are you with the finance code?
• What qualifies you for this position?
• What are the duties and responsibilities of a committee member in RTAC/PAC?
• Are you financially certified?
• What is the maximum amount that PAC can fund per unit for t-shirts?
• What is the maximum amount of times you can request from RTAC in the year?

Agency & Bureau Secretaries and Treasurers

• What are the duties and responsibilities as Secretary/Treasurer of your Agency/Bureau?
• What previous experience qualifies you for this position?
• How do you intend to use your position to make your Agency/Bureau more efficient?
• Can you fully commit to the demands of this position?
• Treasurer: Are you familiar with the A&S fee funding process?
• Treasurer: Do you know what the budget for your organization in the next fiscal year will be?

Agency & Bureau Directors and Assistant Directors

• What are the duties and responsibilities of the position that you are applying for?
• During your potential term of office what is the agency’s operational budget?
• How will the difference in funding allocated in the previous year from funding received for this year impact your programming ideas?
• Describe your experience working with this agency in the past or working on a project that is related to the mission statement of the agency.
• Give an example of a project that you have taken the lead on. What was the outcome and what did you learn from the experience?
• What are the prevalent issues that your community faces and what will you do as Agency/Bureau Director/Assistant Director to address them?
• What plan of action or programming will you implement to address those issues?
• How will you work with the affiliated organizations of the agency?
• Describe your approach to leadership.
• Give a specific example of a challenge that you have experienced when working with this agency and how you handled it.

Sophomore & Junior Class Council President and Vice President

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• What are specific goals you have for your position within the Class Council?
• How do you plan on building “community and pride” within the class you’re applying to represent?
• What kind of programming would you like to institute for your class?

Director of Cabinet Affairs

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• As the direct presiding officer within the Cabinet, describe your approach to leadership.

Secretary of External Affairs

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• How would you define the collective voice of the FSU SGA?
• What are some specific entities and organizations in the state of Florida and in the nation that you would partner with to advance FSU?
• What are some ideas you have for developing and improving communication between FSU SGA and other external entities and organizations?

Secretary of Internal Affairs

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• Why is it important to have consistent communication between all entities of SGA?
• With so many entities to keep track of, how will you manage to keep everything running so smoothly?
• What are some ideas you have for new structures and initiatives to help SGA support the efforts of different campus populations?
• Would you say stronger unity between SGA branches and entities is in the interest of the student body? If so, how will you use this position to strengthen these bonds?
• What are some specific relationships within SGA you plan to develop and strengthen?

Secretary of Student Engagement

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• What challenges do you foresee with your position and how do you plan on overcoming them?
• What initiatives would you like to start?

Secretary of Student Life

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• How would you define the collective voice of the SGA?
• What are some specific organizations/individuals within the community that you would partner with to help advance student life at FSU?
• What are some ideas you have for improving communication between SGA and the students we serve?
• Do you have any specific programming ideas to progress and enhance life as a student at FSU?

Chief of Staff

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• As the direct presiding officer within the Executive Office of the President, describe your approach to leadership.
• Why is the Chief of Staff such an important position in SGA? Why should the students trust you to get the job done?
• How will you effectively execute programs and/or projects for the executive branch?
• How will you organize the Executive Office of the President to best serve the student body?
• What will you look for in applicants for positions within agencies, bureaus, and affiliated projects of the SGA?
• What are the roles of the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch as they pertain to appointments in SGA?
• What various leadership experiences have you had that will directly affect your success in this position?

Deputy Chief of Staff

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• How will your leadership style affect how you organize the cabinet to achieve platform goals?
• How will you act as a liaison between the Executive and Legislative branches?
• What problems can you foresee in the coming year that you wish to overcome?
• How will you help the Chief of Staff effectively execute programs and/or projects for the executive branch?
• What are the roles of the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch as they pertain to appointments in SGA?

Secretary of Appointments

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• What are the roles of the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch as they pertain to appointments in SGA?
• What will you look for in applicants for positions within agencies, bureaus, and affiliated projects of the SGA?

Press Secretary

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• What connections do you have with the various media outlets in the FSU/Tallahassee community?
• How can SGA improve relations with FSView?
• What are some policies and stances of the administration in which you have been nominated to serve?
• Why is it important for the administration to communicate these policies and stances?
• How do you plan to use social media to further goals of the administration?

Justices

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• How familiar are you with the Student Body Statutes and Constitution?
• Do you have any conflict of interests that would inhibit the effective execution as a Justice?
• What past experiences qualify you for this position?
• Can you fully commit the time necessary for this position?
• What is your approach to statute interpretation?

General Counsel

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• How would you carry out your duty to represent students before the Supreme Court?
• What experiences qualify you for this position?
• What is your approach to statute interpretation?
• Can you fully commit the time necessary for this position?

Supervisor & Deputy Supervisor of Elections

• What are the duties and responsibilities of your position?
• Who makes up the electorate?
• Why are contested elections important for the democratic process?
• What will you do to ensure that participation in elections and voter turnout are high?
• What are some ideas you have for improving the elections code?
• Have you ever been affiliated to an FSU SGA political party?

Character Questions

• Describe the project or situation that best demonstrates your analytical abilities. What was your role?
• Give me an example of a time when you were able to successfully communicate with another person even when that individual may not have personally liked you (or vice versa).
• Tell me about a problem that you’ve solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you happy or satisfied with it?
• What is the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make during your last leadership position? How did you arrive at your decision? What was the result?
• How have you gone about setting short-term goals and long-term goals for yourself or your organization? What steps did you take along the way to keep yourself accountable?
• Describe a project or idea (not necessarily your own) that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
• Give a specific example of a policy you conformed to with which you did not agree. Why?
• Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with.
• What is the toughest group that you have ever had to lead? What were the obstacles? How did you handle the situation?
• Describe a leadership role of yours outside of campus. Why did you commit your time to it?
• How do you prioritize projects and tasks when scheduling your time? Provide examples.
• What was the biggest mistake you have made when delegating work to members of your organization? What did you learn from this?
• What have you found to be the difficult part of being a member, not leader, of a team? How did you handle this?
• When have you seen your hard work really pay off in your organization? What was the outcome?
• What has been your greatest leadership achievement to-date?
• When was the last time you thought “outside the box” and how did you do it? Why?
• What have you done in the past to prevent a situation from becoming too stressful for you or members of your organization to handle?
• Do you feel comfortable publicly speaking and presenting?
• How has your external and internal identities influenced why you wanted to apply for this position?
• Can you unpack your character and describe how it plays into conflict resolution?