14 Interview Questions about how federal grants are given out (With Sample Answers)
A grant is money that can’t be paid back that is given to a person or group for a specific reason, usually to help the public. Federal agencies give out a lot of grants, and they have a set way of getting applications, reviewing them, and giving out grants. If you want to work as a grant manager, grant officer, grant and account specialist, or in a similar position for a federal agency that gives out grants, you need to know how to talk about your ability to handle the grant process.14 Interview Questions about how federal grants
This article shows a few interview questions about how federal grants are handled and talks about them. We give you a sample answer for each question to help you get ready.
Sample answers to questions about how federal grants are handled that might come up in an interview
The grant life cycle is a step-by-step process in which a federal agency creates a funding opportunity, accepts applications, evaluates the applicants, and sends out the money. The tasks that are done as part of this process are called “processing federal grants.” The following questions and answers can help you prepare for an interview where you will be asked about your ability to do this:
1. How good are you at getting a grant?
As a grant manager, officer, or specialist, it is your job to keep track of the process and do what needs to be done at each step. With this question, the interviewer is trying to find out if you understand how the process works and if you have any relevant work experience. If you have experience, talk about a job you’ve had before and explain what you did that was related to the process. If not, explain how the grant process works in detail.
Example: “When I was in charge of grants for a non-profit community group, the first thing I had to do was find donors and talk to them. From there, we told people about the grant opportunity by focusing on applicant communities, such as local schools for grants related to education. Then, we looked over the applications and picked the winners with a small group of programme stakeholders.”
2. What do you think are the most important traits for a person who handles grants?
This question is meant to find out what you think are the most important skills and traits for a job processing grants. The person interviewing you thinks that you probably have the qualities you list. Here, pay close attention to what is in the job description.
Example: “Finance and accounting skills are very important for processing grants and making sure there are enough funds so that a grant programme can be done. I also think it’s important to have good communication skills, since you always have to talk to applicants and awardees, even after the award has been given.”
How would you start sorting through the grant applications you get?
Screening the applications is the first step in deciding who will get an award. This question tests how well you know the first step of the screening process. People who work in the grant industry and have a lot of experience can tell you how they did things at other organisations. If not, find out how federal grants are given out and use that information to decide how to answer.
Example: “Since it’s impossible to read every application carefully, the first step is to see if the applicant has included everything that’s needed. For example, most grant applications need to include a budget, so we can automatically turn down any that don’t.”
4. How do you rate the applications after the screen?
Each of the remaining applications is given a full review and evaluation after being screened. Again, you can answer based on what you already know or what you’ve learned about the subject. Use an example to show how the process can be done in different ways.
Example: “For grants that are given on a case-by-case basis, it can be hard to get through the rest of the applications. It’s important to set up a rubric so that everyone can be evaluated the same way. Once that was done, I and the other people on the grant committee would choose experts from outside the organisation to serve on a review panel. After each expert has read through the applications, they would talk about how good each one is and who is most likely to get the grant.”
5.How do you figure out the level of risk when applying for a grant?
Risk means things that could cause grant applicants to mismanage or waste the money they get. Assessing risk is an essential step in determining awardees. Make sure to include important criteria that can help reduce risk in your answers.
Example: “I look at the applicant mostly in terms of three problems. These are how stable their finances are, how good their management systems are, and how well they have done in the past with other awards. If I find out that the applicant is financially stable, has rules in place to make sure money is used correctly, and has used money in the past in the right way, I can be sure that they will do the same with our money.”
6. How can you tell if a grant programme is trustworthy?
Integrity means making sure that people get grants because they deserve them, not because they know someone in the grant programme or are related to someone in the grant programme. Most grant programmes have rules to make sure they are fair and open to everyone. Show in your answer that you understand these policies and how you plan to keep them working.
Examples: “I think that being honest about how grants are given is the first step to keeping integrity. To do this, I’d make sure everyone knows who is eligible, what the grants are for, and how we choose who gets them. Also, conflicts of interest are always a worry, so I’d set up a thorough screening process to make sure that review panel members are unbiased.”
7. What can you do to make sure the grant process goes smoothly?
This type of question is about how a business is run. There are many phases and steps in the process, so it’s important to make sure your work is well coordinated. Explain in detail how you can give other people roles and get them to do their best.
Example: “I try to find out what each staff member is good at and give them tasks that match their skills. For example, someone who knows a lot about marketing should announce and spread the word about a grant. Also, make sure that everyone knows what to expect. I want to make sure that each step of the process has clear goals and a person in charge.”
8. What is a successful grant programme?
How you measure how well a grant programme works can tell a lot about how you feel about your work and the grant process as a whole. Talk about your goals and how they affect your idea of a successful grant to show that you work in a methodical way. Use an example from a grant you worked on whenever you can.
Example: “The first step in figuring out if a grant is successful is to set goals at the beginning of the process. When I was in charge of an after-school funding grant, our goal was to make sure that as many young people as possible had a safe place where they could do things that would help them in the future. So, we decided that for a programme like this to work, we would have to give grants to as many community groups as we could.”
9. How do you decide what to do first?
There are many deadlines in the grant process to make sure that the money goes to the right people on time and that the application process goes smoothly. With this question, the interviewer wants to know how you would organise your work to make sure a grant is done on time. In your answer, tell us how you plan your day and keep track of tasks.
Example: “Depending on where I am in the grant process, I decide what work to do first. During the pre-award phase, I’ll probably spend a lot of time talking with stakeholders about goals, deadlines, and requirements. So, it’s important for me to figure out what the most important things are and lead conversations so they don’t go on too long. Most of the time, it’s clear why an assignment is important. For example, you need a rubric before you can start the review process, so making sure that you have one is usually the most important thing to do at that point.”
10.What would you do if someone asked you for help with a report right away, but you had an important deadline of your own to meet?
Reporting is an important part of getting a grant because it keeps people up to date on things like financial statements and project activities. This question is about your ability to handle difficult situations and do more than one thing at once. Try using the STAR method, which stands for situation, task, action, and result, to describe a similar situation you’ve dealt with in the past or to think of a good way to handle the current situation.
Example: “When my boss asked me to make a slideshow for a presentation that was going to be given the next day, I was in a similar tough situation. At the time, I was working with a coworker on a report for stakeholders that we had to turn in by the end of the week. Right away, I looked at my schedule and made changes. Given how important the slideshow was, I told my colleague that I would work on the slideshow first and then go back to the report with full force.
I had to work a few extra hours over a few days to finish both assignments so quickly. This taught me that if I plan and act carefully, I can handle hard situations.”
11. What is hard about putting together a budget for a grant?
To make a grant programme that works, you need to make a budget. This question checks how much you know about budgeting and how well you can predict budget problems. Talk about what you can do to be ready for a common problem in your answer:
Example: “The biggest problem is figuring out what the budget needs to be, especially when we are making plans for the budget before a solicitation is made public. When this happens, I look at requests from previous years that were the same or similar to see what we need and make a list of budget items. Then, to figure out what the final requirements are, I compare these estimates to any possible risks.”
What would you want to know about how a grant was used?
Documentation helps make sure that people who get grants use them in the way they were meant to be used. If you set up the right criteria, you can see how well the people who get the awards meet their responsibilities. Explain why the things you list are important in your answer.
This is why: “One of the criteria would be the breakdown of expenses, because it’s just as important to know what you spent money on as it is to know how much you spent. The amount and length of work have a direct effect on how much money employees get paid. These measures can help figure out if a plan for spending is fair and reasonable.”
13. What would you do if people who won wrote you?
People who get grants often need help with the process and with following the rules. For an awarding agency to work well, it needs to be able to keep in touch with them. Talk about a way to solve the problem of correspondence in your answer.
Example: “I think it’s important to give each awardee someone they can talk to who knows a lot about the topic. For this person, this person is like a boss. Since they know the process and the rules, they can answer any questions about them or point people in the right direction. This gives correspondence a place that works well all on its own.”
14. What do you think we should do to improve our grants?
This question checks how much you know about the company, how well you understand how grants work, and what you can do to help the organisation. You should look into the agency’s grant programmes to get ready. Talk about a show and a big way it could be made better during the interview.
Example: “I think your exchange program’s small grants fund can help a lot of different communities around the world, but I think both the fund and the programme could be better known. I’d like to focus on getting the word out about the exchange programme and how valuable it is to the rest of the world, as well as giving more information about the grants to the communities that want to apply for them.”
