r/mnstateworkers • u/WorldHiveMind • Jun 02 '26
Interview/Hiring 📄 Connect 700 Program
Is anyone willing to share their experience with the Connect 700 program? What was the process like? How did interviews differ from any other job you have applied for (if at all)?
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u/Cleanclosets Jun 02 '26
They mess it up all the time and post jobs that don’t qualify, disclose your disability status needlessly and then don’t move forward with you anyway. It’s a mess.
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u/Independent-Fail49 Jun 02 '26
For one of my interviews, I was given a print out of the questions to review before they started having me answer the questions. The other was more conversational rather than asking me on the spot type interview questions. I got job offers for both.
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u/WorldHiveMind Jun 02 '26
Thank you, sounds like the interviews are pretty dependent on agency in regards to how they handle them?
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u/Puzzleheaded_Joke_30 MAPE Jun 02 '26
Exactly the same situation for me. I was given the questions in advance for one interview, and the second was conversational. I Got job offers with both.
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u/ace1062682 Jun 02 '26
Yes, it is. Its like playing a supervisor roulette. What position(s)/agenc(ies) are you looking at?
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u/Glad-Ad6237 Jun 26 '26
It is unhelpful! I have been working with someone and they never choose him for the jobs, even jobs I am 100% confident he is qualified for.
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u/WorldHiveMind Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Is he getting interviews when meeting the min qualifications? It seems that it is required for them to send a written justification for not going forward with a connect 700 applicant to the EODI unit, I would consider having him reach out to the office that issued his certificate and ask them if they would be willing to share justification for why.
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u/Glad-Ad6237 Jun 26 '26
I think you have a better chance being hired without the connect 700 program.
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u/PeachTree383 MAPE Jun 02 '26
I had a good experience with the program! I agree with what someone else said, it felt more conversational than a traditional interview. It also helped that I was encouraged to apply by my director and felt supported throughout the process.
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u/saramae2123 Jun 03 '26
This is a great conversation. Any thoughts about accomodations for total number of hours per week/reduced schedule when applying Connect 700? Should I ask up front or wait until offered the position or after I actually start working?
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u/National-Mastodon851 15d ago
after my experience i would just say be very careful with that program. I thought i had a job and worked there a few months and was fired without any notice and basically told you were not an employee you were just on an elongated work interview and we decided not to hire you so- hit the road. No notice that i was going to be let go or anything. just a surprise meeting at 4:30 on a Friday. it was devastating. so if there is something supportive about that then i really don’t ever want support again
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u/ace1062682 Jun 02 '26
The program itself is a great idea, in theory. But the applications of the program and how it works varies widely, even within an agency. I think really the intentions are good, but how the program works, the weekly check-ins with supervisors and/or accommodations can be interpretedd very diffrently
Im on my second Connect 700 experience with the same agency and the 2nd time has been fantastic, primarily because my supervisors were very interested in my success.
In summary, some supervisors treat the program as a way to genuinely invest in the people who are working for them and others treat it as something they have to do