HR Selection Process

All applications received by the County of Sonoma are carefully and thoroughly evaluated for completeness and appropriate education, training, experience, skills, knowledge, abilities and other personal qualifications which directly relate to the duties of the position. Information contained in an applicant’s application and responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the employment process.

Candidates who are successful in this first step of the selection process are notified of subsequent examinations such as multiple-choice written, oral interview, work performance simulation, or other examinations appropriate to the duties of this position and as described in the advertised job announcement. The final step of the examination process establishes the employment list, which places the candidates in a “rank,” (i.e. 1, 2, 3 etc.) according to their total exam scores. Only candidates who pass the selection procedure examination process will be placed on employment lists.

If requested on the application, reasonable accommodation can be made for disabled individuals, candidates should provide supporting documentation of the need for accommodation prior to the examination date.

As defined by Civil Service Rules 5, the HR selection process may consist of any combination of the following types of examinations which test for job knowledge, ability, skill, and other qualifications of candidates:

• Application Appraisal Examinations
• Background Examinations
• Bilingual Proficiency Examinations
  • (Depending upon the level of fluency, the exam may only be an oral exam or a combined oral and written, non-Scantron exam) 
• Medical Examinations 
• Oral Examinations
• Performance Examinations
• Physical Agility Examinations
• Written Examinations
  • (Typically a Scantron exam)

Contact your department’s Human Resources Recruitment and Classification Analyst regarding any question related to the recruitment testing process.

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Employees re-hired within six (6) months of separation will not be required to be retested for the same level or lower level of proficiency for which they had been previously certified.

Please review the Bilingual (English/Spanish) Proficiency Process and Request Form for additional details and direction.

• 2024 Bilingual Proficiency Process and Request Form

The designation of positions for which bilingual proficiency and the level of proficiency required is the sole prerogative of the County. Designated bilingual positions require specific bilingual language skills on an average of at least 10 percent of the position’s work time.

Justification of the need to recruit for or certify a candidate for a bilingual position must be submitted to your Recruitment and Classification Analyst for the assessment of whether the request meets the criteria of being a bona fide occupational qualification for employment, and essential to the specific position.

Due to the main function of the positions, Interpreter/Translator I and II positions meet the criteria and do not need justification.

Bilingual Justification must include:

1. A brief description of the duties your (Position Title) will be performing.
2. Will the (Position Title) directly service bilingual clients? If so, with what frequency and what percentage of time will be spent using bilingual skills?
3. Specifically, what duties require the ability to a) speak, b) read and c) write Spanish and English? And with what frequency?
4. What other designated bilingual workers are in the work unit? 
5. Are there any other considerations, such as location or schedules, that need to be considered in terms of your ability to handle the volume of work that handles bilingual skills?

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Depending upon anticipated candidate pool size and venue availability dates, the following written examination locations are selected and scheduled prior to opening a recruitment: 

• Cotati Veterans Building, 8505 Park Avenue, Cotati, CA 94931
• Los Guilicos Training Center, 111 North Pythian Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95409
• Petaluma Veterans Building, 1094 Petaluma Boulevard South, Petaluma, CA 94952
• Santa Rosa Veterans Building, 1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
• Sebastopol Veterans Building, 282 South High Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472
• Sonoma County Human Resources, 575 Administration Drive, Room 116 B, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
• Human Resources Training Center, 575 Administration Drive, Room 117 C, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
• Sonoma Veterans Building, 126 1^st Street West, Sonoma, CA 95476
• Sonoma County Fairgrounds, E.C. Kraft and Garrett Building, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404

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