A. Additional first-round (screening) questions
Theme Fresh Q’s Why it matters
Mission & Equity “How would you align your counseling with PCC’s pillars of holistic support and equity?” PCC’s strategic plan stresses those words.
Client Volume “Our counselors see 150–250 entrepreneurs a year; describe tools you’d use to stay organized.” Tests record-keeping and time-management.
Spanish (preferred) “¿Cómo explicaría el flujo de caja a un emprendedor hispanohablante?” Quick, basic Spanish check if you list it.
Ethical Scenario “A client asks if you can ‘massage’ numbers to win a grant. What do you do?” Bulletin warns errors can cause irreparable harm.

B. Second-round panel: 20 more technical & behavioral questions
Category Possible Questions
Start-up Feasibility “Walk us through the top three data points you gather before saying a business idea is viable.”
Capital Access “What non-SBA funding sources would you suggest for a rural food-product start-up?”
Market Research “How do you teach a founder to size their target market with free data?”
KPI Reporting “Which metrics would you flag if you saw a sudden drop in ‘jobs retained’ quarter-over-quarter?”
Confidentiality “Describe the file-naming or permission structure you’d implement to safeguard client docs.”
Teaching Mindset “Give an example of a concept you taught that initially confused learners and how you clarified it.”
Stress & Multitask “Tell us about the busiest week you’ve ever had—how did you keep quality high?”
Cultural Fit “PCC earned an SBCN Most-Impact Award in 2020; what contributes to that kind of result?”
Independence “How do you decide when a client issue requires director sign-off versus your own judgment?”
Failure & Growth “Describe a counseling engagement that didn’t meet goals and what you learned.”

(Derived from common business-consultant interviews and SBCN advisor posts)
resources.workable.com
uk.indeed.com
himalayas.app

C. Deeper simulations & skill checks
Simulation What they might hand you How to ace it
QuickBooks “clinic” A corrupted QBO file: mismatched AR/AP, uncategorized expenses. You have 10 min to list next steps. Mention bank-feed rules, chart-of-accounts rebuild, reconciliations, and training follow-up.
Excel / Cash-Flow Test A 13-week cash-flow with formula errors. Spot and fix three red flags. Check negative week balances, hard-coded totals, and circular references.
Email-writing exercise Draft a post-session email summarizing three action items for a salon start-up. Limit 200 words. Use bullet format, clear next steps, and an offer of follow-up resources.
Mock Networking Pitch “You’re at a Chamber breakfast; introduce the SBC in 60 seconds.” Hit free, confidential counseling; 125+ seminars; KPI wins.
Spanish voicemail (if applicable) Record a 30-sec greeting inviting a Spanish-speaking client to book a session. Keep it simple; offer call-back in English if needed.

D. Possible take-home / between-round tasks
90-Day Action Plan – outline how you’ll reach “sizeable number of clients,” include marketing channels, partnerships, and first seminar topics.

One-page Market Brief – analyze a Pitt-County micro-industry (food trucks, home health) and propose counseling content.

Mini KPI Dashboard – build an Excel tab that auto-calculates starts, jobs, and capital based on raw counseling data.

Panels use these to test clarity, formatting, and your ability to “collect, compile, and assemble information clearly and concisely.”

E. Likely third-round (or final) extras at community colleges
Feature Possibility Prep tip
Campus tour + meet-and-greet Informal “fit” assessment with VP, Deans, or existing counselors. Have two thoughtful questions about cross-department collaboration.
Personality or strengths inventory CliftonStrengths or DiSC to gauge team dynamics. Answer honestly; relate strengths back to counseling success.
Reference call script They’ll ask refs about confidentiality, integrity, independent judgment. Brief your referees with 3–4 bullet wins to cite.

F. How committees may score you (typical rubric)
Category Weight What earns top marks
Technical counseling & finance knowledge 30 % Clear, accurate advice; QuickBooks/Excel fluency.
Communication & teaching skill 20 % Engaging demo; plain-English explanations.
Confidentiality & ethics 15 % Concrete examples, strong CPA code reference.
Record-keeping & KPI awareness 15 % Specific methods, dashboard thinking.
Cultural & mission fit 15 % References PCC pillars; community-engagement ideas.
Spanish or other “plus” 5 % Conversational ability or plan to partner with interpreters.

Final “stretch” prep ideas
Create a 5-slide teaching micro-deck on “Cash-Flow vs. Profit” you can launch instantly.

Bookmark free NC data sites (EDPNC, NC Commerce LMI, SBIR/STTR portal) to quote live.

Practice a 30-sec STAR story for each bulletin keyword: network in groups, maintain adequate records, absolute confidentiality, etc.

Rehearse with a friend acting as a frazzled retail owner—record, critique, tighten your counseling script.