During my technical job search, I had numerous interview experiences with defense companies. I had on-site interviews with Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Honeywell, and Performance Software. I also had encounters with Boeing and Raytheon. From these experiences, I noticed some trends about defense company interviews which I’d like to share with you below.
On-site Interviews are Conducted at Events
Many defense companies like to do their on-site interviews with large groups of candidates at day long hiring events. At functions like this, you’ll show up early in the morning and have some time to mingle with other candidates while they feed you breakfast. Afterwards, you’ll likely be given various presentations on the company about benefits, work atmosphere, differing product groups, and much more. Certain companies also might take you on a tour of the facilities, or do a demonstration of technology that they’ve produced. Next will be your interviews which will be conducted in curtained booths or offices and will usually last 30 minutes. You’ll have anywhere between 3-6 interviews. In between interviews you'll have time to mingle with other candidates or do some extra studying. At around noon, you'll take a break while they serve you lunch. The interviews will continue into the afternoon and you'll be free to go after your finished.
I know for a fact that Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics all conduct on-site interviews for new college graduates in this manner. I enjoyed this style of interviewing as it enabled me to interact with the other candidates and also allowed me to learn more about the company through the information that was presented.
It’s Possible to Have Multiple Interviewers
It’s pretty common to have multiple interviewers participating in or listening in during a phone interview (a big hint is if you’re on speaker phone). However, rarely did I ever have multiple interviewers during live interviews. In fact, the only time this happened was with certain defense companies (Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, and Performance Software). When it did occur, there would be 2-4 interviewers each taking turns asking questions. After I gave a response, the floor was open for any of the interviewers to ask a follow up question. I wouldn't recommend approaching these interviews any differently. The best thing to do is just stay calm and treat it like you would any other single person interview. Be sure to make eye contact with all of the interviewers when you answer a question.
Defense Interviews are Light Technically
Throughout all my defense company interviews, I wasn’t asked one coding question or brain teaser. I was rarely asked any knowledge based questions (such as, “what is the difference between C++ and Java?”). The interviews usually consisted of behavioral and resume questions, with a lot of emphasis on academic projects, skills, and prior work experience. This is not to say that you shouldn’t prepare for technical questions when studying for defense company interviews as it’s still very possible that you could get them. My experience though was that defense company interviews were much less difficult than commercial software company interviews.
Interview Dress Code is Business Formal
You must wear a suit to on-site defense company interviews as defense companies are a lot more conservative than commercial software companies. All other candidates that I saw at on-site hiring events wore suits.
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