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Interviewing with FedRAMP

The top qualified candidates from resume review will be scheduled for a single interview. That isn't very much time for us to get to know each other, so we expect candidates to be well prepared after doing appropriate research in advance. We will consider it a strong red flag if you are not prepared for the interview process.

Formal government interviews are weird!

We are required to follow a structured interview process. All candidates must be asked the same predetermined questions in the same order and we need to follow a strict timeline. If you take too long answering some questions and we run out of time then you will automatically fail the interview.

The ability to prepare for and deal with this type of bureaucratic hurdle is a critical skill necessary to be successful at FedRAMP.

Scheduling

All interviews will be scheduled personally by the FedRAMP Director (Pete), FedRAMP Security Director (Nicole), or FedRAMP Chief of Staff (Ryan). We do not have administrative staff to coordinate this type of activity and that service is not provided by GSA HR. We will have only a couple of weeks to fit in as many interviews as possible.

Please be respectful of our time and respond promptly. ❤

To help you prepare, please be aware that all interviews will:

  • Require you to schedule an interview appointment on a Google appointment calendar
  • Take place remotely, over Google Meet, with a strong preference for camera-on
  • Require 1.5 hours of your time, with a quick break in the middle, during normal business hours in Eastern Time
  • Follow an awkwardly structured process with very little chit chat
  • Include a combination of technical, experiential, and philosophical questions that should be addressed appropriately

If you need any reasonable accommodation, please make sure to let us know in advance.

Interview Tips & Vibes

Interviews are tough. We know it. We want you to be as comfortable as possible so you can focus on showing us how you'll perform under pressure in this awkward situation we'll all be in together. A large part of your job at FedRAMP will be preparing for tough discussions with cloud service providers, independent assessors, and agencies; show us you're ready.

Here are a few tips and vibes to keep in mind to ensure you have the best interview experience.

1. Do a Dry Run

Please check your setup with Google Meet in advance, especially your audio and microphone, and ensure you'll be in a quiet environment. We spend all day on video calls and nothing ruins the mood and makes it hard to get comfortable like someone with a crackly mic or bad echo.

2. Practice Your Answers

We will provide you with the questions we plan to ask in advance of the interview. You are welcome to prepare in whatever way works best for you (and you very much should). It might be helpful to practice answering and time your answers to get a feel for how to tell your stories effectively.

Be careful using AI services for preparation.

You are welcome to use AI services to do research and prepare but we want to hear directly from you about your experiences and philosophy. Misrepresenting yourself by using an optimized AI answer will only hurt you (and us) in the long run.

Also be aware that due to the recent changes around FedRAMP, many AI services tend to give you outdated, incorrect, or otherwise sketchy information. Use them with care.

3. Dress Comfortably

We will not factor your appearance or clothing into the decision-making process at all (unless you wear something truly offensive).

4. Follow Instructions and Be Patient

We'll be reading off a script at times to ensure all candidates have a similar structured experience... even though we'll send you the script in advance so you can follow along. It's totally awkward. Just sit back and embrace the bureaucracy.

5. Use Notes but Don't Read Prepared Statements

It might seem unfair that we're going to read off a script but don't want you to - we'd much rather have a genuine unscripted interaction though, and we'll try to fit that in when we can.

Candidates that read off prepared statements often struggle with follow-up questions or minor interruptions for clarity. You should definitely have notes, and definitely take the time to think before answering when you need to, but we recommend avoiding reading prepared remarks verbatim.

Please do not use AI services or Google stuff during the interview.

We want to work with people who prepare thoroughly but still recognize when they don't know something. We would rather our staff walk away from a meeting with things to look up later than try to bluff their way through by multi-tasking research in real-time without being transparent.

We expect the conversation to be just between us, without a chatbot involved.

6. Avoid Awkward Endings

At the end of your interview you'll have the opportunity to ask us questions about anything you want, but we can't answer questions about how you did or what happens next.

It's a good opportunity to ask general questions that you're interested in about how FedRAMP works though - it's not every day you have the entire FedRAMP leadership team in front of you for a Q&A!