HN Explorer

Advice on Interviewing for US Digital Service?

5 points by throwaway_45321 ↗ HN
I'm preparing for an interview with the US Digital Service for a Software Engineer role in about a month.

I have concerns preparing for a technical interview. Tech interviews in the private sector can be pretty brutal and I would like some time to prepare. Has anyone been through the process or is working there now? Any advice or recommendations on how to best prepare?

6 comments

[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 22.6 ms ] thread
999900000999
My best advice for any interview is to line another one up.

Don't put too much on any one interview, with the economy the way it is, I think I went through 5 or 6 final round interviews before landing my current role.

tomberek
Be able to start with a broad understanding and be able to dig into specifics for your area of expertise. Be able to explain the connection between the larger scope and the details. Take a look at the values (https://www.usds.gov/mission); this org actually uses the values in day-to-day and are looking for people who can exemplify them.

(disclaimer: i was on the Defense Digital Service team)

logicalmonster
Do organizations really schedule interviews a month in advance? I've never experienced that.
nektro
congrats on getting the interview :)
hanifak
The interviews are not nearly as brutal as private industry. You'll have two technical ones, the first is a coding question on collabedit (easy string-related question). The second is more abstract and focuses on your ability to explain complex topics in easy-to-digest ways as well as evaluating trade-offs between proposed solutions / patterns / practices.

Then you'll have a behavioral one in which you'll be probed on your previous projects and experiences. These are best answered in the STAR format.

Also be sure you can pass the SF-86 without any major red flags. Checkout /r/securityclearance for more details.

throwaway_45321
Thank you so much! This was the level of detail I was looking for.