Thanks for signing up!
Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go.
Here's what it's like to interview for the NSA, from people who have done it
The National Security Agency is one of the most secretive branches of the intelligence community, but we know a little bit about how to get a job there thanks to Glassdoor.
Advertisement
The job site where anyone can rate their workplace and give an inside look at how to apply and interview has a page just for the NSA, which currently has a rating of 3.8 out of five stars. More than 35 people have left feedback on their interview process.
The reviews could not be independently verified since they were left anonymously, though many of the questions and background info seems to match up with other things already known about the NSA. The agency did not respond to request for comment.
“I was asked general questions about buffer overflows, SQL injections, XSS, and some other things I don't quite remember," the user wrote.
Buffer overflows, SQL injections, and XSS (Cross-site scripting) are all exploits hackers use to gain access to networks. And NSA employs some of the world's top hackers in its ultra-secretive Tailored Access Operations unit.
That the interview was technical and jargon-laden is not surprising, since NSA is said to be ahead of private sector technology by five to 10 years, according to "The Puzzle Palace" by James Bamford.
"You have a black [computer] box with no distinguishing marks on it. The only input/output is an ethernet port. How would you determine what is running on the box?"
The interviewer was basically trying to get an understanding of the applicant's thought process, assessing the steps they might take to determine what kind of software is running on a certain machine.
A key reason one needs to know what's running on the machine, especially in the NSA's case, is due to it being helpful in figuring out exactly what vulnerabilities exist so that software can be hacked.
Another user offered an answer, which is to "port scan" the box, which would determine what kind of software is running (Specific software programs use ports to communicate, like port 80 for web traffic or 587 for email).
"Have you done anything illegal that was never reported officially or on record," the user wrote.
At this point, the applicant has already filled out paperwork that likely asked about any crimes or drug use. But this question is a sort-of "catch all" to see whether someone might try to slip through the process without mention of the time they ran a stop sign back when they were 16 years old.
That's probably not a good idea. "Our best word of advice is to be completely candid during the security process," the NSA writes on its careers website.
The security clearance requirements are stringent, and the in-depth background check — which includes interviews with friends, family, neighbors, and others — along with a polygraph test, will likely uncover every skeleton a person has.
"I once went 95 mph without getting caught," one user wrote. "I have since been hired after answering this question and no penalties have been incurred for the 1.5 years I've worked."
"Write the algorithm for Fizzbuzz in your programming language of choice," one user wrote.
The so-called "Fizzbuzz test" is a common question that will quickly determine whether a programmer can actually program. The actual test sounds something like this, according to CodingHorror:
"Write a program that prints the numbers from 1 to 100. But for multiples of three print 'Fizz' instead of the number and for the multiples of five print 'Buzz.' For numbers which are multiples of both three and five print FizzBuzz.'"
Any developer who knows anything will be able to write out the solution on a piece of paper in a few minutes. There are actually many different solutions, but the most efficient one will be less than ten lines of code.
Some were asked, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" And many others were asked, "Why do you want to work at NSA?"
There were other variations, like "what do you want to achieve?" or "what brought you to NSA?"
But, like any other job interview, the questions are two-fold: They give an interviewer an idea an applicant knows what they are getting into, and whether they might be a good fit for the company, or in this case, work in the secret world of intelligence.
"None," the user wrote. "I was given a newspaper editorial to translate on the spot, which I did."
That's certainly a quick way to figure out whether someone has the translation skills you need. Translation is in high demand since much of the signals that NSA collects is in a foreign language.
Right now, the NSA mostly wants translators of Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Pashto, Persian-Dari, Persian-Farsi, and Russian.
"The background process is incredibly extensive," one user wrote. "Took 7 months from time of application. I'm still waiting to hear if I passed the background investigation. Don't apply if you are under a tight deadline to get a job."
Once you apply, the NSA doesn't really care about your timeline. There's a lot to get through before someone walks in the door, including the normal job interviews, behavioral assessment, psych test, and polygraph exam.
But the background check seems to be the hurdle that takes the most time. The NSA only says the process can be "lengthy" — which users say can be anywhere from 7 to 12 months.
The agency also says you shouldn't be talking about it either, except to close family and friends. "We ask that you simply state that you have applied for a government position with the DoD."
Advertisement