I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at IronArch Technology (Washington, DC) in July 2014
Interview
I interviewed with the owner of the company (Joe Punaro) and two senior managers. Being female and in my 20's, I was pretty nervous going into an interview with three higher-ranking male interviewers, but my fears were almost immediately alleviated upon meeting all three gentlemen. I think they could tell that I was nervous - they definitely made a point to make the interview very conversational and unintimidating which was so helpful because it allowed me to relax and really show them who I was, what kind of skills and experience I could bring to the team, and what I was really looking for in my career.
I was impressed with the work that IAT does; specifically, the clients that they support. I have been in Federal Consulting for about 5 years now and I'm very focused on growing my career with a company who will provide me great opportunities in exchange for my hard work and dedication. After only a short time learning about IAT's ongoing projects and upcoming work, I felt confident that they had a substantial client base who will continue to rely on them for support in the coming years, regardless of the economic state of the Federal Government. Knowing that IAT has the bandwidth to keep their staff employed was probably the most important factor for me in considering an employment opportunity with them.
My interview was supposed to be an hour, but ended up taking close to two. This was not a bad thing, though - there was just so much to talk about that the time flew by so quickly. Mr. Punaro was very considerate, making a point to interject when the scheduled hour was up, just incase I had another obligation that I needed to attend to. Since I did not, I was happy to stick around and continue my conversation for the extra hour.
Overall, my interview experience was a very good one. Mr. Punaro stayed in contact with me over the course of the next couple weeks - I do believe that he was about to extend an employment offer to me, but unfortunately I had to inform him that I was no longer available, as my husband's company ended up asking him to lead up a new project in Houston, TX. Mr. Punaro was understanding, of course, and even asked me to keep in contact if we ever return to the DC area. I think his upbeat and positive approach to business relations and networking is exactly what is needed to build and sustain a successful small business, as he's done with IAT.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I didn't think any of the questions were too difficult or unexpected. But, I was asked to be very detailed about my cost estimation experience, including walking them through a hypothetical Total Cost of Ownership estimate for acquiring and maintaining a fleet of vehicles from another government agency who no longer needed the assets. While it forced me to provide a very lengthy answer, I was glad they asked me this question for two reasons: first, it showed me that they are involved with and aware of the actual "grunt work" that takes place day-to-day on their projects (as opposed to the type of management who is really only top-level, hands off, and unaware of what's going on at the lower levels of their project teams) and two, it gave me the opportunity to showcase my skills and really impress them.