General Atomics Technical Writer Interview Questions
& Process

I had two interviews- a 10 minute phone interview and a 2.5 hour in person interview. The in person part included a 30 minute chat with HR, then I met with four hiring managers. They really want to see your writing samples, but your technical background is key. Make sure you can show what you know and have a plan. They expect you to know the industry jargon. If you're a vet, mention any instructor or Master Training Specialist certifications. Also, check out their website to learn about their products since they asked about General Atomics in both interviews. HR handles pay, and it's not negotiable, but they do pay competitively.

The interview process started with a phone interview with 3 people, followed by 2 more individual phone interviews. Then there was a 1-day onsite interview. The total time between the phone and onsite interviews was 2.5 weeks. The phone interview had standard questions. The onsite interview lasted 4.5 hours, from 11:30 am to 4 pm. It's a good idea to eat before the interview because I started to fade later on. The interview started with an HR meeting, then a tour of the plant with a technical writer, and finally a panel interview with 4 people from the team. One person, the 'Alpha Male', dominated the discussion. He asked if I'd have a problem going to Palmdale/Lancaster for flight testing operations for days at a time, and I said no. He also asked me to draw transistor diagrams (PNP and NPN) and an OR gate on the whiteboard and explain transistor amplification. He also asked some insightful questions like 'What would you do if you won the lottery?' and 'What's the most out-of-the-box thing you did at work?'. After the panel, I went to the Alpha Male's office to write a troubleshooting procedure for a broken wing strobe light, using a diagram, paper, and pencil. I was also supposed to have a 1:1 with the department head, but he was out, so I was sent home. Overall, the process felt like quite an ordeal.

I had a phone interview with the Business Development Manager at EMG. A recruiter from Modis set it up, saying I was a great fit. I'd already checked out the GA EMG site and knew I was a good match; their work was within my technical skills and experience. She seemed to think I needed a lot of hand-holding.