Your SAIC Interview

Questions You May Be Asked. And Tips For Answering Them.

About Your Qualifications

Q1. Tell me about yourself.

Rather than giving an autobiographical summary, focus on why you would like this position and how you
have prepared yourself experientially and academically. Focus on accomplishments and how you have
impacted the areas in which you have worked.

Q2. Why should we hire you?

Focus on what your particular contribution will be to a project, department, and/or company success:
hard work, dedication, experience. Also focus on your unique impact which aligns with our core values.

Q3. How has your education and your employment prepared you for this position?
Discuss any relevant educational or on-the-job experience. You should be able to articulate the areas in
which you feel will demonstrate specific relationships to the position and long-term success if you joined
the organization.

Q4. Talk about an accomplishment from the past year that you are most proud of? Why?
Your answer here should be work-related. You can use a personal example – if the accomplishment can
be related in some way to the position description. This question is a great opportunity to illustrate your
commitment to Technical and Professional Excellence, one of our core values. Focus on how this relates
to encouraging employees to do the right thing for the customer, while demonstrating your aptitude for
your area of specialty.

Q5. Talk about one of your failures and what you learned from it.
Be honest, but don't feel that you have to bare your soul. Rather, describe a situation in which a failure
helped you learn something valuable or achieve future success. Be prepared to articulate the situation,
actions demonstrated, results, and lessons learned.

Q6. Which one of your positions did you like the best? The least? Why?
For the best, use clear examples that you know relate to the position for which you are applying. For
the least, focus on position tasks that you know were necessary and performed well, but were routine,
unpleasant, or required little involvement. When talking about these situations, remember to be positive
and to never criticize your past co-workers, supervisors, or employer.

Q7. Describe your strongest communication skills.

‘Describe’ means to give an example (i.e., written, verbal, and/or presentation). It may also help to describe
a positive result that came from demonstrating that communication skill. The example should be related to
the position for which you are applying.

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Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Copyright © 2009 SAIC. All rights reserved.
 Your SAIC Interview
Questions You May Be Asked. And Tips For Answering Them.

Q8. Give an example of something you did that saved your employer time or money.
The best examples describe specific situations where your contributions positively impacted the company’s
financials or deliverable timeline. You may also have been a member of a team that produced time and
money savings. Perhaps you can describe what that team accomplished and your specific role in supporting
this achievement. You may also want to focus on how your actions directly impacted Customer Success.
Focus should be on how you enhanced the customer understanding and shared vision for the mission.

Q9. Think about a large task you organized. Describe the steps you followed.
You can use either a work or school-related project to illustrate this. Whichever you choose, it helps to be
as specific as possible when describing your organizational steps. It is best to use the S.T.A.R. technique:
Situation, Task, Action, and Results. This will keep you focused on answering the question more
appropriately and concisely.

Q10. Do you consider yourself a leader? Why?

Give an example from your demonstrated leadership attributes in work groups, volunteer situations, clubs,
athletics, or a work situation. Use this opportunity to demonstrate your focus on two of our core values:
Importance of the Individual, and Ethics and Integrity. As a leader, explain how you have held all team
members accountable for ethical dealings with customers, team members, and colleagues. Also be
prepared to explain how you have demonstrated a shared understanding and clarity around rules of
conduct and inclusion for ideas and thoughts.

Q11. Please describe a situation where you used your creativity to solve a problem.
Discuss how your ability to look at things from a different perspective can lead to an innovative solution.
This area supports our core value of Entrepreneurial Freedom and Responsibility. Explain how your
accomplishments have inspired and leveraged your creativity, productivity and/or that of your team
members in support of your customers’ mission.

Q12. What are your greatest strengths?

It is best to tailor your answer to the position. For instance, if one of your strengths is leadership and you
are applying for a technical position, show how your motivational skills work in various situations, or how
you hope to reach a project manager level in a few years.

Q13. What is your greatest weakness?

Describe how you have turned your perceived weakness into a positive. Remember, weaknesses are
the flip side of strengths. For example, faulty time management may be the flip side of concentration
and dedication. Procrastination may be the result of wanting to consider all the information and make
an informed decision.

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Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Copyright © 2009 SAIC. All rights reserved.
 Your SAIC Interview
Questions You May Be Asked. And Tips For Answering Them.

Q14. Talk about your customer service experience.

Describe how and where you gained the skills to effectively engage customers. Go one step further and
provide an example of your exemplary customer service to show your dedication and success. This area
supports our core value of Customer Success; it encourages employees to do the right thing for the
customer by performing efficiently, and providing exceptional services and products. Be prepared to
articulate how you have made a positive impact on your customers.

Q15. Describe a situation where you have gathered and analyzed facts to arrive at a decision.
Describing a work-related situation is best. If you don’t have a suitable work story, it is perfectly fine to cite
an educational experience. Consider the impact of the projects and how the decisions impacted others.

Q16. How do you prioritize your work to meet deadlines?

Give an example that demonstrates this skill and the positive outcome that resulted. Demonstrate how you
have taken personal responsibility to ensure that all expected goals and outcomes were achieved.
At SAIC, we are focused on the customers' mission and take this very seriously.

Q17. Why did you leave your last position?

Suitable answers include: opportunity for advancement, finding work to fit your skills, moving, impacted
by downsizing, or changing careers. If you were fired, hated your position, or left under less than ideal
conditions, remain positive with your answer. Do not speak badly about the position, the company,
or your supervisor. Rather, describe what you learned from the experience and how it has improved your
performance and outlook. Great people fail often, but they use failure to learn and improve their
performance.

About Your Style and Personality

Q18. How would your friends (mentor, teacher and/or supervisor) describe you?
Be honest and positive. Remember this is not necessarily how you would describe yourself. Provide
descriptions from different types of people who know you. Your friends may see your sense of humor and
quirks, while your supervisor might see your dedication and adaptability.

Q19. What motivates your best work?

Consider the position. You may be motivated by praise, by being challenged, by having a high level of
excitement, or by deadlines. Remember to give examples and choose a particular position that matches
your motivational needs.

Q20. How do you keep track of things you need to do?

Describe your organizational strengths and give examples. If you have a ‘system’ for remembering
important things, offer that. Most answers will work, except saying that you ‘just remember everything.’

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Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Copyright © 2009 SAIC. All rights reserved.
 Your SAIC Interview
Questions You May Be Asked. And Tips For Answering Them.

Q21. Would you rather write a report or give it verbally? Why?

State your preference, but indicate your comfort with either approach as the situation warrants.
Knowing the position requirements will assist with this question. Many positions require both skills.

Q22. Give an example of a high-pressure situation you faced this past year and how you resolved it.
Your skills in organization and prioritization of tasks, your willingness to request your supervisor's assistance
with establishing priorities, or ability to stay calm in pressure situations — all are appropriate to mention if
applicable.

About Your Interest and Commitment

Q23. Why are you interested in working for SAIC?

Your research will pay off when answering this question. Visit our Web site at www.saic.com to prepare.

Q24. Why did you choose your major?

If possible, talk about how you perceived your major would increase your skills and further your career
goals. If you selected a major because you liked the subject matter and didn't have a career plan, you can
indicate that, but talk about how the skills you learned apply to the position for which you are interviewing.
If you changed majors more than once and ended with one you didn't think was right for you, or if you were
influenced by someone else's preference, talk about what you learned from that situation and how it will
help you make better decisions in the future.

Q25. If you could choose a school or major again, what would you change?
Most answers are appropriate, but avoid negativity when speaking about a school, its teachers, town, etc.
If you had a bad educational experience, focus on what you learned from the situation.

Q26. How do you deal with stress?

Explain the actions you take when presented with a stressful situation. You can also mention activities you
engage in that help reduce stress, such as running, reading, working out, music, etc. This shows that you
lead a balanced life.

Q27. What aspect of this position would be the most difficult for you?
Again, it is essential to know the requirements of the position. Answer truthfully. Indicate why you think
something may be difficult along with your willingness to perform the difficult task. Convey how your
approach to pursuing excellence will help minimize the difficulty.

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Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Copyright © 2009 SAIC. All rights reserved.