How well do you work in cross-functional environments?
The NSA coordinates their efforts not only within their varying departments but also with other government agencies, along with their partners in the private sector and academia. So, your interviewer needs to gauge your interpersonal skills and how effectively you'll be able to work with those outside of the teams you've built relationships with. As they detail on their website, the NSA builds alliances "with colleagues and counterparts within NSA, with overseers, and with other IC agencies to achieve common goals, developing collaborative information and knowledge sharing networks."
"In my view, teamwork has no borders. When expectations are communicated clearly from the beginning, I pull my weight and do my part. If we are on the same mission, we are partners and stakeholders in the success of that mission. I trust in everyone's strengths and expertise. I'm a collaborator, make every effort to clearly communicate, and to ensure the message I am to send is clear as day and is the message that is received."
