Questions & answers

Frequently asked questions

What is an Outside Director or Proxy Holder?

Under a FOCI (Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence) mitigation agreement, a cleared U.S. company may appoint Outside Directors (ODs) and/or Proxy Holders (PHs) who are cleared, disinterested U.S. citizens. They provide independent oversight to insulate the company's classified work from foreign influence, consistent with 32 CFR Part 117 (the NISPOM).

What does the free review include?

An overall readiness summary and score, your strengths and gaps organized by category, and specific, prioritized recommendations — measured against DCSA expectations for ODs/PHs and board-governance best practices. You can download the feedback as a PDF. The free review is feedback only; we never rewrite your resume unless you ask us to.

What is the FOCI Board-Readiness Score™?

It's a 100-point rubric-based score computed across three pillars: DCSA alignment (50 points), governance signal (30 points), and resume craft (20 points). Each rubric item is graded from evidence found in your resume — met, partial, or absent — and the score is calculated from those grades. It is an informational readiness indicator only: not a DCSA score, and not a prediction of clearance eligibility or nominee approval.

Is the feedback written by a person?

No. Your feedback — and any rewrite you purchase — is generated by artificial intelligence using review criteria developed by Monoc. It is not individually reviewed by a human. If something in your feedback looks wrong, contact us and we'll look into it.

Do you rewrite my resume for free?

No. The free analysis provides feedback and recommendations only. An AI-powered rewrite that incorporates the recommendations is available as an optional paid service.

How much does the rewrite cost?

The general rewrite is $149.00 for your resume in one format (Word .docx or PDF), with the second format available for $22.35 (15% of the base price) at checkout or later from your download page. If you're targeting a specific board, the board-opportunity-targeted rewrite is $249.00 (second format $37.35).

What is the board-opportunity-targeted rewrite?

If you have a specific board in mind, tell us the company and its website. We research the company's own public site — industry, strategy, governance profile, products, and customers — and rewrite your resume to position you for that specific board, emphasizing the governance value it needs. It uses the same board-lens HBS format and preserves every fact in your history; company context guides emphasis and language only, never a new fact about you. It's $249.00 for one format ($37.35 for the second) and does not include a numeric score — the FOCI Board-Readiness Score™ is part of the free analysis every submission receives.

What is the board candidacy letter?

An optional add-on to the board-targeted rewrite: a one-page letter of interest addressed to the target company's nominating & governance committee or board chair, built from the same company research and your resume. It's $99.00, delivered in your purchased format(s). Like the rewrite, it never invents experience, credentials, or clearances.

Does every product include a score?

No. The free FOCI Board-Readiness Score™ is part of the free analysis every submission receives, and it lives only there. The paid board-opportunity-targeted rewrite does not produce a separate score — it's a tailored rewrite, not a re-scoring.

Will the rewrite invent experience or clearances?

Never. The rewrite preserves every factual detail — employers, titles, dates, degrees, and credentials — and reframes your existing experience in board-lens language. It does not fabricate experience, credentials, or security clearances. We may enrich employer descriptions with verified, publicly available information about the companies named — never about you.

What criteria do you measure against?

On the DCSA side: independence and disinterestedness, availability/time commitment, government and national-security experience, FOCI awareness (32 CFR § 117.11), leadership, industry/technology relevance, and clearance-eligibility indicators. On the board-governance side: board-lens framing, length discipline, fiduciary mindset, strategy and risk oversight, and committee experience.

How is my information handled?

Your resume and contact details are retained and shared with the site operator to prepare your feedback and follow up. Resume text and feedback are encrypted at rest, transport is HTTPS-only, and we don't sell your data. For a board-opportunity-targeted rewrite, we fetch the target company's own public website to build context; that request comes from our servers and the extracted context is encrypted and cached briefly. You can request deletion at any time — see our Privacy Policy. With your consent, we also retain submissions for the board-placement, market-research, and email-list purposes described in our Privacy Policy.

What do Outside Directors typically earn?

Director compensation varies widely by company size, industry, and role, and FOCI-related OD/PH arrangements differ from typical public-company board pay. For general market context, industry director-compensation studies are a useful reference (used here for context only, not as part of your resume assessment).

I'm looking FOR an Outside Director — can you help?

Yes. Monoc places vetted Outside Directors and Proxy Holders on FOCI-mitigated boards. If your company (or a client) has a board seat to fill, tell us about it on our Find a director page and we'll be in touch — typically within one business day.

Are you affiliated with DCSA?

No. We are an independent service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of DCSA. Our feedback reflects our interpretation of publicly available guidance and is informational only.