For me it all began on their website, which is filled with all sorts of information about the Foreign Service, the different positions and the current open position. You can apply for an open position, it requires you write multiple answers to questions on experience related to several skills.
If you are selected, somebody will contact you and invite you for an interview in Washington DC. There are three components in the Oral Assessment a Case Study (this requires you writing a memo in response to a case situation relevant to the position), a Group Exercise (this one can be a little awkward, as you are required to develop a solution to the case study with the candidates you are competing against), and a Structured Interview with a panel made up by of a Human Resource person, a Foreign Service Officer, and a Technical expert. After the Oral Assessment I went home day and waited for almost a month to receive a response on whether I was accepted. They followed up with references that you provide and your package of your scoring from the interview, your experience, and your reference responses will be forwarded to a final panel for determination.
Security/Medical Clearance Process
The successful candidates will begin a preemployment process. You need to obtain a Security Clearance and Medical Clearance. Expect the process to take several months.
Final Suitability Review/Position Availability
Once these hurdles are cleared, you will be on their register or list of eligible candidates. Cleared candidates are grouped by their backstop and then often rank-ordered. A panel will then review the eligible candidates and make their selection on those to appoint.
There is a forum where many people discuss the USAID Foreign Service:
The process is explained on their Website:
http://careers.state.gov/officer/selection-process
State Department's positions are more general. State has 5 main career ladders or "cones". Every cone though will have to do a tour or two doing Consular work which means issuing visas for foreigners or assisting Americans abroad.
FSOT & Language Test
While filling in your basic information in the application, you will also have the opportunity to indicate whether you have any language capabilities. After completing the application, you have to select a test date to take the FSOT.
After taking the test, if you indicated you had a language skill, you may be requested to do an over the phone language test as you will receive bonus points to your score in the end if you pass the OA.
Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP)
If you pass the FSOT, you will be invited to the QEP stage. There will be questions on experience and you will have to provide a short answer response on that. After providing your response to these questions, your file will be sent to the Board of Examiners and they will categorize you based off your selected cone and review candidate profiles based off their QEP responses, their FSOT score, language proficiency, etc. This will take another month or two.
Oral Assessment (OA)
There are three components: the Group Exercise, Case Study, and Structured Interview. After the day of testing is complete, State provides immediate feedback of whether you will move on or not. Candidates will be placed in a room and called out. If you are not successful, you will be greeted by two of the examiners and be given a file with your results for the day and be given the chance to ask any questions.
If you are successful, then you will begin the clearance process and eventually be placed on a register for eligible hires.
For the USAID foreign service, at what stage can you do a language interview - at the oral assessment itself, before, or after?
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