Guest submitted by “Ma,” because I hear people like this kind of thing…
Disclaimer: at some point between when I applied in the summer of 2020 and now, the whole process was overhauled for both the generalists and the specialists, so this timeline will seem a little strange to some.
7/20/2020 – My application (including a torture device called “narrative paragraphs”) was submitted via USAJobs
7/21/2020 – The vacancy announcement closed. Apparently it’s perpetually open now that the application process has changed.
9/14/2020 – Received notification that the application passed the Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP). Was also told that, due to COVID, the oral assessments (OAs) were temporarily on hold. Basically, “don’t call us, we’ll call you; hold tight.” (Spoilers: there was no holding tight.)
8/5/2021 – Notification was finally received that in-person OAs, to be set between September 20 and December 21, could be scheduled between August 9 and 13, 2021. I forgot about this until August 10, by which time the last available Friday appointment was on…
12/17/2021 – I passed the OAs and received a conditional offer of employment! The conditions are that I get a top secret security clearance as pass the medical evaluation. When I had my OA, I had to travel to DC in person and take a test… now, the test is done online through Pearson Vue and, horror of horrors, the OA is done by Zoom.
12/29/2021 – was contacted by a Clearance Coordinator to begin the medical and security clearance processes.
1/12/2022 – Submitted eQIP (security clearance) forms.
1/18/2022 – Submitted the medical clearance application.
2/9/2022 – Submitted supplemental medical clearance forms at the request of the MED department.
2/19/2022 – Submitted supplemental medical clearance forms. Again.
3/2/2022 – Was interviewed by the DoS’s investigator. She also interviewed my personal and professional references this same day.
4/18/2022 – Got the preliminary ok from MED; was referred to medical adjudication for a final decision.
4/19/2022 – Follow-up interview with investigator to clarify a few details; file was then referred to adjudication for a final decision.
4/20/2022 – Received Top Secret clearance.
4/25/2022 – Received Class 1 medical clearance.
4/28/2022 – File was referred to the Suitability Review Panel for a final review.
10/28/2022 – Was notified that I had (finally) passed suitability and had been placed on the magically active and ranked list (known as the Register) of candidates eligible to be invited to the orientation. The timing sucked, because the invitations for the class starting in January had already gone out at the beginning of October.
2/7/2023 – Received invitation to attend orientation starting on April 10! Orientation is now a combined class of direct hire generalists and specialists that used to be known as A-100 for the Generalists and SOAR for the Specialists.
3/2/2023 – Nearly a month after accepting a spot in the April Orientation class, I *finally* received the salary offer. I had to appeal the initial offer, but did eventually accept.
From start to finish: 931 days
Advice for maximizing salary offers as a Specialist: make sure your resume is as in-depth as needed so that it matches, as closely as possible, the official job description in USAJobs. The more experience you have that matches what you’ll be doing, the better the salary offer. Please note that there is a range — minimum to maximum — and it doesn’t matter how much education and experience you have, they cannot and will not go beyond the high end of that range set out for your particular job. Ultimately, if you can’t sell yourself, they won’t look beyond what you’ve put in your resume – even if you put it in your application or NPs!
Be warned that as a Specialist, unless your degree exactly matches your job description, you will not receive credit for it… though my MA in English wasn’t deemed relevant for a management position (even if it is heavy in writing), an MBA would have been.
Also, be warned that GTM (Global Talent Mgt — our HR) are super lazy. If you’re a Specialist, they are likely going to just match your salary to the extent that they can justify it, and cross you off their list. You can appeal (and should) if that salary is grossly under that offered to your colleagues simply because you live in a place that has salaries far below the national average.
[NB: If you’re a Generalist, the previous italicized paragraphs aren’t relevant to you.]
It’s not a quick endeavor, by any stretch of the imagination, COVID notwithstanding. The advice received from everyone I’ve talked to is to apply and then proceed as if this isn’t happening in the background. And it was the best advice I’ve received to date.
If you’re thinking of applying to the US Department of State’s Foreign Service (as opposed to the foreign service branches of the Department of Agriculture, USAID, etc. of which I know next to nothing) as either a Generalist or a Specialist, I recommend lurking the ‘foreignservice’ sub on Reddit; it’s a very active community with a lot of insight (interspersed with some questionable but amusing advice). If you go there, though, I highly recommend that you start with the FAQs pinned at the top of the group unless you get a kick out of being ridiculed for asking an often-asked question that was already answered in the FAQs… There’s also a channel on Discord, but it appears to be the same people posting there. I’m also more than happy to answer any questions or point you in the right direction if I don’t have the answers!
