U.S. Department of State interview questions

If you pass the online screening, you will receive a phone call from DSS to set up your interview and provide instructions for materials (paperwork) that you must bring. My interview was held at the Bureau of Diplomatic Security headquarters in Arlington, VA. There are four stages of the interview, beginning with two written test to examine your overall knowledge of the State Department and assess your writing capabilities. If you progress beyond this stage, you will be undergo an structured interview with two DSS SA's consisting of a series of questions that examine your analytical thinking ability. If you progress beyond this portion, you move on to the final stage which is a panel interview with with a veteran/retired Special Agent and a Foreign Service QEP representative. The final stage, as with the rest of the process, is very structured. Do not expect warmth or smiles or any show of emotion from your interviewers.

I was contacted by a recruiter for work as a Software Engineer on long term contract position. After a brief phone screen of what I was looking for, I heard back from the recruiter that the State Dept was interested in interviewing me that week. Interview was fairly laidback with two people (project managers). It lasted about an hour and I was told that I was accepted a few days later. Guess it was a short process since it was a Contract job.