So you applied for a job with the Foreign Service, and just got that sweet, sweet email telling you that you passed the QEP, and will soon get an invitation for an Oral Assessment (OA). Congratulations!

I’m not sure what percentage of MPs or other specialists make it this far, but for Generalists the FSOT and QEP weed out well over half the candidates before they make it this far, so it is seen as a pretty big step. Of the 6 people I know that actually applied for the MP position, 3 made it this far, myself included.

The Oral Assessment is basically the State Departments version of a job interview, expect this job interview has multiple choice questions, a written portion, and then a structured interview with multiple people that will be straight faced and unmoved during the entire interview. In person it takes all day, virtually, its split over 2 half days. Buckle in for a marathon. Historically, these are almost always done in Washington DC, but due to COVID-19, some are being held virtually, Medical Providers included. My OA in May 2021 was virtual, but as things slowly come back to normal, I am unsure if this will continue to be the case, or if maybe they realized not all applicants and specialties really need to be there in person. Generalists have a group exercise as part of their OA, so for them it’s a bit more difficult doing it virtually.

There really isn’t a lot of info out there on the Oral Assessment (for MPs or other Specialists) outside of the Specialist Oral Assessment Information Guide found here. For all Specialists, the exam is broken down into 3 parts, that test you on the 12 Dimensions they look for in their Specialist Candidates. Part of the reason there isn’t much out there is because everyone that takes the OA is bound by a nondisclosure agreement. I can share some things I did to study, but if you’re looking for secret tricks or answers, you are going to be at a loss.

The first part is a Case Management Exercise, which will be tailored to your specialty. So for individuals applying for jobs in the medical field, expect questions to have a medical spin to them. From what I can gather, the OA for MPs and RMOs is nearly the same. In this exercise you are given 45 minutes to address issues presented to you that may happen within your specific specialty. The Information Guide has a generic prompt you can read to give you a better idea, even if it isn’t medical specific. You have to write out your responses, and they’re basically assessing your ability to write effectively under pressure. Prior to taking the OA myself, I practiced writing a timed memo a couple of times, and came up with some very generic medical problems I could imagine happening overseas, and how I would approach them. This helped me a ton on my OA, and I passed the Case Management Exercise.

The second part of the exam is a set of multiple choice questions, testing you on Situational Judgement. You will have roughly 60 minutes or so to answer nearly as many questions, and are encouraged to try and complete as much as you can.

A question might be something like this (this is simplified from the OA Guide):

Susan is approached by Dan, who asks her for help with his job assignment. Select both the best, and worst response Susan could make:

a) Happily agree and tell Dan you can help him once finished with your current assignment

b) Tell Dan you’re too busy right now, but there’s a slight chance you could help later

c) Just tell Dan no

d) Ignore Dan and take an early lunch

Here, you have to pick the best and worst answer. A is likely the best answer because it addresses the issue of the question in a polite, office friendly nature, and D is the worst because it doesn’t address the issue at all. B and C address the issue, but aren’t very helpful.

Many questions will have answers that all seem kind of crummy, and you will have to decide which is the least crummy, and which is most crummy. People seem to really love or hate these questions, and for a lot of people, this is what kills them on the OA. This blog here was an absolute lifesaver, and goes over these questions very thoroughly, and steps to take to break them down and answer them appropriately. Even though it is aimed at Generalists, the lessons still very much apply to Specialist applicants as well.

The final potion of the Oral Assessment is the Structured Interview, that is broken down into 3 parts, and each part is looking at how well you meet the 12 dimensions we were talking about earlier. The individuals conducting the interview will typically be people in your specialty, and throughout the entire process, they give absolutely no feedback, verbal or otherwise, as to how you are doing. I had read this and didn’t think it was possible for folks to not show any emotion during a 90 minute interview, but rest assured, my interviewers were as stone cold as it gets.

The first part of the interview are questions that go over your experience and motivation. This is about as close as you’re going to get to a traditional job interview format during the day. Not much to go over, just be articulate and use examples that draw from your own experiences. Be specific, not vague.

The second section will be hypothetical scenarios, and considering we are Medical Provider’s, these are hypothetical scenarios with a medical focus, that are meant again to test how you can think on your feet. Try and imagine some situations you could see arising in a remote location, and how you would tackle them, and that is this portion of the interview in a nut shell. I can’t be specific, again due to the NDA, but if you are a provider with half a brain, this section shouldn’t be an issue.

The final section of the interview is the Past Behavior Interview, where you will be asked some questions and expected to respond with examples from your past. Again, this is getting closer to a more traditional interview, but still not quite there. My Diplomat in Residence gave me the advice to not be afraid to draw from the examples we used in our Application Questionnaire, and I kindly will relay that advice to you.

Once you complete the interview, you get to wait for them to assign a numeric score to all 3 sections of the Oral Assessment, and they will call you back (either in person or in a zoom like virtual meeting), and give you your score. I can’t tell you what it’s like to fail, but I can say that when I got back on the call, I knew I passed before they said a word, because all 3 of my interviewers where relaxed and smiling. I was given a generic prompt congratulating me for passing (all sections I might add), and my actual score (5.6). From there they answered any questions I had about the next steps, and some contact info if I have questions in the future. Overall, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I wish I had done a bit better, but I also took it on less than 24 hours notice due to a last minute cancellation. Fortunately, I don’t believe the register for MP’s is particularly robust, and just about everyone that passes seems to get an invite to orientation.

In my next blog post, I will talk about what comes after you pass the Oral Assessment.

–Nick