Advice on taking an FCO job interview

Ok, so I have an interview for the career of my dreams with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK. If successful i'd be based in London for 3 years and then posted overseas for a period of 3-4 years, before moving on again. It's a high profile role, and I'd be dealing with issues such as terrorism, climate change and nuclear proliferation usw, depending on the department/country in which I'm posted. It's an incredible opportunity.

This is something I've always wanted, and I've already passed 4 stages to get to the final interview. Obviously I'm preparing like nobody's business, the usual questions and so on. I have a good idea what to expect as regards the format of the interview but having worked mainly abroad since graduating I don't have much first hand experience with UK job interviews, so any hints and tips from you guys would be much appreciated. Any one actually had any experience/an interview with the FCO?

Thanks and cross yer fingers!

Katie- that is so great. Congrats on making it this far. Sadly I don't have any useful advice, but I'm certainly rooting for you!!! Good luck!!

thank you! that helps too!

My housemate from uni got to the last stage interview for the FCO but got rejected. His feedback was that they thought he was trying too hard and came across as aloof and arrogant. TBH he is pretty arrogant at the best of times so he must have been unbearable. I guess they just want you to be normal and be yourself as that's who they are recruiting.

Also, last time I changed jobs I was told that if you've got through all the tests and early stage interviews of a recruitment process and are at the final interview they are of the opinion that you can do the job so that interview is more 'do we want to work with him/her'.

Good luck.

Thanks Lassie, Jimbo has a mate who works there and he said that too; that they interview peeps who they think have a good chance of getting the job, so it's mine to lose!! Dunno if that made me feel better or not! By that logic, if i just don't go then I can't lose the job, oder?!
Think I still have the opinion that the FCO is a very Oxbridge institution and am determined not to come across as a norvern monkey

years ago, just before my finals, I passed the exam into the top level of the faststream intake to the FCO. The next stage was a residential test entitled CSBE. I was all set for that as a highly intelligent celibate in the Christian Union at one of the UK's top universities. Anyway, the weekend before CSBE I got a knock on my door and opened to another student in my year who I knew vaguely who informed me that he had already been accepted in to the fast stream. He said he ha come round to help me with any questions I might have with the process I was about to embark on. It was all a little peculiar to tell you the truth but I invited him in nonetheless.

We got talking about the process and suddenly he asked me whether I would be able to function in a sensitive role while I had political extremists in my famiily. To this day I haven't a clue what he meant. My family is intensely political but mstly Liberal, Labour at ScotNat (altho my Dad briefly claimed he was a communist). I actually found bthis part of the conversation funny.

We then got talking about religion and he pointed out that Quakers had a hard time in the FCO after Clive Ponting. I already knew about this and my rligion was no secret.

Then he suddenly asked me whether I thought my sexual preferences would entail a security risk in the FCO. I was gobsmacked as I could not see any way he could have known. When he saw the expression on my face he smiled stood up and told me I had to withdraw from CSBE. It was illegal to be gay in the FCO at the time but I was a million miles away from being an out gay man.

When he left I called CSBE and withdrew.

What I didn't know was that he then went on to the University Union, sought out all my friends, and told them one by one that I was gay.

I don't see that he had any right to do that.

Nor do I see what real threat I was to national security.

They changed the law a few years later so it would not have been an issue for a gay person joining the FCO.

I suppose the advice I would have for you is to watch out for both the positive and negative vettin that you will be subject to. I was obviously completely unprepared for it. If you have any skeletons in your closet, know yourselt, know what you could say about them and know whether they would rule you out of a sensitive position.

I don't have anything useful to tell. But I wish you the best for your interview. Good luck!