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FCO Graduate Internship

Hey,

Has anybody else applied for this/heard back about interviews yet?

I thought it was quite strange there wasn't a thread about it considering the popularity of the FCO. I have no real expectation to be called back for interview, but figured it's all good practice for next year's applications!

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Reply 1
Hi,

Yeah, Ive also applied and not heard anything back yet. I'm sure the bank holidays have caused some delay somewhere.

Good luck!
Reply 2
They called me this afternoon because they had questions about my application, so I guess it's crunch time!
Reply 3
Hi all! I've applied too :smile: I sent an email today to capita resourcing asking when people will find out if they're unsuccessful/ invited to interview. The reply was that we should hear by the end of this week, good luck everyone
Reply 4
Hey guys,

Heard back today, hope you do too! The number of applications this year seemed unusually low, I wonder why!
Reply 5
Original post by DD12790
Hey guys,

Heard back today, hope you do too! The number of applications this year seemed unusually low, I wonder why!


Me too! Have you been invited for interview as well? I did think this- perhaps it wasn't advertised very widely?
Reply 6
Original post by Dgilbert
Me too! Have you been invited for interview as well? I did think this- perhaps it wasn't advertised very widely?


Shockingly, I have been. What day did you choose?
Yes, that's what I was thinking, I only knew about it from meeting a former intern!
Reply 7
Original post by DD12790
Shockingly, I have been. What day did you choose?
Yes, that's what I was thinking, I only knew about it from meeting a former intern!


15th, you? I need to get it done ASAP so I can get back to my dissertation and exam revision! I'm from Milton Keynes which is handy, so I'll head back to uni once its finished! Are you still studying or have you graduated?
Reply 8
Original post by Dgilbert
15th, you? I need to get it done ASAP so I can get back to my dissertation and exam revision! I'm from Milton Keynes which is handy, so I'll head back to uni once its finished! Are you still studying or have you graduated?

Mine's on the 21st! I needed as long as possible as I have a few different projects and pieces of coursework to complete over the next couple of weeks! I live a couple of hours away, so I might get a hotel the night before so I won't be exhausted when I get to the interview. Then straight back to uni...
Reply 9
Do you mind if I ask what kind of previous experience you guys have related to the role/ what courses are you doing?
Reply 10
Original post by Deee
Do you mind if I ask what kind of previous experience you guys have related to the role/ what courses are you doing?


Mine is pretty much none! I read Law and have loads of work experience, but none of it related to the work that the FCO does. Yours?
Reply 11
What was your work experience in? I've done a bunch of experience with different NGO's and lots of communication based experiences, a degree in English Lit and Philosophy and didn't get an interview :frown:. Absolutely gutted
Reply 12
Original post by Deee
What was your work experience in? I've done a bunch of experience with different NGO's and lots of communication based experiences, a degree in English Lit and Philosophy and didn't get an interview :frown:. Absolutely gutted


Awww, I'm sorry, I completely understand how upsetting it is. I've always wanted to work for the FCO and got rejected from the Fast Stream a while back.
My work experience is mainly in project delivery and events and social enterprise. I think the most important thing for them is the competence questions. I spent three weeks working on mine and refined them so many times. But to be honest, I was completely shocked as I've always felt to have a completely inferior degree and experience to others applying.
I don't think the relevance of your degrees/experiences actually matter, the civil service, FCO and similar public sector organisations tend to be degree blind. Don't worry though, just keep applying, you will be fine.

It's much more about how you answered the competencies.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 14
Original post by Deee
Do you mind if I ask what kind of previous experience you guys have related to the role/ what courses are you doing?



Not an awful lot related to the role itself; as someone's already mentioned its more about the competencies, you're not expected to have experiences of international diplomacy to answer the question on 'Making Effective Decisions', your summer job at McDonalds could be just as good. I'm in my final year of a History and Politics degree, and I've got experience in leadership roles, part-time work at my university and human rights projects :smile:

I also had an assessment centre earlier in the year (and am still waiting to hear back) for the Fast Stream (Central Depts, but was unsuccessful for Dip). This really helped with the competencies bit, knowing what they want

Good luck for next year!
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Dgilbert
Not an awful lot related to the role itself; as someone's already mentioned its more about the competencies, you're not expected to have experiences of international diplomacy to answer the question on 'Making Effective Decisions', your summer job at McDonalds could be just as good. I'm in my final year of a History and Politics degree, and I've got experience in leadership roles, part-time work at my university and human rights projects :smile:

I also had an assessment centre earlier in the year (and am still waiting to hear back) for the Fast Stream (Central Depts, but was unsuccessful for Dip). This really helped with the competencies bit, knowing what they want

Good luck for next year!


Yeah exactly. If they were vetting purely on academic, experience profiles, it would pretty much be your classic white, male Oxbridge student getting through.


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Reply 16
Original post by DD12790
Awww, I'm sorry, I completely understand how upsetting it is. I've always wanted to work for the FCO and got rejected from the Fast Stream a while back.
My work experience is mainly in project delivery and events and social enterprise. I think the most important thing for them is the competence questions. I spent three weeks working on mine and refined them so many times. But to be honest, I was completely shocked as I've always felt to have a completely inferior degree and experience to others applying.


Yeah, tbf I was a bit rushed with answering my questions. Nice to hear that they were totally fair and look for personality traits rather than experience. All the best guys!
Reply 17
Hey guys!

Congrats for anyone who has an interview! Good luck!!

Just wanted to ask if you think that our competency questions at the interview can use the same examples as the ones we used in our application forms?

Do they want us to expand on those examples or talk about completely new ones, or a mix of both?

Thanks guys :tongue:
Reply 18
Original post by KP40186
Hey guys!

Congrats for anyone who has an interview! Good luck!!

Just wanted to ask if you think that our competency questions at the interview can use the same examples as the ones we used in our application forms?

Do they want us to expand on those examples or talk about completely new ones, or a mix of both?

Thanks guys :tongue:


I don't think it particularly matters. I'm planning on expanding upon the answers I gave, and giving new ones.
The key is simply to demonstrate that you understand the competencies and their purpose and are able to implement them.
Reply 19
Has everyone heard back yet?

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