Foreign Service opportunities with the Department of State, in various Specialist positions, as a Foreign Commercial Service Offier, and with USAID attract experienced professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Applicants are typically interested in international work combined with public service at this stage in their career development. Pursuing one of the nineteen FS Specialist career tracks, the Commercial Officer job or one of the many positions availalbe in USAID can be intimidating, however, as the application and interview process is complicated, time-consuming and often frustrating for people unfamiliar with government hiring and evaluation methods.

To help candidates produce effective materials quickly for openings when they are announced, our Application Coaching service tailors your life and career assets to the specifications of the job you want. We walk you through the complex Vacancy Announcement for the position, explain how to craft the written documents required, and enable you to work either independently or with us step-by-step until your application is completed for the online screening process by the deadline. We can also train you later to prepare for your Oral Assessment.

Personal Application Coaching

In interactive coaching with you, we break down, explain and simplify the FS Specialist, Commercial Officer or USAID application procedure. This entails:

• An informed analysis of the position description and application requirements
• An explanation of the skills and qualities—known either as “dimensions” or "KSAs" (knowledge, skills and abilities) depending on the job—which you need to demonstrate to advance in your competition
• An assessment of your career and life background to determine all your assets that contribute to your suitability
• Key insights and sample drafts showing how to respond convincingly to application questionnaire topics and autobiographical requirements
• Techniques and sample material to develop a concise resume targeted specifically for the job you want

For each step in applying to any FS Specialist, Commercial Officer or USAID opening we can teach you how to do all the work yourself, coach you and then edit the material you draft, or prepare everything on your behalf including the final submission. Each of the three options varies in time and cost depending on your needs.

Who Can Benefit from Our Help?

Clients include men and women with professional backgrounds in business, lawyers pursuing new challenges, and individuals with international experience in non-governmental organizations, government agencies, or the military.

Why Use Our Services?

We are the only career coaching firm that specializes in helping candidates understand promotion competitions—from entry level to executive level, and advance in government, multilateral organization and international NGO hiring .

No service offered by government, universities or the private sector—past or present, in North America or abroad—matches our expertise or placement record over the past 25 years. The success rate of our clients in institutional hiring and promotion processes attests to the high quality training we provide. Please take the time to read the testimonials sent to us by clients and supporters displayed under Client & Supporter Comments [click here].

For additional information on what we do and why we know how to help you, see our List of Standard Programs and Services [click here] and the Profile of Our Director [click here].

Fees

One-on-one Application Counselling by telephone: From the U.S. or Abroad $150/hour US (no taxes) Long-distance consultations are carried out only on calls placed by clients. Times can be arranged to take advantage of discount rates, international time zones, and client availability.

Further Information

Please Contact Us [click here] to outline your job-specific interests and to discuss how we can help you.