Last time I knew it went badly from the beginning and I had email fri morn telling me I failed – that was a wed interview too. This time I thought back on it as I left and when I headed out to Boston for some fun and I couldn’t think of a single thing I could change. Maybe tweak something small. As of the end of today I have heard nothing from them – a good sign I think. And I still can’t think of anything I’d change in the interview. We will know before Friday.

I practiced the night before for an hour or so. Big focus on five points and that was time very well spent. But I quit around 730 and watched a funny movie and went to sleep. I practiced my five points in the morning and reviewed my categories as they related to my stories – about 15 min. I already had my stories fully memorized.

So I am anxious of course (!) but I think not getting anything from them today combined with my feeling that there was absolutely nothing I’d change is all a good sign. Thank you so much for the tough love!

9/25/29
PHASE III – IA POSITION
Received by my client FROM THE BUREAU

Congratulations, you have received a passing score on the Phase III Structured Interview of the Intelligence Analyst Selection Process. With this achievement, you have demonstrated that you possess many of the abilities the FBI is looking for in Intelligence Analysts applicants.

Based on your successful completion of the Phase III Structured Interview, you are now eligible for selection for the Intelligence Analyst position at the FBI. It is important to note, however, that passing all three phases of the IASP does not guarantee selection. You will receive a Conditional Job Offer (CJO) that is contingent upon availability of funding for FBI positions. If you accept the offer, the FBI will begin the background investigation necessary to hire you and inform you immediately if there is any change to the status of this position.

9/25/19
From my client – IA position

Thank you for handling my angsty-ness and working with me for over a year. Thank you for the tough love and honest feedback. This time around I knew from the moment I sat down until even yesterday that I would not change anything I did in there. You were awesome and fun and I will definitely be looking you up if I ever visit San Diego.

Thank you again! No way I could be as confident and at ease as I was in there if not for you so that I could be my true – fun! accomplished! – self.

6/18/19

I just received my results for Phase III for the FBI IA and I passed!

I’ll be honest, after our training, I was skeptical about how much this would help me with my interview. I was worried that all of our training was more geared toward the agent interview and that IA might be different.

It turned out that our work together saved me. The way I was preparing prior to contacting you would NOT have gotten me there.

Based on our conversations, I spent so much time memorizing my stories and thinking about the factors that when I went into the interview, I didn’t have to think about the questions for a second and just started blurting out a long, detailed story.

I ended up morphing a lot, and I didn’t get to use some of my favorite stories, but I managed to answer every question.

I tried to remember to be myself and that ultimately made me less nervous.

There were a lot of worried looking faces on other candidates when I left the interview, but I was remarkably confident, more than I have been after any interview in my life.

Thank you for all of your help!

I wanted to let you know that I just received word that I passed phase III. Thank you for all of your help. I felt prepared and was myself—even though I was extremely nervous! Thanks for all of your help!!!

Just had my interview and thought you’d like to hear some feedback. I have very mixed feelings about how I performed. I felt like I got many questions spot on. But I did have to morph A LOT. Also there seemed to be more evaluating and planning questions than what I was expecting. I found myself all out of stories so I just winged it for two stories at the end. For other IA applicants I would really concentrate on those two factors. For some reason integrity wasn’t brought up but positive image was! Everything else was just how we anticipated.

Hope that helps your future clients. For myself I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks again for your help!

Carole, Yes the coaching definitely helped me with most of the stories that I had prepared. Also, just like you said, they really encouraged us to draw from different aspects of my life. So stories from my personal life, school and work.

I’ll keep you updated.

With regard to your program, I thought it was really good. I might have over-prepared a bit personally but that was due to me. I thought the amount of coaching we did was spot on.

It is hard for me to assess the 5 points issue. On the one hand, there are people who naturally like to write so perhaps many of them would write it themselves.

On the other hand, I really liked the way you wrote mine. Maybe offer it as an option, but a lower cost option for the IA program.

The other suggestion I would offer is to focus a bit on the 7 factors for the IA and compare and contrast it with the 8 factors on the SA.

I did a simple chart, which I think I accidentally deleted, but something like that helped me. I don’t think there is any need to revamp the materials because, as you point out, the factors are all quite similar, but doing that chart allowed me to focus a bit because it becomes immediately obvious how much more the IA program focuses on analysis and communication as distinguished from how you act in high pressure situations for SAs.

The IA program may well be a growth area for you because the recent Omnibus spending bill included lots of extra $ for CI (counter-intelligence) operations which will presumably include IAs.

It’s official, I found out last night that I passed Phase II! I could not have done it without your help. You helped me uncover the confidence that I knew I had but needed help finding.

For anyone that is considering using your coaching, use it. It is worth every penny. If you want this job as much as I do, you will do anything to get it. If she could fix me then she can fix anyone. No matter how ready you think you are, you’re not, not for this caliber of interview.

I was the only one in my group that used a coach and I was the most prepared and most confidence person there. I was the second to last to finish and I felt great afterwards. While others were wallowing, I was thinking of how grateful I was for seeking your help and how well I thought that I did because I used your coaching.

I am someone who has always lacked confidence in myself. The biggest and best thing you did was record the sessions. I listened to them on my drive to the hotel and I realized just how unconfident I sounded.

That was only talking to an interview coach. If I sounded like that talking to these agents, there would be no way that I’d pass. There was no way they’d want to work with someone who sounded like that.

That really kicked in into gear for me and made me realize that I needed to change and do it quick.

When I got to the hotel, all I did was prepare. I said story after story out loud until I knew what story went with what characteristic. I thought a three more stories, two of which I had to use in the interview, and wrote them down. It was so easy to write after reading all of your critiques and knowing exactly what to say, how to say it and how long it needed to be. I stuck to the 20-60-20 format and made sure every story followed it. I found myself at a loss, twice, confused as to what story to use. I did what we did in the second session. I stopped, identified the factor and pulled my story for that factor. Textbook. It worked. If I didn’t have our help, I’d probably still be there thinking of a story.

I was not the same person that walked into that room as I was when I interviewed before your help. I can’t thank you enough for helping me land the job of my dreams.