I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at United States Federal Government (Washington, DC) in Feb 2010
Interview
When I was offered the initial interview I was told that if I happened to be in the area, they would be happy to interview me in person, otherwise it would be a phone interview. I made arrangements to pay my way to be there in person. If you can afford to do this, I would highly recommend it over the phone interview option.