Foreign Service

This is a record of my experiences in pursuing a career as a United States Foreign Service Officer. These are just my experiences, the process will be different for everyone. Please take everything with a grain of salt – my guesses are guesses, and my opinions are my own. Facts and confirmation can only come (when it does) from the US Department of State.

My Statement of Interest for the Foreign Service

January 24, 2010 in Foreign Service by melissa | 2 comments

All Foreign Service Candidates bring a Statement of Interest (SOI) to the Foreign Service Oral Assessment, and it’s read by the examiners who asses the Structured Interview (at the very least – I don’t know who else reads it). No one knows for sure the guidelines for the SOI other than “Please us the space below to describe why you want to become a Foreign Service officer.” However, there are a few generally agreed upon guidelines in the Yahoo! Boards

  • The SOI should concentrate on why you want to join the Foreign Service, not about why you’ll be an awesome FSO.
  • Steer clear of “I want to travel.” This may be why you originally joined, but just wanting to travel gives the impression that you don’t completely understand the demands of the career.
  • Be succinct and follow directions. You get an electronic copy of the document to ‘use the space below.’ Don’t go over a page and make sure the document is readable. There are varying opinions on whether or not the template is required – I say play it safe.
  • Have several people read and give you feedback. My study group was essential for this. The document below is probably the fourth draft. I was very lucky to have the feedback from my group as well as from Chad, who is a wonderful editor.
  • I’ve read of people writing their SOI the night before in the hotel (or even the morning of!), either because they left theirs at home or forgot to write it. If you can work that well under a short timeline, congrats, for the rest of us, make several copies, email the document to yourself, make sure someone else who can fax it to you is available, etc, etc. Don’t show up without it.
  • Tell your own story. It doesn’t have to be something glamorous or earth shattering, but it should be about you. My SOI was very personal, and I think that made a difference.

Read my Statement of Interest after the jump!

Preparing for the Foreign Service Oral Assessment: Part II

January 15, 2010 in Foreign Service by melissa | 2 comments

In the first half of this loooooong tutorial-like string of advice, I wrote about studying as a group. The value of practicing with your group is priceless, so please make sure you do it. However, there’s plenty of preparation you can do as an individual. This post is going to focus on the Case Management Exercise, Structured Interview, and finally, some general advice that Terry Pratchett fans may recognize as ‘headology.’

Much more after the jump

Preparing for Foreign Service Oral Assessment: Part I

January 10, 2010 in Foreign Service by melissa | 1 comment

Part II will be primarily about how I prepared on my own, but this post is devoted to how my group studied and, most importantly, practiced together. A little over a year ago, I started regularly meeting in the MLK Library with my FSOA study group. An alternate title for this post would be “Hooray for my Study Group”! I know that I wouldn’t have passed the FSOA on my first try without Alex, Darin, Doreen, Lisa, Mark, Matt, Noelle, Shaqueta, and Violetta. Thanks again guys.

For my own personal experience with the FSOA, read the FSOA Recap I wrote last March.

We first came together as a group after looking for a study group on the FSOA Yahoo! Group, which is a great resource for anyone looking for study tips for the Oral Assessment. People are always looking for a study group on the Yahoo! boards, and there are groups on Skype for people who can’t make it to an in person groups. Don’t be shy about joining a group late, you (probably) won’t know anyone at the FSOA, so it’s okay to come into a group of strangers.

Read the rest after the jump

PN, QEP, and more DoS FSOT alphabet soup

December 9, 2009 in Foreign Service by melissa | 3 comments

My friend and former room mate Joel introduced me over email to a friend of his who had passed the written portion of the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT), and was finalizing her Personal Narrative to send to the Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP). She wanted any advice I could give her on clearing this hurdle.

Things were a little bit different when I took the FSOT – they had us fill out the PN before registration (this included a structured resume and personal narrative essays). I really think that moving the PN to after passing the written was a good call on State’s part. People are much more motivated to jump through that hoop if they’ve already cleared another one first.

Since my experience differs from the current process, please keep in mind that this (like most things to do with the entire exam), is guesswork on my part. I have some idea of what I’m talking about, but don’t base your decisions on my opinion alone. Do your research, use your brain, and get a second opinion. For example, State has a pretty thorough guideline for what the QEP looks for. If you haven’t already, go read through it, because I’m not here to repeat their guidelines (at least not today).

Smart people will follow those guidelines and build their total PN around those six precepts State identifies: Leadership, Interpersonal Skills, Communication Skills (written and oral), Management Skills, Intellectual Skills, and Substantive Knowledge. The twenty people who read this blog will recognize those precepts because most of them come straight out of State’s Thirteen Dimensions, which I wrote about earlier in the week.

Here is my logic, let me know what you think about it, and remember that all of the numbers are completely made up. Let’s say State had 1000 candidates pass the written, but only has 500 slots for the Oral Assessment. 750 candidates submit beautifully crafted PN’s that include wonderfully written demonstrations of their Substantive Knowledge, Leadership, Interpersonal, Communication, Management, and Intellectual Skills. How does the QEP weed out the remaining 250 candidates?

I really don’t know. I’m not part of BEX and I’m not privy to the inner workings of the QEP – but I can make a pretty good guess. So my guess is that they look for the candidates who were also able to demonstrate composure, cultural adaptability, experience and motivation, judgment, integrity, organizational skills and resourcefulness – or, the remaining dimensions not specified in their six precepts. I think that these are the differentiators for the QEP (when they’re needed). What do you think?

The Thirteen Dimensions of a Foreign Service Officer

December 3, 2009 in Foreign Service by melissa | 3 comments

When I first heard about the Foreign Service, I thought: “Wow! I can get paid in dollars to live abroad and have an adventure!” Yes, yes, service to country, helping people, etc, that’s all important too (and one of these day’s I’ll post my “Statement of Interest,” but if I’m honest with myself (you be honest too!), the job just sounds so cool.

The more I found out about being an FSO and the types of things I could end up doing, the more excited I got about the work. However, it wasn’t until I started studying for the Oral Assessment that I started to look forward to the people I would be working with. A big part of that is because I had such a great group of future FSO’s (hooray for Alex, Darin, Doreen, Kerry, Lisa, Mark, Matt, Noelle and Shaqueta!). But it was really studying State’s Thirteen Dimensions, and discovering the best way to demonstrate them in myself that made me look forward to working with my future colleagues. At some point during their testing process, all FSO’s have had to prove that they exhibit these qualities. I’ll write a bit more about how I went about doing that (hopefully not too much) later on, but I wanted to share their definitions here first. I am really looking forward to working with people who possess the below dimensions.

State describes the thirteen dimensions as “reflect[ing] the skills, abilities, and personal qualities deemed essential to the work of the Foreign Service.” These come straight from State (link to PDF):

Composure To stay calm, poised, and effective in stressful or difficult situations; to think on one’s feet, adjusting quickly to changing situations; to maintain self-control.

Cultural Adaptability To work and communicate effectively and harmoniously with persons of other cultures, value systems, political beliefs, and economic circumstances; to recognize and respect differences in new and different cultural environments.

Experience and Motivation To demonstrate knowledge, skills or other attributes gained from previous experience of relevance to the Foreign Service; to articulate appropriate motivation for joining the Foreign Service.

Information Integration and Analysis To absorb and retain complex information drawn from a variety of sources; to draw reasoned conclusions from analysis and synthesis of available information; to evaluate the importance, reliability, and usefulness of information; to remember details of a meeting or event without the benefit of notes.

Initiative and Leadership To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.

Judgment To discern what is appropriate, practical, and realistic in a given situation; to weigh relative merits of competing demands.

Objectivity and Integrity To be fair and honest; to avoid deceit, favoritism, and discrimination; to present issues frankly and fully, without injecting subjective bias; to work without letting personal bias prejudice actions.

Oral Communication To speak fluently in a concise, grammatically correct, organized, precise, and persuasive manner; to convey nuances of meaning accurately; to use appropriate styles of communication to fit the audience and purpose.

Planning and Organizing To prioritize and order tasks effectively, to employ a systematic approach to achieving objectives, to make appropriate use of limited resources.

Quantitative Analysis To identify, compile, analyze, and draw correct conclusions from pertinent data; to recognize patterns or trends in numerical data; to perform simple mathematical operations.

Resourcefulness To formulate creative alternatives or solutions to resolve problems, to show flexibility in response to unanticipated circumstances.

Working With Others To interact in a constructive, cooperative, and harmonious manner; to work effectively as a team player; to establish positive relationships and gain the confidence of others; to use humor as appropriate.

Written Communication To write concise, well organized, grammatically correct, effective and persuasive English in a limited amount of time.

On the Register!

November 28, 2009 in Foreign Service by melissa | 8 comments

I was working late on Wednesday evening, so Chad came out to have dinner with me and a coworker (Mike!). He handed me a fantastic letter, dated November 20:

On behalf of the Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service, I am please to inform you that your name has been added to the register of those awaiting appointment to the Foreign Service as an Entry Level Officer in the Consular Affairs career track.

I could hardly believe it. After all of the time I spent pending investigations with Diplomatic Security (eight months and one day, from April 8 – November 9), I had finally cleared the second to last hurdle towards becoming a Foreign Service Officer.

So what’s next? I say that because that’s the question I’ve been getting all (Thanksgiving) weekend from my family. So I may as well share the answers with you too.

For each career track, or cone (Consular, Management, Public Diplomacy, Economic, and Political) there is a list of people awaiting an offer to attend a training class called the A-100. The register is dynamic, and my place on it depends on two things: my score from the Oral Assessment, and the date I reached the register. Since my score was very low (but still passing!), and I was added to the register VERY recently, I’m pretty much at the bottom of the list. I’ll email the board of examiners (BEX) on Monday to ask for my ranking, and I’ll give an update of where I actually am. Over time, I’ll move up and down the register depending on how many people make it onto the list after me, and how many people are removed from the list as offers go out. I could improve my standing by taking a language test, but I haven’t been able to study like I hoped to, so I’m still undecided about taking a language test.

Offers for A-100 classes start going out about 8 weeks before the beginning of training. The size of the class mainly depend on the needs of the state department and budgetary considerations. From what I’ve heard, the January class was a little bit smaller than they’ve been lately due to some budget constraints that will hopefully be resolved with the passing of the upcoming omnibus bill, which should go for a vote in December.

My hope right now is that class sizes will go back to the levels they had last summer/fall, when BEX was clearing out the register lists and people would get offers before they even knew they got their security clearance. Right now, I think my chances are still pretty good due to the number of classes scheduled for the 2010 federal fiscal year, which are currently scheduled for:

January 4, 2010
February 16, 2010
March 29, 2010
May 10, 2010
June 21, 2010
August 02, 2010
September 13, 2010

So before I schedule a language test, I’m going to wait an see how the February class turns out. I’ve got until May 20, 2011 to get into a class, so for now, I still have time to wait and see.

Studying for the FSOT (how I did it)

September 7, 2009 in Foreign Service by melissa | 8 comments

I recently convinced a friend to take the Foreign Service Exam – she registered for the last day of the October round.  I really hope she makes it – she’d be an excellent FSO (good luck Carmel!).   As we were talking about the examination process, I realized that I’ve never written about how I studied for the exam.  I believe, despite Hankk’s last comment that studying DOES help. I didn’t pass the first time I took the test, so I increased my preparation efforts and passed the second time around. Here’s what I think.

Use the links I have over the left for the Foreign Service Exam. The Yahoo groups and Wiki are much more comprehensive and valuable as a study guide. Know them, love them, get the daily digest. Everything below

For the General Knowledge Section:
1. Buy, then take the practice test. Enlist someone (husband’s are handy) to proctor and grade your test – try and make it as real as possible. Star or otherwise mark the questions you guessed on. Take a look at the questions you missed and stared and work on that subject matter. For me, I needed to brush up on management theory and basic statistics.

2. Know your world geography. There may not be a whole bunch questions about geography on your test, but don’t throw away points because you can’t pick out Mauritania on a map. Sheppard Software has some great geography quizzes, take them regularly!

3. Know about America. The book that really helped me was The Words We Live By, Your Annotated Guide to the US Constitution. It goes in depth about each article and amendment in the Constitution (and there might be a question or two specifically about the Constitution), which is very helpful in and of itself. However, the other benefit of this book is that it also looks at how milestones in American history affected or were affected by the US Constitution. So you get an added history benefit!

4. Read. For news, I prefer The Economist. You can also take a look at State’s recommended reading list

For the English Expression Section:
1. Take the practice test. If you ace it, spend your time studying doing something else. If you don’t, prepare as though you were studying for the English language section of the SAT. The Internet has many resources to help. :)

For the Biographical Section:
I have no idea how this section works, is graded, or what they’re looking for. It’s my weakest section and ummmm….I can’t help you. Best bit of advice I have: be honest and do well on the other sections!

Essay Tips (FYI if you don’t pass the other sections, your essay will not be scored)
1. All you need to pass is a standard 5 paragraph essay. This means:

Introduction w/thesis
Supporting paragraph 1
Supporting paragraph 2
Supporting paragraph 3
Conclusion

2. Practice makes perfect. Write daily if you need to, but get to the point where you can write (and edit) a decent 5 paragraph essay in 20 minutes. On test day, you’ll have no trouble with nerves on this section.
3. Don’t pick ‘easy’ topics. You will need to make an argument one way or the other. If you don’t feel strongly either way, then just fake it.
4. State doesn’t read your essays, a grader from ACT does. They don’t care about content, they just want to see if you can write.
5. After your intro, write a couple lines for a conclusion just in case you run out of time. Since you’re typing, copy/paste isn’t an issue.

So, that’s what I did to prepare/study for the Foreign Service Officer Test. It all seems so long ago! For a quick recap, here were my (passing!) scores:
Job Knowledge: 60.63
Biographic Info: 46.58
English Expression: 59.74
Total: 166.95
Essay: 8

Would anyone else out there care to contribute their tricks/tips/ideas/methods?

Security Clearance Update

June 30, 2009 in Foreign Service by melissa | 5 comments

Oh my goodness! Two days, two updates!

I thought I’d post a little update about my security clearance, or current lack thereof. On June 16 I sent an email to diplomatic security asking for an update on my case. On June 21 I got the following email:

Your case is pending investigations. Our original target date was 6/12/2009, however, it may take another 2 weeks, at least, as we are awaiting final information to come in.

Ah well, I’ll just email them again at the end of next week and see what’s going on.

Foreign Service Security Clearance Interview

June 12, 2009 in Foreign Service by melissa | 4 comments

I’d say I can’t believe I haven’t written anything since Memorial Day, but it’s really not that surprising.

It’s been more than four weeks since I had my interview with Mr. J, the gentleman who is (I think) managing my Security Clearance case.

We originally planned to meet at the Shirlington Library, but then Mr. J found out that they didn’t open until after lunch (we were meeting in the morning). We planned to do the interview at the tables set up outside of the library, but when we saw people going into the library and sitting down at the public computers, we decided to head in side where it was a little more quiet. About five minutes into the interview, the librarian kicked us out, saying that they were closed and they left the doors open for their contractors. So we went back to our original plan; luckily, it was a very nice day.

I’m not going to go into any details about our interview, but I’ll give you a general outline. We went over my SF-86 in detail so I could explain some of the things on there, and he asked me some questions about some of my answers and for more details on the places I’ve lived, foreign contacts, family, finances, etc.

All in all, the interview lasted for about an hour and a half. I think if we hadn’t had to move around so much in the beginning, it would have only taken an hour, but that’s okay. Mr. J was very nice, and very professional (not to mention very tall!). He really made me feel at ease during the entire process. I suppose he needs to bring my guard down if I’m going to feel comfortable answering so many questions about my personal life!

I’ve got two tips that I’m sure will apply to others below. Hopefully, in the next couple of days I’ll be able to post another update about my security clearance, I just need to make a few phone calls first.

Tip #1: If you have anything in your past, or on your SF-86, or on your credit report, and you think it’ll raise a red flag, do yourself a favor and come ready with an explanation. I have a particularly stupid incident on my credit from many years ago, and this is what worries me the most about getting my clearance. It’s been taken care of for years, but it still shows up on my credit report. So I wrote a letter, “to whom it may concern,” explaining the problem, the reason it happened, the steps I took to correct it, and that it will never ever happen again because I’m no longer young and stupid. I gave the letter to Mr. J and he added it to my file. So when the final review board is looking at my file, they’ll have a full explanation from me, and I won’t have to rely on Mr. J’s memory or notes. Of course, there’s room to do all of this on the SF-86 (extra pages and attachments, if you choose), but I decided to wait and see if I actually passed.

Tip #2: If you have any close family members who are naturalized citizens, bring a copy of their citizenship certificate (or US passport) along for your file. I didn’t think I would need this since I included Mom’s passport number and certificate number on my SF-86, but a few weeks later I was asked for it anyway.

I am Worldwide available…

May 18, 2009 in Foreign Service by melissa | 5 comments

…medically speaking that is. Today I received a nice letter in the mail from the US Department of State Office of Medical Services. It included the following:

Reason for Clearance: -> Pre-employment
Medical Clearance Determination: -> Worldwide available
Date Issued: -> 5/12/2009 2:20:35 PM

My favorite part is that they time stamped it. I feel so official now! One more major hurdle to go, my Top Secret Security Clearance. I’ll write a little more about that tomorrow.

« Older entries