UPDATES

Well, I survived the earthquake. I was on the 15th floor of my apartment building and thought "This is it.. 2012 a year early". I ran under a door frame, which I remember learning from elementary school. Luckily, I did make it through the tremor. We will rebuild. :) Anyone else on the east coast?

In other news, I think I will be doing the USDA Graduate school Chinese I this fall. I had to move around some of my graduate classes for other reasons so I should be able to take the course now. I have been continuing my other self studies but it will be nice to have an actual class.

Also, I am still writing those  narrative prompts for the OMS position. We will see how that goes. They are due 9/2.

Another door?

A new position opened up today in the Foreign Service. I got word that they are taking applications for the Office Management Specialist position through September 2nd. Foreign Service Specialist are a lot like Foreign Service Officers but they are more specialists in a support function. You still move around the world serving the U.S. Government but the work is somewhat different depending on the field.

There were openings for diplomatic courier positions last month but I didn't apply since it wasn't really a great fit. I love travel but as a courier that's literally all you do. Office Management Specialist work would be a much better fit for me, that's for sure.


Still, I have to think about whether I want to apply for this job. Reading the description, this would be a pretty basic office support job (and at a clearly lower salary than I am getting now). I'm not saying I am below it, but it wouldn't be the direction I'd want to pursue if it weren't with the State Department.


The good news is that I would get to do the same overseas thing as a officer. Also, I am also more qualified for it and would have a decent shot at making it to the oral exam portion of the specialist process (I'll get into that whole selection process later). Finally, if you are a specialist, you have easier access to become a Foreign Service Officer in the future, which would keep my options open.

It will be something to think about...

Chinese in DC

Here is an update on the learning Chinese front.

I want to start classes somewhere in the DC for Mandarin but its been surprisingly hard to find a good program. I had thought that DC would have a slew of options but, at least for Chinese, its limited. There are a few choices though:

• USDA's Graduate School (Its like a community college for Government)
• International Language Institute (in DuPont)
• NOVA (Northern Virginia Community College)
• Global Language Network (Free, but there is a lottery to get in)

I would try to audit the class at American University (Since I am an alumni of that fine institution) but they only offer Chinese during the day and AU isn't exactly close to where I live right now. At this point, it looks like the International Language Institute is the best choice. I'm not sure I like how they set up their level system though. Anyone out there in Internet land have previous experience?

In the mean time, I have been doing some self study. I am using Rosetta Stone (free for me), the FSI course (free), and this book I got at the borders that is closing in Pentagon City. While they are helping me quite a bit, at some point I am going to need a more formal class to pull it all together.

Finally, I found this site. Memrise.com It has been great at learning Chinese vocab thus far. Its sort of in beta right now but it has been a great help. I am adding it to my useful links.

The making of the "Rape of Nanking"

I just read an interesting book for my upcoming course in Japanese History (Seminar on the Asia-Pacific war). I won't go into details about the content, as I know it can be a touchy subject, but I wold recommend it to anyone with an interest in historic memory. In the The making of the "Rape of Nanking," Yoshiba argues that memories of history often change and are used differently depending on the circumstances of the time. It is another reason why history is IMPORTANT. We use History as a tool. This tool can be used to motivate a nation, heal wounds, create aggression, stir national pride, etc. So understanding history is understanding how pretext changes the present.
 

The QEP

The Quality Evaluation Panel (QEP) is the step of the process that really worries me. If you look around the internet you can find many qualified people not making it past  this step. You can prepare for the FSOT and the OA... but this stage is somewhat torture. You hear many horror stories on the internet about very well qualified people getting knocked out here.

Basically, A panel of 3 officers look at all the applications (FSOT scores, language skills, resume, etc.) and your responses to the Personal Narrative Questions (PNQs). They then score and rank everyone in each cone. HR sets some sort of number as to how many will get invited that and if you make it above that line *poof* OA invite.

What worries me is that I'm just a normal person. I didn't get to go abroad in college (just didn't have the money) and I don't speak a 2nd language fluently (Mi Espanol es no bueno so I'm working on Chinese now). I do have decent work/intern experience for a 26 year old but if you look at some of the people applying... I feel downright under qualified. And with the economy the way it is, even more crazy Type-A's are looking at the FS.

Right now, I am waiting to hear back in September. At that point, I will either start preparing for the OA or go to a bar and curse the whole thing.

I do have hope that my personal narratives pull me above the line. I'm a decent writer at times but who really knows what they (the QEP) is looking for. Are they looking for stories that are fun to read? Touch on each of the 13 dimensions? Show that you managed to cure cancer?

How I feel about the QEP...

The way I approached it: I made sure to answer the question first and foremost. I have been in government long enough to know that specifically answering what was asked is important.  I also used the structure of Problem, Solution, Action, and Result, and used examples that related to Public Diplomacy as best as I could.

On that note, I'd love to get in touch with fellow FS wannabes... see how they approached the PNQs and compare what works and doesn't. If we can get a few people in the same cone/same cycle, we could figure out what tickles the QEP. I'd hate to keep doing this process and get caught in the QEP monster each time.

FSOT - The Written Test

Basically, the whole selection process goes as follows:

FSOT > QEP > OA > Clearences > Final Review > Register > Offer (The Call)

This process clearly takes a while and, if you haven't already guessed, if you fail any part, you start all the way at the beginning. I wanted go more into detail on the FSOT (or the Written Test) since I had the pleasure of taking and passing this part of the process.

There are 4 parts to the FSOT: Job Knowledge, Biographical, English Expression, and the Essay.

Job Knowledge is multiple choice and seems like random trivia. Questions like, "What Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave women the right to vote?" The topics of questions can be anything from Basic IT to World History. No question is very deep but you really need to know a little about a lot. It's hard to study for this but I recommend using the Official ACT practice guide. Other than that, I would memorize major court cases, amendments to the Constitution, U.S. Government, Basic U.S. History, and try to well versed in different parts of the world.

English Expression is very straight forward. Make sure you are decent at basic grammar and English mechanics. Read and write more too. This is basic stuff and easy to study for. I didn't study for this and still passed. Now if you aren't a great writer, you may want to brush up with a Elements of Style book.

The Bio section is tricky. I also did the best at this section. I just suggest not being humble and provide every example you can even if it isn't a great example. For example, you can use time spent in college clubs. Don't be shy in this section

The essay is easy. Why do I say this? Because you can't fail it is you write a simple 5 part essay. Intro, three point body, and a conclusion. Make sure you answer the question asked and don't get too ambitious. Most people fail because they try to write too much or use a weird essay structure. Look up ACT essay writing if you are confused.

How did I do?

June 2011 Test:
Job Knowledge: 53.69
Biographic Information: 61.83
English Expression: 55.93
Multiple Choice Total: 171.45
Minimum to pass: 154.00

Essay: 8
Minimum to pass: 6

First Post - I want to do what?

What is this blog about?

Well, a few months ago, I hit my quarter life crisis. I was 25, just starting graduate school, and really not sure what to do next. I was "happy" with my job. It paid well and the people I worked with were great. But something was missing and I felt stuck. Maybe it was just a combination of school work and the somewhat dryness of federal contracting but I needed to do something different.

In February 2011, I had a random conversation with a friend. She mentioned that she was going to visit a friend in Africa. It turns out this friend was a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) and stationed in Uganda. At this point in my life, I knew very little about what the FS was. Of course, one Google search led to another... and here I am, writing a blog about trying to become an officer.

So what is this all about? The U.S. State Department says this:

The mission of a U.S. diplomat in the Foreign Service is to promote peace, support prosperity, and protect American citizens while advancing the interests of the U.S. abroad.

If you’re passionate about public service and want to represent the U.S. around the world, a challenging and rewarding career is waiting for you. The opportunity to work and experience cultures, customs and people of different nations is truly a career unlike any other.

The work you’ll do will have an impact on the world. You will be asked to serve at one of any of the more than 265 embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions in The Americas, Africa, Europe and Eurasia, East Asia and Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia. Some of these posts are in difficult and even dangerous environments, but working in them affords great challenges and rewards.

Basically, I will move around the world every 2-3 years representing the U.S. as a diplomat. Cool right?

U.S. Embassy in Prague

Learning Mandarin

I'm being realistic about this whole process though. I am still young and this really is a Plan B (dream job). Getting into the FS is not easy and you can't live your life around it being your only option. That said, I would like to put myself in a position to eventually get an offer, so I recently decided to start learning Chinese (Mandarin). Knowing Chinese would give me some major bonus points later on in the process. That said, even if I never make it to the FS, I can use Mandarin in many other ways. So it won't be a waste to get proficient in it at all.

So where am I?

I took the June 2011 FSOT (Foreign Service Officer Test) and passed with a 171. I just submitted Personal Narratives, along with all my other info, back to the State Department. A mystery panel (The QEP) will look over all the applications and rank us based on a variety of factors. Based on this ranking, I may get invited to the Oral Exam in November. If I fail at any point, I'll have to wait until the next June written test.

In the meantime, I will be learning as much Chinese as I can. I have Rosetta Stone and plan on taking classes this fall. My hope is to be at a level 2 in Chinese in at least 2 - 3 years time. Anyone have thoughts on this?

I will go into more details in later posts... but that is a general outline of what I am going be writing about. So if you are interested in taking the FSOT or learning Chinese, Stay tuned.