QEP Results in.

No go for me this year... and I don't think I will apply to the PD cone again. Maybe Management next year? I did learn a lot about the process and hopefully that will benefit me next year.

I still get to wait on the OMS position and also I am thinking about applying to the Internship Program to get some overseas experience.

Also, updates might get a bit sparse as I will have some dead time but I will be updating from time to time. I will be starting a Chinese class on Wednesday. So look out for updates on how that goes.
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Edit: I started writing this in the comments but it should be included in the post.

Right now, I am mostly torn on how to better get into an "international" career. I will have two graduate degrees and federal government experience. Also, I'm working on the language part.

The thing I worry about is the lack of overseas experience. I just didn't have the money to do it in college (I financed college myself). I don't think I could take 2 years to do Peace Corps... but seems like the Foreign Service, etc. really want that type of experience in you tool bag.

Quick Update

Two things.

First, no QEP results this week. I am thinking this Tuesday afternoon. Just a hunch.

Second, just signed up for Chinese I at the USDA Graduate School. I hope I'm not stretching myself too thin.

Also, I have been talking with a few people about other options. Anyone have ideas on how to get overseas experiences? Obviously there is the Peace Corp. I feel like my biggest regret from college is not going abroad for financial reasons.

No news...

9/8 has passed. No QEP news this week.

In other news, my fall semester starts tomorrow. Fun right? At least I have one paper done...

Alright, I am going to watch True Blood before bed. Good night, everyone!

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.

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.