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I've noticed an odd trend where CA apparently hires mostly super models. Confirm/deny?
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May 7, 2013 14:30
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psydude posted:I've noticed an odd trend where CA apparently hires mostly super models. Confirm/deny? Deny. Next question?
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May 7, 2013 14:31
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Business of Ferrets posted:Diplomaticus, I would be most interested in a "leaving the Foreign Service" readout either as you go through the process, or when you're done. I've known a few folks who've left, but never discussed the process with them. Defintely. It's surprisingly easy (at least so far) to leave by separation, though I couldn't speak to retirement which is a lot harder. If you ping me again in a month I'll have enough to do a complete write up. There seems to be very minimal paperwork or anything like that, though already I can see several pitfalls which are good to point out. psydude posted:I've noticed an odd trend where CA apparently hires mostly super models. Confirm/deny? I think I'd get in trouble if I said something right now. I will say that our post's consular officers are significantly more physically fit than anyone else -- they all work out daily, one of them is big into Hash House Harriers, quite a few run marathons (I've never met so many marathon runners before joining the FS, holy christ. I thought lawyers were bad) etc.
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May 7, 2013 14:51
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Barracuda Bang! posted:drat, what kind of turnaround is that - two months from OA? Yes - one day short of 2 months! I was actually in the middle of trial when I got the message, so I had to ask the judge for a recess to call my wife and parents. 
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May 7, 2013 15:31
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d1rtbag posted:Yes - one day short of 2 months! When was your written exam?
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May 7, 2013 15:46
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psydude posted:I've noticed an odd trend where CA apparently hires mostly super models. Confirm/deny? Deny.. correlation does not equal causation.. he he (yeah some consular ladies here are jaw-dropping; others are not...) It depends, I guess 
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May 7, 2013 16:05
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d1rtbag posted:I hope you get something - weren't you right after me on the register? There are a number of folks between us who scored language points and got bumped fractionally. If not for them I would be just below you.
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May 7, 2013 16:52
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Wow, people are getting responses back pretty quickly. Makes me hopeful for those of us that applied recently.
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May 7, 2013 23:09
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Barracuda Bang! posted:When was your written exam? October 2, 2012. With regard to Consular supermodels, I'm 6 feet tall, 260 pounds, so I must be a 'plus size' supermodel. I can't run a marathon, but I can run a 5k -- does that count?
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May 8, 2013 00:15
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d1rtbag posted:October 2, 2012. I'm impressed with the speed. Should hear back about PNQs in the next couple weeks, fingers-crossed things go similarly smoothly.
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May 8, 2013 18:24
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Tyro posted:There are a number of folks between us who scored language points and got bumped fractionally. If not for them I would be just below you. I saw that drat it! Some idiot just entered their info wrong on the shadow register, and I jumped the gun ... d1rtbag fucked around with this message at 01:23 on May 9, 2013 |
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May 9, 2013 01:10
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d1rtbag posted:I saw that Yeah I saw that too, he was actually a 5.57 after language.
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May 9, 2013 02:11
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email posted:Dear OFALOAF: Aw yes. Tests are in early/mid-June, so that's just about a month to do some studyin' up. Getting to the test center's going to be fun, too, because if there isn't one in Detroit odds are that means the closest one's going to be in Chicago.
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May 9, 2013 02:37
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Is it bad that, as far as the Benghazi investigation is concerned, that sometimes I just want someone to tell me how to think/feel? I mean it in all seriousness. It's always hard balancing contradictory views on things, even when you HAVE been following every minute detail (which, as far as Benghazi is concerned, I have not. I've mainly just been following whatever The Cable or Diplopundit or other foreign affairs/foreign policy blogs have been reporting).
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May 9, 2013 13:27
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No, it's just a natural result of information saturation. If you're reading informed sources that generally have their poo poo together, it gets exhausting to hear anything that cable news services put out. At least that's how I feel, which sounds like it's probably pretty similar. I mean, I knew all of the facts about what happened in Benghazi by T+18 hours just from news updates from reputable sources at the time, enough to form an understanding of the facts. When the ARB report came out, it didn't tell me any primary facts that I didn't already know; in fact, it said less about certain things than I already knew, but given the nature of some things that was to be expected and natural. Some of the circumstantial and secondary facts I didn't know were interesting to read, but the point was I knew I had an opinion that was 95% more informed than the general public and most politicians. Since then I've heard no end to bullshit, disinformation and dissembling going on about Benghazi and it is loving brutal after a while to put up with it. I mean, it's like body blows in a fight, it just wears you down until you want to beg for mercy to finally just hear the end of it. And Benghazi was a pretty powerful moment for me personally; it changed some things about me and what my values were, so having to listen to people with a basic understanding of the facts at best (and usually terrible opinions) take something like that and try to manipulate it to their own selfish ends, constantly, for over six months adds that little extra personal cut to the whole mess.  So yes, I completely understand how one might want to give up and just make it stop by accepting being told what to think. Cable news media is a war on the psyche. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv That's pretty much my attitude as well. HiroProtagonist fucked around with this message at 17:32 on May 9, 2013 |
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May 9, 2013 16:27
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Meh. There’s one degree of separation in the Foreign Affairs community. That night and the next day are pretty vivid for me, people calling other people, trying to figure out who was killed, who’s still alive, what happened, etc. It loving sucked, still sucks, and trying to find more people held accountable really won’t make that much of a difference going forward - my opinion of course. TCD fucked around with this message at 17:09 on May 9, 2013 |
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May 9, 2013 16:52
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TCD posted:Meh. There seems to be 2 basic leadership responses to a disaster / failure: 1. Figure out how something happened, exactly what mistakes were made, and make changes to try to prevent it happening again; or 2. Figure out who to blame for the disaster besides yourself and your friends. Politicians are fundamentally incapable of any response except for number 2. No matter what happens, they try to find a way to make it the other side's fault, rather than ever working on a solution that doesn't involve the next election cycle. Most of the news outlets have taken sides at this point, so we have to search around for unbiased sources (or at least those who are honest about their views).
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May 9, 2013 17:37
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d1rtbag posted:There seems to be 2 basic leadership responses to a disaster / failure: I am deeply unhappy with yesterday's cluster gently caress. There are legit questions o be asked about Benghazi, but no one on the Hill is interested in them - instead, they gave an open mike to a self-serving prick who is butthurt because someone told him he sucks. Cry me a river dude. There's your honesty. ;-)
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May 9, 2013 19:33
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While you guys were still applicants, supplicants, aspirants or otherwise not yet officers in the service, did any of you contact your local diplomat-in-residence? Turns out that the nearest DIR, Jim Ellickson-Brown, is only a twenty-minute drive away from here, so even a face-to-face meeting is probably doable.
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May 10, 2013 03:58
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Ofaloaf posted:While you guys were still applicants, supplicants, aspirants or otherwise not yet officers in the service, did any of you contact your local diplomat-in-residence? Turns out that the nearest DIR, Jim Ellickson-Brown, is only a twenty-minute drive away from here, so even a face-to-face meeting is probably doable. I didn't make it when I applied but I did speak with my local DIR and she was both amazing and awesome. Highly suggest you take advantage of that resource if you can.
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May 10, 2013 04:10
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Nope, never used them. It's an awful term, honestly. Until well after I was in the department, I thought DIR's were only on college campuses, the way an Artist-in-Residence would be.
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May 10, 2013 06:45
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I just got my invitation to take the FSOT test in June today! Any advice for baby's first attempt? I already ordered to the study guide and started going over them. edit: clarity KonMari DeathMetal fucked around with this message at 18:59 on May 10, 2013 |
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May 10, 2013 18:53
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Brotein_Shake posted:I just got my invitation to take the test in June today! Any advice for baby's first attempt? I already ordered to the study guide and started going over them. FSOT?
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May 10, 2013 18:55
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Yup FSOT. Sorry I left that out, a little excited about it.
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May 10, 2013 19:00
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Brotein_Shake posted:Yup FSOT. Sorry I left that out, a little excited about it. When I took it, I just brushed up on some civic history. Get some rest the night before the test. Now, the PNQs and the QEP process  .
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May 10, 2013 19:02
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TCD posted:When I took it, I just brushed up on some civic history. Get some rest the night before the test. That means to worry about those bits moreso than the FSOT, right? For what's probably umpteenth time in this thread, what's your advice/warnings about the Personal Narrative stuff and the remainder of the process?
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May 10, 2013 19:54
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Ofaloaf posted:That I only took the FSOT once and didn't make it past the QEP and PNQs. I'm an IMS so I'll let others who've done the FSOA talk about that.
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May 10, 2013 20:54
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After the FSOT will I have the opportunity to update my application? I have a few things I would like to add that I did not have prior to the my initial application.
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May 10, 2013 21:51
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So I just got accepted to take the FSOT. Does anyone have any advice for not failing horribly at it...?
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May 11, 2013 22:44
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Edwhirl posted:So I just got accepted to take the FSOT. Pay the $30 for the official study guide, and take the practice tests. Don't be modest in the biographical section -- that is your chance to showcase your experience. For the essay, focus on writing a concise, organized persuasive essay -- don't worry about giving the 'right' answer.
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May 12, 2013 01:12
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Edwhirl posted:So I just got accepted to take the FSOT. If you haven't done editing since high school, like me, practice for the English expression sections. You need absolute tip-top grammatical skills. I think I'm one of the only goons that has ever scored 58+ in the other sections and then mid 30s in English expression 
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May 12, 2013 19:51
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Ideally I'd say that you should begin "studying" before but by no means are you in trouble if you haven't. The advice to read The Economist cover to cover for a year I thought was pretty good (and I think that's generally good advice just for anyone). The stuff you really need to know for the General Knowledge test: -World Geography. I don't have all my old links but there I used a nifty regional geography quizzer every couple days to get everything up to snuff -The US Constitution. Again, something that everyone should read again from time to time, but its important to have a reasonable familiarity with it. -Basic American History. I recommend "Don't know much about History" by Davis. Highly readable and something that, yet again, I think everyone should read for their own edification. -Some basic management principles. -The difference between Mean, Mode, Median. For the Bio section, I rated myself honestly (I've heard some people advise to give yourself a "5" in every category). You don't necessarily need full sentences, just provide the info or lists they ask for. Personally I think they use internal consistency checks on this, so if you rate yourself all 5s but can't list sufficient examples, it looks bad for you. Thus, I say just be honest and provide as much information as you can. For the written section, I found it useful to practice writing under time pressure. I practiced with a 25 minute timer but if you're a slower typer, give yourself all the time. I don't think you'll get even 1 second over 30 minutes though. You can find plenty of topics to practice on. Follow a standard 5 paragraph format: I. Introduction. Should have some general background but CLEARLY state the position you'll take AND the supporting premises/examples. II. Body A. Supporting premise/ example 1 B. Supporting Premise/ example 2 C. Supporting Premise/ example 3 III. Conclusion. Restate the main points and premises, perhaps with a pithy wrapup. No New Information in the conclusion. Remember that the written exam is just that, an examination of your writing ability. They aren't looking are your logical argument and they don't care what position you take on the topic, as long as you write clearly and consistently. Pay attention to the topic. If it tells you to pick a side and support it, don't just write about the pros and cons of the issue. Clarity is important. A straightforward, well organized statement is what you should be aiming for. "Follow Instructions" is an important bit to remember for everything related to the application process. It's obvious but people can get caught up with the excitement and stress of the moment. Get a good night's sleep before the test. Have a good meal the night before and a quality breakfast. Relax and enjoy!
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May 13, 2013 08:22
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Non-FSOT/PNQ question: When abroad, do you guys talk/socialize/consort much with the officers at other embassies and consulates outside of work? You guys seem to emphasize the importance of building personal connections everywhere and maintaining your own contacts with everyone-- does that extend beyond Federal officials, employees and private American citizens to Russian foreign officers, Canadian embassy workers, etc.?
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May 14, 2013 16:54
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It's important to socialize with Russians in particular. When doing so, remember to always carry two wigs, a compass, sunglasses, a lighter, a polaroid camera, letters written on typewriter and whoopee cushion for good effect. Does anyone else smell something really fishy/fake with all the 1960s spy "stuff" they found on him? I can't honestly believe this is how CIA operates these days...maybe sequester has really hit the the agency hard...
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May 14, 2013 17:19
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I'm just glad they didn't capture his Little Orphan Annie Secret Society Decoder Ring!
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May 14, 2013 17:29
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At least his invisible ink and shoe phone weren't captured!
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May 14, 2013 18:08
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Ofaloaf posted:Non-FSOT/PNQ question: When abroad, do you guys talk/socialize/consort much with the officers at other embassies and consulates outside of work? You guys seem to emphasize the importance of building personal connections everywhere and maintaining your own contacts with everyone-- does that extend beyond Federal officials, employees and private American citizens to Russian foreign officers, Canadian embassy workers, etc.? Depends (heh) on the post. In Istanbul I had almost nothing to do with other missions, because no other mission in town was anywhere near our size - most had one CG and all local staff. In Tripoli we were tightly knit with the Brits and the French because of security threats and common cooperation goals with the government of Libya.
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May 14, 2013 18:45
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Ofaloaf posted:Non-FSOT/PNQ question: When abroad, do you guys talk/socialize/consort much with the officers at other embassies and consulates outside of work? You guys seem to emphasize the importance of building personal connections everywhere and maintaining your own contacts with everyone-- does that extend beyond Federal officials, employees and private American citizens to Russian foreign officers, Canadian embassy workers, etc.? Depends on the post, your job, and what you like to do. Some clubs and stuff are almost all expats (like say hash). But, there are some hoops you may have to jump through - so use your best judgement.
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May 14, 2013 20:21
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So, what exactly would constitute justification for granting of additional steps in initial salary by the SRC (in my case, it's been 18 months almost and I've gotten promotion(s) at work and another certification) More importantly: is there any real harm in requesting a review/will it be looked upon unfavorably?
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May 14, 2013 21:03
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We're currently on the waiting list for a 2-br at Oakwood for the July class. Right now, we are either at Oakwood Arlington or Falls Church with a 1-br for me, my wife, and a 2-year-old. Joy joy joy! Seriously, though, I'm just thrilled to have a class, and would live in a studio for A-100 if I had to.
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May 14, 2013 23:20
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