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Seems like it has way more to do with the needs of the service than what you bring. Let's say you speak the language. If the position is now (maybe someone medevaced) or new, then you might be money. More likely, the position is next year and they see it as more efficient to train someone else in Japanese and teach you Hindi.
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Aug 17, 2014 03:36
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Nutrimentia posted:I just got back from a week Guadalcanal. Two weeks ago Tuesday a notice went out looking for volunteers to be a note-taker at a SecState meeting in the Solomons. The Outlook popup window hadn't even faded away before I'd responded "YES!". I had to lobby for it a bit but my prev experience as a reporting officer won out and Wednesday morning I discovered I had 48 hours to get my ducks lined up. Of course I hadn't logged into E2 yet and it took some wrangling to get my account transferred from Abuja (didn't realize I had to transfer E2 as well, another checkbox for my post transfer list) but got it all squared away. My wife and daughter were due to return from Japan on Sunday; they spent the summer there teaching and going to school and I had only seen them once in the last 2 months, but so be it, I was off! Good for you, dude! That sounds awesome - your first SecState visit is such a huge learning experience. Once you've survived one of those, you can walk a little straighter into any crisis situation you may encounter. Did Line advance teach you the trick about using metal clothes hangers for flags? Once you see that workaround you can never unsee it - you'll forever check the display of flags at every protocol shindig you see on TV.
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Aug 17, 2014 05:08
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zzonkmiles posted:How difficult is it for a first-tour officer to be assigned to Japan (if you do speak Japanese), Korea (if you don't speak Korean), or the Philippines (if you don't speak Tagalog)? In my experience, it can be unintuitively hard to get assigned to a place where you speak the language because many directed assignments have the training period built into the scheduling. In my case, I couldn't bid on any of the 14 Japan positions for my second tour because I speak Japanese and thus didn't need the training. If you don't speak the languages, there's nothing stopping you from getting sent anywhere. I know many people who spent either first or second tour in Phillipines and I'm serving with a guy who got sent to Korea out of A-100.
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Aug 17, 2014 11:10
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the_chavi posted:Good for you, dude! That sounds awesome - your first SecState visit is such a huge learning experience. Once you've survived one of those, you can walk a little straighter into any crisis situation you may encounter. Did Line advance teach you the trick about using metal clothes hangers for flags? Once you see that workaround you can never unsee it - you'll forever check the display of flags at every protocol shindig you see on TV. I did not get this bit of knowledge but will hang on to the concept for the future. Thanks!
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Aug 17, 2014 11:11
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Nutrimentia posted:In my experience, it can be unintuitively hard to get assigned to a place where you speak the language because many directed assignments have the training period built into the scheduling. In my case, I couldn't bid on any of the 14 Japan positions for my second tour because I speak Japanese and thus didn't need the training. If you don't speak the languages, there's nothing stopping you from getting sent anywhere. I know many people who spent either first or second tour in Phillipines and I'm serving with a guy who got sent to Korea out of A-100. Doesn't the out year language thing address this in a sense? I know exactly what you're talking about, and Im sure that will always happen, but I feel like CDA has at least acknowledged this in some manner with OYLP.
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Aug 17, 2014 16:15
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zzonkmiles posted:Okay, the dates for the October FSOT are officially posted on State's FSOT page now. So October 4-11 it is. Registration and test site selection open on August 27. Thank you! Also, this might not be the thread, but does anyone have any tips on acing a phone interview with State for a graduate-level internship?
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Aug 17, 2014 20:52
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zzonkmiles posted:How difficult is it for a first-tour officer to be assigned to Japan (if you do speak Japanese), Korea (if you don't speak Korean), or the Philippines (if you don't speak Tagalog)? You can go anywhere regardless if you know the language or not... for Philippines? Real easy. It's a hardship post!  Depends on your field, timing, etc. You can't really 'lobby' for them (without pissing off your CDA big time) unless they're on your list. Way back in my orientation, an OMS got Korea & another got Japan; but nobody else's list had either. Japan isn't a SCNL so you get no merit points/forced assignment for it. My understanding is Philippines is an overwhelmingly English speaking country, so only a few get language training for Filipino (tagalog). (e.g. POL, ECON, OCM, special cases).. Not sure if Consular get it, would not be surprised if they have to get the 'hands on' training. "Where do I want to go/what are my chances of going to ______" is kind of the wrong question to be asking at that time tbqh. edit: CronoGamer, ay mahusay na! Will catch up if you're free later this winter!
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Aug 18, 2014 02:15
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If you don't get Japan on your first assignment (it wasn't on my bid list IIRC) you will probably have a decent chance at it your second tour, especially if you don't care whether you're in Tokyo or not.
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Aug 18, 2014 02:37
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dalliance posted:does anyone have any tips on acing a phone interview with State for a graduate-level internship? At the end they asked me, "What would you do if you had a strong objection to some aspect of U.S. policy as part of your internship?" The answer to that question is you do what's asked and toe the line publicly, but are welcome to tactfully voice your concerns/alternatives privately within your office.
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Aug 18, 2014 06:51
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Homie S posted:Doesn't the out year language thing address this in a sense? I know exactly what you're talking about, and Im sure that will always happen, but I feel like CDA has at least acknowledged this in some manner with OYLP. Yes, but you can't out-year bid during the first two tours is all.
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Aug 18, 2014 11:30
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Nm, found the pm I was looking for.
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Aug 18, 2014 11:57
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tismondo posted:The phone interview I did wasn't too different from any other interview. They wanted to know about me and my skills, as well as my experience abroad working with other cultures. So know your own resume and application forwards and backwards. Be prepared to speak in a foreign language if you think they're interested in those skills. Thank you! That's very helpful. Another point of frustration I've been having is that if I am offered the internship, it's unpaid and I'm not sure I can afford to live and work in DC without pay. I'm already paying over 40K for grad school starting this fall and I don't know if I can afford the internship costs as well. Are there any private organizations that could help fund someone in this situation? My graduate school offers stipend grants but getting one is extremely difficult from what I have heard.
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Aug 19, 2014 19:52
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The Mantis posted:Seems like it has way more to do with the needs of the service than what you bring. This whole discussion is interesting and reminds me of something i've wondered about the service. If you're taking the exam and come in with a super critical language, Hindi for example, are you more likely to be sent to a post using that language in your first few tours? Or do they prefer to train people already in the service and coming in with a language doesn't really affect where you're sent as a new officer?
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Aug 19, 2014 21:37
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You're generally more likely to serve there because it denotes so sort of broader need. Unless you serve there on your first tour, during your first two tours you're required to bid on posts with that language designation. Doesn't guarantee the assignment genies will send you there.
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Aug 19, 2014 21:52
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There are days when you feel like you win in this job. Then there's days like today. Pour one out for Jim Foley tonight.
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Aug 20, 2014 01:23
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journos should be hands off, imo. Just makes no drat sense.
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Aug 20, 2014 02:24
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Are you guys in the Trailing Houses group? The recent thread on housing is hilarious. I can understand valid health or safety reasons but it seems like many appeals are entitled people. I definitely got the worst house in pool, only smallish compound in the pool. Such is life when your junior, single, no kids. Not gonna appeal 3 times over "depression" because not enough light. I'm just grateful to have anything. Also was sorta voluntold to be on the housing board here and I got it...will be interesting to see how it works from the inside, I've heard you see the worst of fellow coworkers. Anyone have any advice for being on the board?
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Aug 20, 2014 05:54
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Being on the board can be tough because you really can't talk about housing amongst people any more. There are so many entitled instigators that have no intent or capacity for understanding why housing decisions are made; all they care about is getting what they "deserve". It's bad enough to have to listen to as a regular colleague, so much worse after you've seen the effort put into making the best housing assignments for everyone within the limits designated by the housing pool, applicant pool, and FAM regulations. I find that I don't usually naturally gravitate towards the kind of people who constantly complain about housing anyway though, so it mostly just reinforced impressions I'd developed anyway. I liked being on the housing board at my previous post and volunteered for this one too. I like being involved, partly because I like knowing what's going on but mostly because I think I do a good job and enjoy contributing to the community and post morale, etc.
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Aug 20, 2014 14:24
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Yeah, you'll hate all your colleagues at post if you are on the housing board. 2nd place consolation prize is if your spouse gets the EFM Housing Coordinator job in the FMO office and becomes responsible for coordinating (read: denying) work orders for the housing pool. You'll start to see a very unpleasant side of people. That being said it's probably a really valuable learning experience to do at least once.
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Aug 20, 2014 14:36
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http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/2014-election-mitch-mcconnells-barack-obama-confrontation-110154.html?hp=f2 The tl/dr version is "The (new) Republican Congress will send bills and budgets to the President that drastically scale back his initiatives by unfunding or underfunding them. If he vetoes them, then we will shut down the government and he will be blamed for it." This does not bode well for candidates on the Register hoping for a November A-100, candidates on the register in general, and candidates looking to escape the dreaded QEP stage alive. I just hope State doesn't consider offering the FSOT only once or twice a year as a result of this. Or maybe the QEP will be super tough to pass in the future.
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Aug 20, 2014 15:01
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problematique posted:Are you guys in the Trailing Houses group? Haha! I know the thread you are referring to.
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Aug 20, 2014 15:56
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Leif. posted:Yeah, you'll hate all your colleagues at post if you are on the housing board. 2nd place consolation prize is if your spouse gets the EFM Housing Coordinator job in the FMO office and becomes responsible for coordinating (read: denying) work orders for the housing pool. You'll start to see a very unpleasant side of people. As a non-voting member of our housing board, it's fun to sit back and watch the fireworks.
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Aug 20, 2014 17:00
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Bruxism posted:As a non-voting member of our housing board, it's fun to sit back and watch the fireworks. I enjoy the appeals the most.
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Aug 20, 2014 17:09
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problematique posted:Are you guys in the Trailing Houses group? Interesting though.
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Aug 20, 2014 20:52
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TCD posted:I enjoy the SECOND AND THIRD appeals the most. FTFY.
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Aug 21, 2014 00:24
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the_chavi posted:FTFY. Hahah quite right 
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Aug 21, 2014 14:08
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Any FSO blogs you guys like? I read that missisoda one (lol) and another guy who was older (Beau Geste, Mon Ami). That guy was pretty funny, but I think he's retired now. Going through Texpatica's blog now. Edit : lol when did I get that avatar Stolennosferatu fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Aug 21, 2014 |
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Aug 21, 2014 22:14
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problematique posted:Are you guys in the Trailing Houses group? I get housing officers can be public enemy no. 1, but is there any reason for them to be passive aggressive about it? I mean denying housing request/appeals that are based on medical grounds etc, at the same time while giving yourself a nice cushy 6000 sq ft home in the best/safest/etc area?
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Aug 22, 2014 01:04
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More than a couple of people here have worked in Yemen, correct? I swear I remember reading Sanaachat back when I was following this thread before getting a different federal job, but the forums search function is not finding any hits for "Yemen" or "Sana'a/Sanaa" in this entire subforum...which granted seems to make zero sense but whatever. The point is, ... wait, I hit my point in the first sentence. I have my non-suspicious reasons for being curious if such people exist.
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Aug 22, 2014 01:19
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Stolennosferatu posted:Any FSO blogs you guys like? Shame Google Reader has shut down - I had a feed anyone could sign up for that had all known FS blogs on it. Some good links here. Spoiler alert: I picked it because mine is on there, but it also has a selection of the best. Diplopundit's basically the best. http://gadling.com/2012/10/02/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-the-best-foreign-service-blog/
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Aug 22, 2014 01:26
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Yeah the Google Reader collection was the bomb loving poo poo, and if someone went through all the effort to reconstruct it in some easily shareable way, that'd be amazing (but probably take weeks). That said, I read Diplopundit, and personal blogs of my A-100 classmates and that's about it. Oh, and a combination of the daily press briefings and Matt Lee's twitter account, for good measure. Not technically a blog, but you get the same fun out of it.
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Aug 22, 2014 01:30
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I'm 34 and graduated from college in 2002. I'm eying a career change (currently a graphic designer) and my cousin in the foreign service encouraged me to give it a look. It seems a little intimidating as far as the application goes, but that may be because I haven't done anything remotely academic (ie...test taking) for a long time. Will the process be different or more difficult from a career changing point of view? I have my bachelor's and had a decent GPA (3.something) but does that even matter 12 years out? It's a rather drastic change, but I could use one of those.
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Aug 22, 2014 01:35
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Leif. posted:Yeah the Google Reader collection was the bomb loving poo poo, and if someone went through all the effort to reconstruct it in some easily shareable way, that'd be amazing (but probably take weeks). Yeah, if I could figure out another way I would... I use Newsblur now and I haven't figured out an easy way to export a file yet.
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Aug 22, 2014 01:39
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huh, they actually sent a cable out about the ice bucket challenge?
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Aug 22, 2014 03:58
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Ramaroot posted:I'm 34 and graduated from college in 2002. I'm eying a career change (currently a graphic designer) and my cousin in the foreign service encouraged me to give it a look. It seems a little intimidating as far as the application goes, but that may be because I haven't done anything remotely academic (ie...test taking) for a long time. Your bachelor's is relevant (in that you have it); the GPA associated with it is not.
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Aug 22, 2014 04:32
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Skandiaavity posted:I get housing officers can be public enemy no. 1, but is there any reason for them to be passive aggressive about it? I mean denying housing request/appeals that are based on medical grounds etc, at the same time while giving yourself a nice cushy 6000 sq ft home in the best/safest/etc area? How can this be? If someone is on the board (like me), don't they already have a house they live in, they were assigned, before they were on the board? After google reader went belly up, I started using Feedly, which works great. problematique fucked around with this message at 05:23 on Aug 22, 2014 |
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Aug 22, 2014 05:20
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problematique posted:How can this be? If someone is on the board (like me), don't they already have a house they live in, they were assigned, before they were on the board? i was referring to the housing officer (as in GSO).. and yes, someone can be on the board while still on their temporary housing assignment.
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Aug 22, 2014 05:36
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Skandiaavity posted:i was referring to the housing officer (as in GSO).. and yes, someone can be on the board while still on their temporary housing assignment. The board still has to chop off on an assignment, and if it's over the benchmark/space you have to get that waiver which I've start to seen being denied (lol me).
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Aug 22, 2014 07:23
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problematique posted:After google reader went belly up, I started using Feedly, which works great. I will vouch for Feedly. Interestingly, this is the rare service whose smartphone app works better than its webpage service. Another blog I like is called Foreignservicetest.com. It doesn't talk a lot about the day-to-day experiences of an FSO, but it does have a lot of good information for people who are considering joining the FS. For the person considering joining who is 34 with a BA, go for it! Your timing is actually quite good because the next test is in October and you can register for it now. Leif is right in that having a degree will matter more than your GPA. There aren't any particular degree requirements to join the FS, but the academic training you received during your studies will help you immensely during the application process.
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Aug 22, 2014 13:31
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So the next A-100 starts tomorrow. Any goons here in the upcoming class? How do you feel? Congratulations and good luck to all of you!
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Aug 24, 2014 19:26
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