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the_chavi posted:Okay, that is hilarious. First of all, Dan is an awesome guy - staffed a visit for him in 2010, he's really funny and down-to-earth, and also a sharp cookie at his job. I think he's the highest out-of-the-closet non-career official in the Obama administration as well, which makes the interior design whoopsie even more hilarious. DAS Baer is awesome. Also I'm totally bidding on Naples so I can go back to Sorrento and Ravello. This place owns.
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Sep 27, 2012 16:36
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Diplomaticus posted:DAS Baer is awesome. Don't let that stop you from bidding Florence, Rome, or Milan. The great thing about this country is everything is only a few hours by train or car. 
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Sep 27, 2012 18:07
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Ah, Italy. Such a fantastic place. (will bid on Vatican City)
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Sep 27, 2012 22:11
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Edit: found it in the civil service thread. Hungry Hippo fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Sep 28, 2012 |
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Sep 28, 2012 02:54
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Word of unasked for advice (and being on that site myself) - don't use that site as a justification or prior cases if you get a DOHA notice. It can be helpful to read through and check for reasons why folks were approved/denied. It really is case by case basis. It depends on the situation they present you and how you plan on mitigating (or demonstrating the mitigation) that/those concerns, specifically.
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Sep 28, 2012 05:03
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Skandiaavity posted:Ah, Italy. Such a fantastic place. When I was on rotation at State a couple of years ago, I exchanged a few emails with the woman who was desk officer for the Vatican and San Marino (and Monaco, maybe?) I was like, how do I get that job? Except being a desk officer is probably not that great...
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Sep 28, 2012 13:37
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pamchenko posted:When I was on rotation at State a couple of years ago, I exchanged a few emails with the woman who was desk officer for the Vatican and San Marino (and Monaco, maybe?) I was like, how do I get that job? Except being a desk officer is probably not that great... Actually, the desk officer position can be a great domestic tour if you're looking to specialize and get your name known around a regional bureau. If it's a smaller country, you can also get to know every major issue in your country as the portfolios tend not be be quite as niche -- as opposed to a huge country like China, where you could have more than a few desk officers. You also get the familiarization tours to your country/region - which is pretty fun. High rollin' on per diem. They see per diem, they hatin'. 
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Sep 28, 2012 14:25
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Zoots posted:Actually, the desk officer position can be a great domestic tour if you're looking to specialize and get your name known around a regional bureau. If it's a smaller country, you can also get to know every major issue in your country as the portfolios tend not be be quite as niche -- as opposed to a huge country like China, where you could have more than a few desk officers. I will say that desk officer at State seems much better than desk officer at USAID. I'm going back to DC next tour, but there is not enough money in the world to get me into one of those jobs. I can get sweet TDYs somewhere else. 
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Sep 28, 2012 15:35
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pamchenko posted:I will say that desk officer at State seems much better than desk officer at USAID. I'm going back to DC next tour, but there is not enough money in the world to get me into one of those jobs. I can get sweet TDYs somewhere else. I'm bidding on a shitton of desk officer positions now, trying to knife AIP bidders to make sure I can find one that I want. Whee! (Also, apparently I just got promoted? Just got a call from a friend to tell me. I don't even know what step I was at as FS04, so I have no clue what the new pay check will look like.)
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Sep 29, 2012 00:38
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I do believe congratulations are in order! You in town tomorrow, right? Let's get some drinks
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Sep 29, 2012 01:59
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the_chavi posted:
Well done!
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Sep 29, 2012 03:34
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the_chavi posted:I'm bidding on a shitton of desk officer positions now, trying to knife AIP bidders to make sure I can find one that I want. Whee! Yeah, I saw the cable. Congratulations! Yours truly was unfortunately passed over this time since they ran out of promotions slots (apparently), but at least I got a pay bump. It's nice to be recognized.
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Sep 29, 2012 08:49
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the_chavi posted:I'm bidding on a shitton of desk officer positions now, trying to knife AIP bidders to make sure I can find one that I want. Whee! Got admin promoted the other day too.
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Sep 29, 2012 10:19
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Congrats on your promotions guys.
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Sep 29, 2012 12:00
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Bartender, a round of beers, on the house..
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Sep 29, 2012 20:52
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I'm not sure if the Civilian Response Corps is technically considered part of the foreign service, but can any of you DoS goons shed some more light on this? I know it has an active and reserve component, and the reserve component draws on current govt. employees for their skills during reconstruction and stabilization efforts. What about the active component? Do they hire people who already possess specific desirable skills? Or does one sign up and get taught skills, sort of like the military? It seems like a very interesting opportunity for those looking for an expeditionary lifestyle but with a civil service spin to it.
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Sep 30, 2012 05:40
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Took the test yesterday. Think I did pretty well, especially since living in Japan for a year is a great stat bump for questions relating to other cultures and such. Plus the essay question I got was something I'm fairly knowledgeable and passionate about. Almost ran out of time on two sections just being thorough, too. Now to play the waiting game and see if I did better this time than last. Also time to start working on the essays. [edit] also congrats to all of ya'll who got promoted. Good stuff.
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Sep 30, 2012 07:40
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I took the FSOT today in Guangzhou and felt much better about it than last time. Wish me luck guys!
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Sep 30, 2012 11:24
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Spiderjelly posted:I took the FSOT today in Guangzhou and felt much better about it than last time. Wish me luck guys! In which part of the city was it held?
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Sep 30, 2012 11:38
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Salah-al-diin posted:I'm not sure if the Civilian Response Corps is technically considered part of the foreign service, but can any of you DoS goons shed some more light on this? I know it has an active and reserve component, and the reserve component draws on current govt. employees for their skills during reconstruction and stabilization efforts. What about the active component? Do they hire people who already possess specific desirable skills? Or does one sign up and get taught skills, sort of like the military? It seems like a very interesting opportunity for those looking for an expeditionary lifestyle but with a civil service spin to it. You should look into CSO - I'm pretty sure that's the bureau where CRC people are working. I was looking at a few positions there, and they mentioned that they're a very flexible (read: desperate) bureau and that they're able to hire people under really creative circumstances. http://www.state.gov/j/cso/index.htm
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Sep 30, 2012 13:33
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Also, congrats and good luck to those of you who are taking the FSOT this week!
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Sep 30, 2012 13:34
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Mine is next Saturday. I've been cramming American History, Government, Economic theory and management terminology as much as possible. I figured if I passed last time with zero experience beyond grad school, I should hoooopefully do okay this time around. Taking the practice test was definitely beneficial.
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Sep 30, 2012 14:13
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I'm taking the exam on October 6. I took the written exam some ten years ago when I was fresh out of college and passed, but they hadn't added the management buzzwords or short answer component yet. At the moment, I'm a divorce lawyer who represents low-income domestic violence victims, and I think my experience working with desperate people is good preparation for a career in the Consular cone. Current FSOs: do you have much social or work-related contact with embassy staff from other countries?
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Sep 30, 2012 20:00
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the_chavi posted:
My first time at competitive promotion (IMS skillcodes typically have lower promo rates than generalists) and got a MSI 
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Sep 30, 2012 20:32
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Business of Ferrets posted:In which part of the city was it held? I'm not really familiar with the city, as I live in Wuhan, but it was given at the public affairs office in the garden hotel, if that helps you.
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Oct 1, 2012 03:21
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I'm about to finish up my BA in Political Science, and I was interested in becoming a foreign service officer. I think I can do pretty well on the test, but I don't have any real experience. Should I still go for it or should I look into something else for the time being? Edit: I'm graduating from NC State, which I don't think will particularly improve or hurt my chances. Tell me if I forgot any obvious information that would help. DoubleDonut fucked around with this message at 03:48 on Oct 1, 2012 |
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Oct 1, 2012 03:46
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echopapa posted:Current FSOs: do you have much social or work-related contact with embassy staff from other countries? Social contact tends to depend on the atmosphere of the city you're living in. In my last post (Kyiv), the only social events I ever went to at another embassy were Pub Nights at the Canadian Embassy. And I think I only ever met like 2-3 Canadians there. Here, in Iraq, there are tons of social activities at other embassies, because there just aren't a whole lot of other options. As for work-related, that depends entirely on your job. Last post, where my job was working on US foreign assistance strategy -- none. Here, where I'm managing a very high profile project, I work very consistently with the UN and other embassies. Since I'm not State, I don't want to make any generalizations about DoS, but for USAID I would say that the more your job is related to the politics of the country you're working in, the more likely you are to have contact with other embassies.
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Oct 1, 2012 05:51
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Spiderjelly posted:I'm not really familiar with the city, as I live in Wuhan, but it was given at the public affairs office in the garden hotel, if that helps you. Been there countless times! Here's to hoping you did well!
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Oct 1, 2012 06:02
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DoubleDonut posted:Should I still go for it or should I look into something else for the time being? Do both of these things and you can't go wrong.
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Oct 1, 2012 06:06
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Business of Ferrets posted:Do both of these things and you can't go wrong. Alright, that's what I figured I should do anyway. Thanks. Not to derail, but does anyone have any recommendations for what kind of "something else" I should be looking into?
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Oct 1, 2012 06:39
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DoubleDonut posted:Alright, that's what I figured I should do anyway. Thanks. Not to derail, but does anyone have any recommendations for what kind of "something else" I should be looking into? International experience never hurts - especially as it'll help you gauge how much you really want to live overseas. If you're young and not-tied-down enough to go pack up and work somewhere for a year or two I'd highly recommend it, even just as a great life experience.
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Oct 1, 2012 08:15
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TCD posted:Congrats! More than I got. An MSI on your first look is pretty drat good, congratulations!
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Oct 1, 2012 08:18
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AKA Pseudonym posted:More than I got. An MSI on your first look is pretty drat good, congratulations! Yeah dude. Our CG explained it thusly: the MSI is like being "on deck" for promotion. Since they rank-order all the people they want to promote, this is the board's way of saying you made the list and would have gotten it if they had more slots open. Plus, you get paid! 
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Oct 1, 2012 08:27
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So I'm back in Tripoli. There are Marines everywhere, a lot more concertina wire than I remember, and apparently a kitten has taken up residence in my villa. It's now sitting in my lap and purring. It's good to be back home.
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Oct 1, 2012 12:53
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Oh bidding 
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Oct 2, 2012 13:19
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TCD posted:Oh bidding Really? Because I am more  when I contemplate bidding.
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Oct 2, 2012 18:31
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the_chavi posted:Really? Because I am more Haha, that's probably a little more accurate...
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Oct 2, 2012 20:03
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How does the FSOT compare to other entrance exams like the GRE/PCAT/MCAT/GMAT? E: Also can this job be done while fat? I see a medical requirement but that looks to be to weed out diabetics and other chronic illness possessing people. Azuth0667 fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Oct 2, 2012 |
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Oct 2, 2012 22:01
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Azuth0667 posted:How does the FSOT compare to other entrance exams like the GRE/PCAT/MCAT/GMAT? I didn't study for the GRE and got an excellent score. I studied for the FSOT and got a decent score but if I hadn't studied...probably wouldn't have done as well. I brushed up on a lot of stuff. But it was similar in many ways to the GRE. Except the bio stuff and you never know what you'll get for the essay question so you'll want to just practice writing timed essays. I think it varies because your life experiences and general knowledge are tested more on the FSOT, it's kind of like you either know it or you don't. Unlike with the GRE where you can brush up on math and stuff. I am overweight and it didn't seem to raise any issues, the problem I'm having getting my medical clearance is severe anemia (super low blood oxygen puts too much strain on the body and heart, so it'd make it hard for me in higher elevation assignments) and my hips are screwed up which as I age will continue to get worse and cause mobility issues. I just got notice today that they want MORE tests and MORE medical history. UGH. Miscreant Fromage fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Oct 2, 2012 |
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Oct 2, 2012 23:06
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Azuth0667 posted:How does the FSOT compare to other entrance exams like the GRE/PCAT/MCAT/GMAT? What I had trouble with was the other part, the biographical portion where you write about your life experiences and why the state department should hire you.
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Oct 2, 2012 23:16
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