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I was wondering: Is this thread specifically for U.S. Foreign Service hopefuls and current employees? (Yes I can read the title, but I thought this might be a good place to talk about foreign service experiences too (in general)). I've started working in the foreign service for another country, and was hoping I could run some of my experiences by some of the diplomats that read/post here (from whatever country). I'm trying to see if my experiences are typical or atypical for someone rather new (and therefore junior) on this totem pole. If it's considered a derail/thread crap I won't post my questions here, but if it's kosher I will. If any of you are posted in Berlin, that'd be interesting for me too. If we can't have this sort of discussion in the thread please feel free to PM me, and we can take it from there as well.
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Feb 18, 2011 13:56
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Vilerat posted:I'd love to hear about your experiences for what it's worth. Okay. As I start to write this I hope to keep it as concise and brief as possible, but consider this a disclaimer that in my attempts to describe my experiences as accurately as I can, I may fail utterly in my attempt at being brief. I apologise for my English in advance. 1. The Good So, after meeting a number of diplomats from my country I was attracted to a career in the foreign service. Since our embassies are quite small, diplomats get a taste of everything from doing the monthly accounts, to attending high level briefings very early on, to handling lost passports, to private sector endeavours (say your country is quite interested in testing the latest and greatest wind farm technology - putting a company (or Ministry) in your country in touch with the counterpart in the country where you are stationed, and so on. The variety is nice, because I tackle initiatives in everything from illegal immigration to climate change, and to be honest I'm interested in a lot of these topics on a personal level so I find the work engaging. Initiatives on your part (at least for the country I work for) can reap large (relatively speaking) rewards for your country, though issues begin to arise procedurally (at least for me). 2. Elitism One example is what I'd call a certain level of obvious and strict social climbing. Now, I'm not naive. I'm sure it's part of your job to make contacts and so forth, but in my experience quite a few people simply hand out their business card with a "Hi my name is" and then move on, and other countries simply make no attempt whatsoever at meeting anyone at the conferences. I'm not sure how to describe this but, for the diplomats here who go to briefings/debriefings, have you noticed a similar phenomenon? As an example, I have yet to meet an American diplomat (perhaps none of you feel the need to interact with diplomats from most other countries) and met my first Canadian diplomat on Friday (I bummed a smoke from her on the way to the subway - she was polite, but certainly not interested in any sort of collaboration). So, I'm not certain what the point is in obtaining someone's business card. I have more than 100 business cards now from various people (including Vatican representatives and so on) and I have yet to use one. Are the people who make no attempt at interacting with other diplomats at these meetings the hardened version of me? Get in there, get the notes, zip back to the Embassy, write the report, move on? I understand that this is a job, but I thought that part of this job was to try and increase relations between states. I have seen none of it so far, especially from certain countries' representatives. I haven't been told "do your best to meet people from countries X, Y and Z", have you? 3. Glory I'm finding that junior people who do all of the groundwork for a project end up getting as minimal a credit as possible (if any). For example, I did all of the research for a very important interview for someone who is a higher up in my Embassy, and for some reason I find it irksome that I do weeks of research (often at home after work or on weekends) to ensure a comprehensive report, and this gets glanced over by someone higher up, who quickly gives an interview and gets his name in a paper and so on. It's not that I'm proud, or arrogant, but something sticks oddly in my craw about doing the vast majority of the work "for someone else's C.V". Other diplomats here might know what I mean re: lazy superiors who don't want to go to a briefing and schmooze, and end up sending someone like me (or you) to a briefing, to take the notes, type up the report, and "run it by them" before it is sent. The higher up then sends the report from his email address (noting of course that I went), but again, this is irksome. I went to the meeting, I wrote the report, and having a really pedantic correction made just so the other person can put his name on the report too seems to infuriate me. I'm not sure if this is common in other missions. 4. Competition I am not averse to healthy competition. But, there is such a high level of competition for jobs in my foreign ministry that it seems people are out to (see the Glory section) deliberately "steal the light" from your work. I'm not sure if I'm upset about "not being appreciated", or "not being recognized" and it probably sounds that way. I guess the hierarchies seem to dictate behaviour between people, so when I mention my rather junior status to a First Secretary or a Counselor, should I simply expect to be outright snubbed? Is this part of the game? So, I guess: In principle I'm finding the work a lot of fun, but I don't like the fact that there's this abstract idea that is "recognition for my work" and it's simply up to my boss whether to bestow that credit on me or not. Without breaking NDA, I guess something like this is what started it all: My country has an initiative X that is quite important for economic=>political reasons. I noticed that it was taking weeks and weeks for the relevant Ministry to get its act together. I did some local research myself and sourced a number of companies who were very excited about initiative X, and I contacted them personally to "feel them out". After I received positive feedback, I approached a higher up in my Embassy and told him what I did. He asked for the names, I gave them to him (and the contact information), and when the Minister came from our country to get this initiative X going, I wasn't invited at all. I was not invited to meet the companies, to the dinners with the Minister, nothing. No "hey, you did a great bit of work there", nothing. The problem with me is that these things are objective. In part it was my effort that pushed initiative X forward. I didn't get to meet the Minister, there were no notches added to my belt, nobody even knows that I did that work (except my boss, but I'd bet he's putting his name on it in order to make it look like he's doing work). This really gets under my skin. I want to be recognized for the work I do, isn't that natural? The logic (in my mind) is this simple: If I make a mistake, I get told it's a mistake. When I do something good, why shouldn't I get told that it's good? Is this some management technique that I'll learn someday, if/when I become a manager? 4. Conclusion So, in sum: I like the work I do in the job, I don't like how the higher ups seem to "make the work their own" in order to compete with higher ups in other Embassies, I suppose. I wonder what the diplomats who read what I wrote would have to say about it. I'd really appreciate some feedback on this, even if you think I'm being a competitive moron or am overly sensitive or whatever - or, if what I describe is some sort of truism then...well, I'll just have to get over it.
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Feb 19, 2011 15:35
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Diplomaticus posted:The sheer amount of OT I've done in the past week (and will do in the next week) is AMAZING. Are you compensated for that OT? I posted some general questions about Foreign Service experiences earlier in this thread (was told it was okay - I'm not in the US' Foreign Service, but am a diplomat for another country). On this note: I found out a few days ago that I'm going to Brussels. I'm really excited about this - hoping that the expat community there is rather active - I heard the city is rather sleepy from Saturday night until Monday morning, but have no personal experience there. I'm hoping for: organic food/markets, a good public transport system, and an opportunity to get rationally-reckless as the need arises. Fingers crossed.
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Jul 14, 2012 21:11
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SCRwM posted:I'd totally bid Turkey if the wife would let me. As someone who has been posted in Ankara for a while, with a wife who thought she would hate it, please let me just say that the overwhelmingly negative external perception of life in Ankara is rather mistaken. People here are very friendly, and have a sort of cultural complex now where conversations in any bar normally begin: Him: Where are you from? Me: X Him: How do you like it here? Me: It's great - rich cultural history, great food, friendly people. It's a very easy place to live. Cost of living is very low due to the Lira being weak against most other currencies. Hospitals are great (my service doesn't do insurance really, it does reimbursement) and the private health care here is outstanding. Schools are good - we do not have kids yet but were told by basically everyone, from the ex pat community to locals, that "this is the perfect place to have a family". In fact, if you're in your Ambassador's delegation (to present credentials), you will likely be asked "How many children do you have?" (Hint: the best answer is 3, or that you're planning to have 3). Anyone having second thoughts about applying for Ankara please let me know. I've spent quite a bit of time here and most people seem surprised to hear about my positive experience here, aside from those people who have actually lived here.
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Oct 9, 2017 12:31
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the_chavi posted:Wait, are you here now? I got here six weeks ago. And yes, I completely support what has been said here, even with the visa news from overnight. Yeah am here now. I haven't posted on these forums in a long time and (I hope it's still okay) I was told earlier in this thread it'd be alright to share my experience here even though I represent another country. The visa news hit the city like a storm. Guess the consular folks have a lot of time on their hands now?
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Oct 9, 2017 21:36
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Hey folks. Was a shame that timing prevented me from meeting the_chavi in Ankara while I was posted there. My next posting is going to be in New York at our (non-USA) Permanent Representation to the UN. If any of you are around in NYC it'd be great to meet up. Sorry to hear about the trials and tribulations side of things but if it makes any of you feel better - some services are much, much worse. Happy to explain why in person.
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Aug 9, 2018 08:22
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the_chavi posted:Seriously, I have to imagine you could make a ton of money as an off-the-books shrink for most of State these days. Slightly to exceptionally unethical, but hey! Hey, been ages since Ankara. And yeah I'd agree - lots of State are in super stressed situations now, and I feel for colleagues at USUN in NYC given what's happening in the city too. Just wanted to pop in and wish you all the best - State Department folks have a lot to be proud of.
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Feb 6, 2021 02:53
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