Anyone here ever take the Foreign Service exam?

[Rick Lee]

Through much of high school and college I wanted to do this and actually become an FSO. I took the test three times, once in our embassy in Luxembourg while I was living in Germany. The last time I took it was probably 15 yrs. ago and I came one point from getting invited to the orals.

I don't want to become an FSO anymore; am quite comfortable in my career and home. But I still want to ace this test. I feel the 15 or so more years of experience I have now might get me there. I breezed through most of the sample questions yesterday, many of which I'd have guessed at 15 yrs. ago, but knew instantly now. Anyway, I went online and registered for it two days ago, which just happened to be one day after the deadline. But I got accepted today and am taking the test again on Monday. Anyone done this and made it through the orals?

[Embraer]

I did it a couple of years ago, did the oral panels last year. I had to do two essays after the test questions. I thought it was a breeze. I didn't take the job, but the whole process was neat.

edit...after actually thinking back about my experience, it was 2008 that I finished up the process.

[Rick Lee]

Did you do the orals in DC or out west? How were they? How do they offer you a job? Don't they do a ton of screening first or do they make sure you're interested before they get that far? How much do FSO's start out making anyway? I guess it's a pretty secure job if you don't mind moving around and can put up with the political people above you.

[Embraer]

I went through a stage for a few years where I applied to a ton of federal jobs. Diplomatic Security Service (interviewed in Chicago, but did not get the job), FSO (took the written test at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indy, Interviewed in DC), and FBI. I passed my Phase One for the FBI last summer, as well as my physical fitness test. I was getting ready to schedule my Phase II interview in Chicago when I took a different position with the government (In Palmdale, CA). That's where I'm at right now. As for the Foreign Service....

The FSO interview was intense. I took the written exam, and was sent the letter that said I passed. I had to log onto a website, and write a few more essays about my motivations, etc. According to my scores, I was qualified for the Consular side of the FS. I went to DC about 9 months after I took my written exam. They started the BI on me during those 9 months, because I noticed they did a query on my credit history.

When I went to the interview, I felt REALLY out of place. I was a simple pilot who had just started work on a masters. The other people there were fresh law school grads,fresh MBA grads, and a couple pseudo-intellectual academic types (that seemed to find it necessary to pawn their political beliefs on us during the interview process). none of them seemed to have any practical experience in life. The interview wasn't a competition, but my interview mates had a hard time understanding this.

The interview in DC had a group exercise (which I took the bull by the horns on.) We had to play FSO, and come up with a solution in a small village. They were watching us to see how we interacted and worked with each other, etc. I probably had the strongest command personality of the group...age and varied experience helped me with that. (and I was only 27 at the time...but having lots of different jobs and working with different people helped) The weak ones in the group who "tried" to take command stuck out like a sore thumb.

Next we had the structured interview. It was about an hour long, with situational questions.

Last thing was a writing exercise that was a case study writeup. I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing with that, but apparently I did ok.

When assessing us, they used the 13D's to do it. It's 13 different dimensions they used to rank us.

7 of us interviewed that day, and 4 got sent packing at different places throughout the day. I passed the exam, and was told that the medical and BI would continue.

I guess the process has changed in the last couple of years. Now they consider your resume, in addition to the FSOT scores. ...More of a whole person concept.

Anyway, after the medical exam and BI (i have absolutely nothing on my record, and no debt) I was referred to the final hiring panel. I did get accepted and was offered an A-100 class.

The starting pay was 46K, plus locality for Virginia. I turned the job down, because I had received a tentative offer letter from the federal agency I am currently working for....and that was my first choice. (Plus it's related to aviation)

I was proud of the fact that I passed the whole process, and that was satisfying enough. Another reason that I didn't take the job, was due to the recent change in Administration (2008) and a lot of the people that I noticed worked with the FS had the "pseudo-intellectual" mentality that drives me bonkers.

(I was accepted into the Peace Corps in 2005, and turned that offer down for similar reasons).

People thought I was nuts for turning down the job, but I'm happy where I'm at.

[Rick Lee]

Wow! I can't remember what it was like to live in VA on $46k. I had a hard enough time at plenty more than that. I still have a condo there, but wouldn't move back for all the money in the world. Still, I want to see how far along I get in the process.

[Embraer]

if i had a masters or higher, the pay would have been like 55K, plus locality. the locality did make a significant difference. think it might have been around 23%

with locality is was like 56K starting.

[bell]

[Schumi]

goddamnit bell beat me to it.

great film.

I'm sorry I'm late, I had to attend the reading of a will. I had to stay to the very end, when I found out I received nothing.

[Rick Lee]

This is the stuff that would scare me out of becoming an FSO, regardless of the pay. And this is where I took my first FSOT around 1991.

Report rips U.S. envoy who resigned
By: Jennifer Epstein
February 4, 2011 06:49 AM EST

An Obama bundler picked for a choice ambassadorship brought the U.S. embassy she led to “a state of dysfunction” in a year on the job, a State Department probe has found.

Cynthia Stroum, who last month left her post as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg, was “aggressive, bullying, hostile and intimidating,” the department’s inspector general said in a report released Thursday. The embassy and its staff face myriad problems, including “the absence of a sense of direction,” which has “brought major elements of Embassy Luxembourg to a state of dysfunction.”

Stroum’s year in Luxembourg was marred by personality struggles, management problems and improper spending, including $3,400 the embassy rushed to spend on wine and liquor at the end of the 2010 budget year.

The inspector general found that Stroum, who announced her resignation in mid-January and left the embassy on the last day of the month, was the source of” [t]he bulk of the mission’s internal problems.” Stroum, the report said, followed a pattern of public criticism of colleagues … who have not performed to her satisfaction.”

Stroum, a businesswoman and investor, raised more than $500,000 for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008, and was rewarded with the desirable ambassadorship, which presidents often give to friends and donors. In the last half century, just three of the 21 ambassadors to Luxembourg have been career diplomats.

When she announced that she was leaving, Stroum told the local press that though her work at the embassy had been “challenging,” she was leaving to spend more time with her family in Seattle. “This was a very difficult choice to make,” she said in a statement dated Jan. 13. “Not only have I developed a very strong bond with the people of Luxembourg, I have loved the work and am tremendously proud of what we have accomplished during my tenure.”

The State Department made no official statement that Stroum was stepping down and department spokesman Mark Toner gave only a brief comment to the Associated Press. “We are grateful for her service to the United States and wish her all the best in her new endeavors,” he said.

Conditions at the embassy were so bad that a handful of staffers requested transfers to Iraq and Afghanistan, the report said, and other staff still working there were considering ways to move elsewhere. In some cases, the inspector general “knows for certain that these early departures are because of the ambassador’s management style.”

Stroum created “a climate of acute stress” that was “especially evident among of?cers and local staff who have been here more than 3 or 4 months,” inspectors found. In the report, they suggested that medical professionals be sent to the embassy “to evaluate morale and stress levels of staff” and assess the mental health of people who worked for Stroum.

[Rick Lee]

I'm back from the test. It took me three hours and I had to really rush on one of the essays. It's all done on computers now, so no more no. 2 pencils and filling in ovals. I didn't find it too difficult, but then we'll see how I score.

There was only one math question and we got an erasable note pad for doing the calculation and writing notes. I had to do it in long form, as I knew the answer was not a round number and, of course, they had every possible wrong answer there as a choice. I really only recall one question on American culture/literature and the answer was The Grapes of Wrath. Surprisingly, they had a lot of questions on computer knowledge, terminology, SEO, social media, software, email, etc. I don't think there was much on world knowledge. One question was on the reunification of Germany, another on the success of US trade sanctions on S. Africa, one or two geography questions. But I was really surprised how little you had to know about the world for this test.

The personal/character type questions really ate up a lot of my time. Many of them asked about my phone etiquette, comfort using the phone and how much time I spend on the phone in my job. Many of those asked for specific examples with 200 characters allowed for an explanation. Obviously, since I've been in commissioned sales for 13 yrs., I had plenty to share about phone work.

One question was how well I know someone whose first language is not English and how I know they're not a native English speaker. Not too tough for me, having a Chinese wife.

First essay was about how the US should solve all the world's problems - unilaterally or in concert with many others. Second one was how to fix Soc. Sec. and Medicare.

Anyway, it was pretty painless and I appreciate the fact they spent so much time on English skills, which I think are so lacking these days. Though I had problems with a lot of the samples where they weren't looking for corrections. Oh well. Should know something in 3-5 wks.

[Embraer]

good luck!

[Rick Lee]

UPDATE

154 was the passing score this time and I got a 160. So it's off to write the six essays by March 23rd and hope I get the invite to the orals in DC.

[Joeaksa]

Congrats!

[Rick Lee]

Forgot to update this one. I took the test again in early Oct., as I was unemployed with a lot of time on my hands around the registration time in Aug. Test started at 5:30pm, so I was able to go to work first. I got a much higher score this time, but ran out of time on the essay, which was about nuclear proliferation. So I got the lowest possible passing score on the essay, but that meant they go ahead and grade the rest of the test, which I aced. It's been dumbed down even further. You can tell the FS is really having a hard time attracting people with international experience and much knowledge of the rest of the world.

Again, they asked how many close friends I have whose native language is not English. Any more than two and you had to list names and languages. They only allowed 200 characters, so I left it at five names and languages and feel like some of my friends would be offended over not being on the list.

There were (sadly) very few questions about current events, recent history and int'l. affairs. I am pleased to say there is still a huge emphasis on English skills. Though, again, I had some issues with areas they didn't ask to be corrected. My father would be overjoyed to learn they had a question about when to use less vs. fewer and amount of vs. number of.

Anyway, I did the essays again a few weeks ago. I had forgotten about them and remembered on the last day. I rushed through them in less than an hour, but feel a lot better about them than I did last time. I feel like I should have heard something by now, so I hope the no news is good news.

I think the starting pay would work out to around $75k, which would be pretty tough, but then I guess it depends on whether Mrs. Lee would be able to work wherever we ended up. Fortunately, I have a pretty good job now and can be choosy.