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TCD posted:4-5 months for me to go from application submission to receiving invitation for oral exam. During that time, I had only a single instance of contact, and that was to clarify a point, and once I replied, it was back to the no contact phase. Oh, dang... I was thinking maybe a month tops. Thanks for the heads-up! SWATJester posted:I think I had good enough answers, but goddamn that 1200 character limitation is short. This might sound like a tiny/stupid question, but is that 1200 with or without spaces? I remember when I was applying for the DoS summer internship I had this perfectly tailored statement, copy/pasted it into the box and found out I had to completely re-work it.
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Nov 16, 2009 17:33
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Oh, dang... I was thinking maybe a month tops. Thanks for the heads-up! Including spaces and line breaks.
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Nov 16, 2009 19:08
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I hope none of the people I'm going up against have more managerial experience than organizing a company BBQ, or I might be in some trouble. This poo poo is depressing. edit; The deadline for Personal Narrative submission is the 17th- any idea how long an invitation or rejection notice might take? Suntory BOSS fucked around with this message at 10:40 on Nov 17, 2009 |
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Nov 17, 2009 04:23
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Yeah, I kind of feel like I'm qualified - but barely - and if anyone has experience doing anything, then I'm up for some stiff competition.
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Nov 17, 2009 05:16
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So today I was reviewing a few early applications for summer internship positions and it really brought home how very terrible the formatting is on these things. Each five-page report is single spaced and lists both questions and answers in the same font and without any paragraphing to aid with reading. And the first three pages or so contain maybe one or two useful bits of information hidden among questions about ethnicity, disability, etc. (which are admittedly important, but decidedly not helpful in choosing a summer intern).  I think I'm starting to understand why my supervisor decided to delegate this "important task" this time around. . . . 
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Nov 23, 2009 15:10
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So, last week I was talking to my landlord/host mother from this summer in India and she told me that a couple Indian intelligence officers had stopped by to ask about me and one of my friends. Could this be because of my FSO application or should I be actually worried? For reference, I haven't done anything even close to questionable on Indian soil besides going to the Wagah border to watch the border closing ceremony. Do they start checking on people this early?
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Nov 23, 2009 17:51
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Business of Ferrets posted:So today I was reviewing a few early applications for summer internship positions and it really brought home how very terrible the formatting is on these things. Each five-page report is single spaced and lists both questions and answers in the same font and without any paragraphing to aid with reading. And the first three pages or so contain maybe one or two useful bits of information hidden among questions about ethnicity, disability, etc. (which are admittedly important, but decidedly not helpful in choosing a summer intern). Did the applicants get to format them themselves, or was the information fed into some sort of web form? Because given some of the front end interface issues I have had with the web forms, I would guess that the back end output is just as bad.
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Nov 23, 2009 20:29
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Xandu fucked around with this message at 05:21 on Jun 10, 2011 |
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Nov 23, 2009 23:27
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CherryCola posted:So, last week I was talking to my landlord/host mother from this summer in India and she told me that a couple Indian intelligence officers had stopped by to ask about me and one of my friends. Could this be because of my FSO application or should I be actually worried? For reference, I haven't done anything even close to questionable on Indian soil besides going to the Wagah border to watch the border closing ceremony. Do they start checking on people this early? They start looking into you after you get a conditional offer and you turn in your application for a security clearence. The first thing they do is interview you, so you'll know exactly when it starts. I have no idea what's happening in your case but I wouldn't worry about it.
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Nov 24, 2009 08:37
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xanthig posted:Did the applicants get to format them themselves, or was the information fed into some sort of web form? Because given some of the front end interface issues I have had with the web forms, I would guess that the back end output is just as bad. Yeah, it's a web form.
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Nov 24, 2009 14:55
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Holy poo poo! I passed the language test! I didn't get a number score because apparently the one I took was pass/fail. I'm sooo happy this is going to be on my application now.
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Nov 24, 2009 20:57
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Nice! Which language?
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Nov 25, 2009 00:18
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Business of Ferrets posted:Nice! Which language? Urdu!
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Nov 25, 2009 00:30
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CherryCola posted:Urdu! Welcome to Pakistan!
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Nov 25, 2009 16:46
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CherryCola posted:Holy poo poo! I passed the language test! I didn't get a number score because apparently the one I took was pass/fail. I'm sooo happy this is going to be on my application now. Nice man, congrats! (I only found out my score by asking the agency I was taking the test for, the testing place won't tell you directly.) That .4 is gonna be nice to have.
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Nov 25, 2009 19:56
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For those of you doing the generalist orals, have you chosen your testing location yet? Every year around Thanksgiving I remember that I tested in San Francisco the day before Thanksgiving, flew back home the next day, wife picked me up at the airport and we went looking for someplace to have Thanksgiving supper. It was late, and the  It did get me a job, though, so I guess not a bad trade.  Also, thought I would toss out there that I have served in Russia, China and Washington, D.C. in case anyone has any questions.
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Dec 1, 2009 14:15
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I'm testing in DC (annex 44) in late February. Word to the wise, I sat waiting in front of my computer a for the scheduling site to come up and the instant it did, I scheduled my test.... but there was no receipt and no e-mail response. I did it two more times with the same results. So I decided to wait and see if the confirmation was just taking its good time in being sent out. Three days later I still had not received a response by e-mail confirming my appointment. I finally called in, and sure enough there was no record of the appointment. It's not so bad, I wanted to test at the end of the cycle, but everyone should be aware that the confirmation is instant and that the system is buggy when it first comes up. Onto another topic, Business of Ferrets, where in China did you serve? How bad was the surveillance while you were there? xanthig fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Dec 1, 2009 |
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Dec 1, 2009 17:52
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A question about DC postings - is it worth buying a house while you're there? I mean, you'll be in and out of DC your whole career so maybe...but it seems like it'd be wasted when you're gone. Rent it out maybe? What do most people do?
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Dec 1, 2009 20:09
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Barracuda Bang! posted:A question about DC postings - is it worth buying a house while you're there? I mean, you'll be in and out of DC your whole career so maybe...but it seems like it'd be wasted when you're gone. Rent it out maybe? What do most people do? It could be worse, I live in Baltimore, which presents its own unique problems. My house is just inside the 50 mile radius for commuting. Which means if I make it to A100, for good or ill, I will be stuck commuting to class. It brings up an interesting conundrum as to whether to stay in DC the night before the test, or wake up at 4:30 for a 2 hour commute. As for my house, I would probably rent it out, in my case it would be profitable and I like the idea of having a place to fall back on.
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Dec 1, 2009 20:22
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Vilerat posted:I can answer all your questions about serving at US Embassy Baghdad You mentioned in one of the GiP threads that the transition from military to FSO was easy, and this seems like an appropriate place to ask about it. Can you expand on this? I still have 5 years in the Army to focus on, but my grandfather was a FSO for 25+ years and I've always been curious about getting into it.
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Dec 1, 2009 21:18
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http://beaugestemonami.blogspot.com/ Interesting read on the language program from a 2nd tour FSO in Rome.
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Dec 2, 2009 00:03
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xanthig posted:Onto another topic, Business of Ferrets, where in China did you serve? How bad was the surveillance while you were there? I've been in Beijing and Guangzhou (formerly Canton). The watchers are here but I try not to let them bother me. Most people get used to it after a while. SWATJester posted:Interesting read on the language program from a 2nd tour FSO in Rome. Man, that brings back lots of memories. In preparation for my current job I took the State Department's two-year Chinese course. Great course, but Chinese is seriously difficult.
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Dec 2, 2009 08:39
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Business of Ferrets posted:Man, that brings back lots of memories. In preparation for my current job I took the State Department's two-year Chinese course. Great course, but Chinese is seriously difficult. What level did you achieve by the end of the two year course?
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Dec 2, 2009 13:45
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Barracuda Bang! posted:A question about DC postings - is it worth buying a house while you're there? I mean, you'll be in and out of DC your whole career so maybe...but it seems like it'd be wasted when you're gone. Rent it out maybe? What do most people do? I know a lot of people who keep places that they rent and several people who've made it into something of a second career. I can't really speak to what the norm is though. It depends on your personal situation and how much you intend to serve in DC, some people never do at all.
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Dec 2, 2009 14:05
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xanthig posted:What level did you achieve by the end of the two year course? I finished with a 3/3 (speaking/reading) on the ILR scale. I started from nothing.
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Dec 2, 2009 14:46
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iceslice posted:You mentioned in one of the GiP threads that the transition from military to FSO was easy, and this seems like an appropriate place to ask about it. Can you expand on this? I still have 5 years in the Army to focus on, but my grandfather was a FSO for 25+ years and I've always been curious about getting into it. Certainly! I'll start off with the hiring process. From the point where you get 'accepted' you have a two year window within which you can set a start day with State. For you this means once you are two years out start the process and then work with your HR tech to set a new hire class date that closely coincides with your ETS. As I mentioned in the other thread you can buy back your military time if you haven't hit your retirement and apply those years towards your State Department retirement. I purchased around 7 years of my USAF time and that cost me a little over 3 grand which is pennies really. You rotate posts every 3 years and there is a competative bidding process to get onward assignments. Unlike the military (with the exception of your first two assignments) you have to network and lobby for your ongoing assignments so if you are good at your job you have a much higher chance of getting to all the great places you want to live at instead of just putting your top 8 choices and taking up prayer. On the flip side if you have a bad corridor reputation then I'd get used to shitholes or spending most of your time wandering the halls in DC. Life in the Foreign Service is best described as all of the cool stuff you enjoyed about the Military without all the stupid bullshit. Like to live in foreign countries and experience fun cultures but really aren't big on getting your weekend liberties taken away because some idiot got a DUI? Hate 3 am bag drags because your section chief wants to make sure you guys have your gear squared away and is a dick? Love the idea of a 20 year retirement and no chance of getting laid off? These are the things I was referring to. No you are not likely to run around with a gun unless you are Diplomatic Security but thems the breaks. On the other hand since I've been with State I've done more time flying around in military helicopters and have come closer to being blown up by incoming fire than when I was in the military so ymmv. Another similarity is housing although I'm going to take some liberties with the word similar. When you arrive at post you are assigned a house from the Embassy housing pool that is usually pretty good but as with everything 'It varies from post to post'. When I was in Pretoria we had a really nice 5 bedroom house in a great neighborhood and it really seemed over the top but in other places you get the bare minimum as required by regs. Here in Montreal we have LQA which is where they just give you money and wish you luck. The pay in State is I think very good and the benefits are fantastic. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/113576.pdf If you come in as a specialist you'll probably be coming in at the FS-5 range with the step depending on what you negotiate with HR. After 18 months you get admin promoted to 4 and from there on it's competative annually. Leave takes into account total government service time so if you have a few years in the military already you'll be getting 6 hours a pay period (every two weeks, not 1st/15th) and holidays/weekends don't count against you. Add in local holidays and admin travel days when going on your annual R&R along with mandatory home leave after your tour and you end up getting more leave than Active Duty military. Also yes they do pay for you and your family to go back to the states or wherever once a year for R&R if you are in a not so great place. I do mention Specialist there which may not be what you are interested in, but the pay/rank/benefits are all identical. Also I should mention Specialists get paid overtime if you work overtime  .
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Dec 2, 2009 14:49
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Vilerat posted:Certainly! Thanks for the info. Do you receive any preference as prior service? I think I remember reading you receive a small bump in your testing scores. Is there anything beyond that?
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Dec 2, 2009 18:46
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iceslice posted:Thanks for the info. Do you receive any preference as prior service? I think I remember reading you receive a small bump in your testing scores. Is there anything beyond that? 5 or 10 pt veterence preference.
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Dec 2, 2009 19:02
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Does the Foreign Service hire many MBAs? I'm thinking about an MBA but the Foreign Service looks really interesting.
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Dec 2, 2009 22:03
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Since they seem to hire anyone who can pass their multiple testing stages I am sure they hire MBAs. On a side note, why do you want an MBA? Just to get one or for some specific goal? I would tread carefully with an MBA, they seem to be flooding the market right now and I have friends with MBAs that it is actually a hindrance to their finding employment.
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Dec 2, 2009 23:47
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Vilerat posted:5 or 10 pt veterence preference. it works out to be a substantive preference. 5.25 out of 7 passes the orals. Historically a 5.6 was needed to be competitive for political or economic, while with a 5.25 you stood a chance for consular. I think points have trended lower of late, although I'm not sure. A 5 pt preference = .175 points, a 10 pt = .35 So even if you just squeek by with a 5.25, if you are a purple heart recipient or otherwise earned a 10 pt preference that bumps you way up to 5.55
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Dec 3, 2009 04:03
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Omits-Bagels posted:Does the Foreign Service hire many MBAs? I'm thinking about an MBA but the Foreign Service looks really interesting. If the MBA makes it through the process... I have no idea if a MBA helps or hinders in the QEP. I'm really warming to the Econ side. One of the good things of being in IT. We see a lot of the different Embassy functions. But, being in IT is pretty fun so far, always poo poo to work on at a small shop. Also, VileRat is awesome. Much love from AF.
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Dec 3, 2009 18:21
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Happydayz posted:it works out to be a substantive preference. Yeah but downside being if you have a 10 pt preference you're probably not going to clear medical. Much <3 for my 5 pt pref. though. Actually if it weren't for the military my QEP answers wouldn't have been stellar.
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Dec 4, 2009 08:11
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I feel like, if you went into the foreign service single, it would be very difficult meeting young singles as well with this lifestyle. Any truth to this observation? Also, I know you can buy back military service, can you do so with peace corps service?
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Dec 4, 2009 08:36
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Winna posted:I feel like, if you went into the foreign service single, it would be very difficult meeting young singles as well with this lifestyle. Any truth to this observation? Singles issues are ironically much louder than married issues in the Foreign Service. I've found they go way out of their way to take care of families but just sorta expect singles to cope somehow. On the flip side I do see a lot of FSO's getting married to locals, but you'll have to get past the inevitable cultural differences. I don't know about buying peace corps time. Do they even have a retirement program?
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Dec 4, 2009 12:47
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Winna posted:I feel like, if you went into the foreign service single, it would be very difficult meeting young singles as well with this lifestyle. Any truth to this observation? You can always come to Eastern Europe and save postage on your bride.
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Dec 4, 2009 13:51
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Winna posted:I feel like, if you went into the foreign service single, it would be very difficult meeting young singles as well with this lifestyle. Any truth to this observation? This is a big concern for me too. I'm 25, but I'd really like to, you know, get married before I'm 40 (before 30 would be preferable). Not really sure how that's going to happen if I'm in the foreign service. I still really REALLY want to be in the foreign service though. Oh life.
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Dec 4, 2009 20:36
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AKA Pseudonym posted:You can always come to Eastern Europe and save postage on your bride. I was going to say - single diplomats posted overseas are going to have a lot of appeal. And not even in poorer countries - it's a very prestigious job much more so in other countries than here in the US. I imagine this only applies to males though. The dynamics would likely work the opposite way for females.
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Dec 4, 2009 21:22
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CherryCola posted:This is a big concern for me too. I'm 25, but I'd really like to, you know, get married before I'm 40 (before 30 would be preferable). Not really sure how that's going to happen if I'm in the foreign service. I still really REALLY want to be in the foreign service though. Oh life. Yeah man, we're in the same boat. Life and its trade offs.
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Dec 4, 2009 21:35
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If you marry a foreign national, could you potentially lose your security clearance?Business of Ferrets posted:I finished with a 3/3 (speaking/reading) on the ILR scale. I started from nothing. How is the written test? Do they do it in-house, or through Language Testing International? When I checked I don't think LTI had a written test for Thai, which kinda negates the majority of what I studied. Also, do they automatically accept other foreign language credentials (like the HSK for Chinese, etc) without having to take the test?
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Dec 4, 2009 21:49
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