I was recently reading the official State forums and someone asked how many people were hired as FSOs. One of the "green checkmarks," a DOS employee, stated that 290 people were hired as FSOs for fiscal year 2013 (which means October 2012 through September 2013). Another 320 or so were hired as FSSs. The green checkmark also said that the total number of candidates for the FSOT was "upwards of 20,000" people.
Let's set aside the FSS numbers and focus on the FSOs. At a bare (and unlikely) minimum, there were 20,000 people who registered for the FSOT. Of that 20,000, only 290 people were actually invited to an A-100 class. That means fewer than 1.5 % of all candidates successfully become FSOs. If you had a room of 200 people, roughly 3 of them would be successful. That is an amazing statistic.
So that got me thinking of all the ways candidates can get stopped dead in their tracks:
1. They register for the FSOT, but don't show up to take the test.
2. They take the FSOT, but score below a 154 on the multiple choice section and fail it.
3. They pass the multiple choice section of the FSOT, but score below a 6 on the essay and fail it.
4. They pass the FSOT, but fail to submit their Personal Narratives.
5. They submit their PNs, but do not pass the Qualifications Evaluation Panel.
6. They pass the QEP, but fail to schedule an Oral Assessment.
7. They take the OA, but score below a 5.25 and fail it.
8. They pass the OA, but do not submit their security paperwork in a timely manner.
9. They pass the OA, but cannot pass the medical check.
10. They pass the medical check, but can't pass the background security check.
11. They pass the necessary checks, but fail the Final Review Panel.
12. They pass the FRP and are added to the Register, but withdraw their candidacies or decline two A-100 invitations.
13. They pass the FRP and are added to the Register with no intention of withdrawing or declining an offer, but they fail to receive an A-100 invitation before their 18-month eligibility window expires.
That's a lot of things that can go wrong. I would love to see some statistics on how many people tend to be eliminated at each stage. Reading the various FS resources (the State pages, the Yahoo boards, other online forums), it makes it seem like the pass rate for each of these steps is super high. But it's really a self-selecting sample. People who fail tend to avoid sharing their experiences. And besides, it is a bit embarrassing to admit that you bombed the FSOT or came "thiiiiis close" to passing the OA when there are five other people who are beaming with excitement.
I guess the point of this post is simple: If you want to become an FSO, make sure you keep living your life the way you are now while you go through the process. There are so many pitfalls involved with this (very long) process that becoming a diplomat should never be your Plan A. And if you do embark on this journey, but fall a little bit short, don't be so hard on yourself. About 99% of us can relate!
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Back on the Field
Well, the October 2014 FSOT cohort is the next one up at bat. The testing window is finally open and the registration forms are available for submission. It's been many long months since disaster struck at the OA in Washington. So now I am back at the end of the line, the bottom of the stairs, and the beginning of the process. State's webpage indicates that there are eight steps to becoming an FSO, but for all intents and purposes, there are only five:
1. Pass the Foreign Service Officer Test
2. Pass the Qualifications Evaluation Panel
3. Pass the Oral Assessment
4. Get all your necessary clearances and pass the Final Review Panel
5. Get called from the Register
I have passed the FSOT three times. That makes me a bit anxious about my fourth attempt, actually. I mean, on one hand, I should be quite confident because I know what to expect with this test and I know I should pass relatively easily. But I am a bit ill at ease because there's always a first time for everything. What if I can't complete the essay in time? What if I bomb the Job Knowledge section of the test? What if I run out of time? I mean, my score has increased each time I've taken this test, and I haven't done any sort of studying for any of those attempts. Do I trust myself too much? Am I overconfident? What if my brain is not as sharp as it used to be? Or maybe I'm overanalyzing this.
In reality, it's really the QEP that bothers me the most. The selections seem so arbitrary there. I think failing this step twice forced me to improve my narratives so that I could make them stronger on my more successful third attempt. I still have those narratives printed out. So assuming that I pass the FSOT next month, I'll be ready to go with strong narratives that allowed me to advance once before. I just hope the new crop of candidates is not more stellar than the last time around and that the cutoff score is not even higher. Maybe a less dire budgetary situation will make for a less stringent selection criteria this fall compared to last fall.
The OA's Case Management exercise is all that stood between me and a conditional job offer the last time around. If I can make it back to the OA, I will not bother studying with a group. I know what to expect there, and I can work well in teams. I will spend more of my time trying a new strategy with writing the memos. Instead of taking notes as I read, I will try to read all the documents and keep mental records of any necessary facts or overarching themes. Then I will write the memo from scratch, rather than trying to take a bunch of disparate notes and forming a cohesive argument out of them.
So yeah, I'm ready. I just have to make sure not to look too far ahead because I could very well fail the FSOT, which would be absolutely devastating. The Foreign Service is what I want to do. Mrs. Zz wants me to do this as well. I am choosing the Consular track, which is what I chose last year. This track seems to get a bad rap, but it is the most interesting to me by far. The idea of screening visa applicants and visiting Americans in foreign prisons is something that truly excites me. There are so many countries where I would love to be posted, especially in East and Southeast Asia. I want to make some memories. I want to get my passport stamped. I want to help desperate people abroad. I want to do something that actually matters.
But to do any of this, I have to pass that test next month. I am on a mission. My fourth Foreign Service candidacy will end with an invitation to an A-100 class. Yes.
Stay tuned. It all starts here.
1. Pass the Foreign Service Officer Test
2. Pass the Qualifications Evaluation Panel
3. Pass the Oral Assessment
4. Get all your necessary clearances and pass the Final Review Panel
5. Get called from the Register
I have passed the FSOT three times. That makes me a bit anxious about my fourth attempt, actually. I mean, on one hand, I should be quite confident because I know what to expect with this test and I know I should pass relatively easily. But I am a bit ill at ease because there's always a first time for everything. What if I can't complete the essay in time? What if I bomb the Job Knowledge section of the test? What if I run out of time? I mean, my score has increased each time I've taken this test, and I haven't done any sort of studying for any of those attempts. Do I trust myself too much? Am I overconfident? What if my brain is not as sharp as it used to be? Or maybe I'm overanalyzing this.
In reality, it's really the QEP that bothers me the most. The selections seem so arbitrary there. I think failing this step twice forced me to improve my narratives so that I could make them stronger on my more successful third attempt. I still have those narratives printed out. So assuming that I pass the FSOT next month, I'll be ready to go with strong narratives that allowed me to advance once before. I just hope the new crop of candidates is not more stellar than the last time around and that the cutoff score is not even higher. Maybe a less dire budgetary situation will make for a less stringent selection criteria this fall compared to last fall.
The OA's Case Management exercise is all that stood between me and a conditional job offer the last time around. If I can make it back to the OA, I will not bother studying with a group. I know what to expect there, and I can work well in teams. I will spend more of my time trying a new strategy with writing the memos. Instead of taking notes as I read, I will try to read all the documents and keep mental records of any necessary facts or overarching themes. Then I will write the memo from scratch, rather than trying to take a bunch of disparate notes and forming a cohesive argument out of them.
So yeah, I'm ready. I just have to make sure not to look too far ahead because I could very well fail the FSOT, which would be absolutely devastating. The Foreign Service is what I want to do. Mrs. Zz wants me to do this as well. I am choosing the Consular track, which is what I chose last year. This track seems to get a bad rap, but it is the most interesting to me by far. The idea of screening visa applicants and visiting Americans in foreign prisons is something that truly excites me. There are so many countries where I would love to be posted, especially in East and Southeast Asia. I want to make some memories. I want to get my passport stamped. I want to help desperate people abroad. I want to do something that actually matters.
But to do any of this, I have to pass that test next month. I am on a mission. My fourth Foreign Service candidacy will end with an invitation to an A-100 class. Yes.
Stay tuned. It all starts here.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Dejection
I have a confession to make. Even though I am a great teacher and a great communicator, I sometimes have trouble following my own advice. Earlier this year I failed my OA. It was my first ever OA and my third Foreign Service candidacy. I feel like I let my family, my friends, and myself down after I was escorted from the assessment center and left outside on that cold Washington street. I tried to put on a brave face when I heard the assessor say she regretted to inform me that my score did not exceed the cutoff score necessary to continue my candidacy.
I was cautiously optimistic about my chances going into lunch that day. I thought the GE had gone well. My group worked well together, I made some good contributions, and I was even able to crack a joke. The SI seemed to go reasonably well also. I provided good examples from my background to answer their questions and I thought I conveyed the right motivation for wanting to join the Foreign Service.
But at lunch, my mentality changed. Even though I knew I had been doing well, my thoughts shifted from "I'm going to try my best and do a good job" to "I know this next component is going to suck, so I'll just try not to screw it up too badly." Instead of playing to win, I was now playing not to lose.
When it was time for me to start my CM, my head just wasn't in the game. I knew it wasn't. I couldn't analyze anything. I began including information in my memo that probably should have been left out. I didn't feel that I was answering the questions that were posed to me. And I didn't even bother reading two documents in the binder that were likely important because I was running out of time. I was panicking. I knew at this point that the CM would be the worst part of the OA for me; I just hoped it wouldn't drag my overall average score below the 5.25 threshold.
After the CM, I knew it would be close. Maybe I knew I would not pass, but I was in denial and was hoping that my writing would be just good enough to get me a 5.3. I knew a high score like a 5.7 was out of the question.
Anyway, when my name was called at the end of the day, I was escorted to one of the rooms where the SI had taken place. Two assessors were present. One assessor thanked me again for participating in the OA and mentioned that it was very difficult to make it to the OA in my particular FSOT cohort.
She was lowering the boom. I knew I was toast.
And then she gave me the bad news. I was then given an envelope that contained a paper indicating which of the exercises, if any, I had passed. I was too stunned, embarrassed and disappointed to even look at the paper in the envelope. The assessor told me she was unable to provide any feedback on why I failed or what I could do better next time. I acknowledged that I understood the policy of not providing feedback because that would constitute improper coaching. She then asked if I had any further questions, and I said no. In reality, I was too embarrassed to ask any further questions and prolong this awkward situation I had put myself in. I told the assessors that I would try again next year and was then escorted out of the center. I put on a brave face as I said goodbye to the assessor who escorted me and the security personnel in the lobby. And then I was outside.
And just like that, my dreams were crushed.
When I got to my car, I looked at the score breakdown in the envelope they provided. Sure enough, I had passed the GE and the SI, but failed the CM. And I must have failed the CM pretty badly too because I finished with a 5.0.
During the long drive home, I thought about how things could have been different. What if I had squeezed more points out of the GE and SI? What if I had not included one or two paragraphs of irrelevant information in my CM? What if I had done a better job of calming myself down after lunch? What if I had rescheduled my OA for a different date? What if?
Coming this far in the process and failing is a very tough pill to swallow. Even to this date, I don't know which part is the worst: that feeling you have when you are escorted from the assessment center with a failing score, that feeling you have when you inform your spouse and family members that you failed, or that feeling you have when you realize you have to wait so long before you can apply again. It's really tough.
But in the end, I can't complain too much. The process is competitive, but fair. And really, I can only blame myself. There's always next year!
I was cautiously optimistic about my chances going into lunch that day. I thought the GE had gone well. My group worked well together, I made some good contributions, and I was even able to crack a joke. The SI seemed to go reasonably well also. I provided good examples from my background to answer their questions and I thought I conveyed the right motivation for wanting to join the Foreign Service.
But at lunch, my mentality changed. Even though I knew I had been doing well, my thoughts shifted from "I'm going to try my best and do a good job" to "I know this next component is going to suck, so I'll just try not to screw it up too badly." Instead of playing to win, I was now playing not to lose.
When it was time for me to start my CM, my head just wasn't in the game. I knew it wasn't. I couldn't analyze anything. I began including information in my memo that probably should have been left out. I didn't feel that I was answering the questions that were posed to me. And I didn't even bother reading two documents in the binder that were likely important because I was running out of time. I was panicking. I knew at this point that the CM would be the worst part of the OA for me; I just hoped it wouldn't drag my overall average score below the 5.25 threshold.
After the CM, I knew it would be close. Maybe I knew I would not pass, but I was in denial and was hoping that my writing would be just good enough to get me a 5.3. I knew a high score like a 5.7 was out of the question.
Anyway, when my name was called at the end of the day, I was escorted to one of the rooms where the SI had taken place. Two assessors were present. One assessor thanked me again for participating in the OA and mentioned that it was very difficult to make it to the OA in my particular FSOT cohort.
She was lowering the boom. I knew I was toast.
And then she gave me the bad news. I was then given an envelope that contained a paper indicating which of the exercises, if any, I had passed. I was too stunned, embarrassed and disappointed to even look at the paper in the envelope. The assessor told me she was unable to provide any feedback on why I failed or what I could do better next time. I acknowledged that I understood the policy of not providing feedback because that would constitute improper coaching. She then asked if I had any further questions, and I said no. In reality, I was too embarrassed to ask any further questions and prolong this awkward situation I had put myself in. I told the assessors that I would try again next year and was then escorted out of the center. I put on a brave face as I said goodbye to the assessor who escorted me and the security personnel in the lobby. And then I was outside.
And just like that, my dreams were crushed.
When I got to my car, I looked at the score breakdown in the envelope they provided. Sure enough, I had passed the GE and the SI, but failed the CM. And I must have failed the CM pretty badly too because I finished with a 5.0.
During the long drive home, I thought about how things could have been different. What if I had squeezed more points out of the GE and SI? What if I had not included one or two paragraphs of irrelevant information in my CM? What if I had done a better job of calming myself down after lunch? What if I had rescheduled my OA for a different date? What if?
Coming this far in the process and failing is a very tough pill to swallow. Even to this date, I don't know which part is the worst: that feeling you have when you are escorted from the assessment center with a failing score, that feeling you have when you inform your spouse and family members that you failed, or that feeling you have when you realize you have to wait so long before you can apply again. It's really tough.
But in the end, I can't complain too much. The process is competitive, but fair. And really, I can only blame myself. There's always next year!
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