I would never profess to know how best to prepare for the journey of becoming a foreign service officer since I am 0 for 1, but as I am beginning to gear up for round two here are my thoughts. My scores when I took the test were about 59 and 59 on the JK and BIO section and a whopping 48 on the EE and an 8 on the essay.
My impression is that most people spend a disproportionate time studying for the JK section at the expense of EE and BIO prep. The JK is the sexiest part of the test and if you have taken it once you know that it really isn't. I know that during my first prep cycle I probably spent too much time on that part as well.
I think you will find that while you can study for the JK section you could study for a year and not see one question from your prep session. I think you need to take more of a long term view in terms of how you obtain the type of knowledge to do well on the JK section. I absolutely had a few questions on my test that I ran across from several of the books that I read so studying can have its benefits, but this part of the test doesn't lend itself to cramming.
The one section that you absolutely can prepare for is the EE section. Going into the test the first time I knew this was a weakness and while I did put in some time it wasn't enough. It is the standard take an awkward sentence and make it less awkward. I can't recommend a particular book, but if you look at the sample questions that ACT provides you are in the ball park and any study materials with similar sorts of exercises would be helpful.
The BIO section is the wildcard with the biggest delta and is a mystery to just about everyone who has taken the test. The one thing I think I can say with absolute certainty is that how one typically views "experience" does not translate into a high BIO score. If I had holes in my volunteer portfolio, community service, multi-cultural experiences, etc, I would really think about what could I do to fill out my personal portfolio? The other thing that I think is important to remember is that you didn't have to cure cancer or save your platoon in Afghanistan for the experience to qualify as being noteworthy. Don't forget this is a generalist, entry-level position. We are not applying to be the next ambassador to Russia! So don't be over confident if you have a lot of experience and don't sell yourself short if you are still wet behind the ears.
While I would never discount the fill in the blank portion of the BIO section, if I were a betting man I would bet that is much more important which bubble you check rather than what you write. So before the test and the months leading up to it write down the broad categories and the free practice questions give you a decent list, and tick off examples. If you think you may be deficient in an area do something about it.
I know someone that just failed the most recent test(did not pass the essay) and he passed the OA before, but at the time decided not to go forward with State. I have seen his writing and he helped me edit my successful personal narratives during the QEP phase so I know that he can write well. Even if you are a strong EE person do not take the essay portion of the exam lightly. I did wait to cram for this portion. During the two weeks leading up the test I wrote 1-2 timed essays every day to get my brain and fingers prepared for test day. I used many of the prompts from the ACT/State material, the Yahoo board, and picked topics from the NY Times and Washington Post. I also thought about several controversial topics and believe it or not that is what I got on test day. It wasn't exactly what I had thought about, but close enough for government work.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Jordan Bound??
There hasn't been much to say as I continue to play the government waiting game with other agencies. It is always interesting to read the questions and comments after another round of test takers either moves on to the next stage or begins the long period of self-reflection.
In the meantime I have just been plugging away at maintaining and improving my Arabic proficiency and am moving ever so closely to becoming fluent. One of things that is a glaring hole in my personal resume is some sort of international volunteer work. With two almost teenage kids we can't pack up as a family and go on a Peace Corps tour so it looks like I am going to do some volunteer work for an NGO in Jordan in January.
I will be living with a Jordanian family and working in the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The program includes some survival Arabic instruction, but since I am beyond that I am going to try to squeeze in some lessons at the school I went to in Amman last year. If anyone ever needs a good recommendation for an Arabic School in Amman let me know.
Definitely ready for dinner at Hashim's!
In the meantime I have just been plugging away at maintaining and improving my Arabic proficiency and am moving ever so closely to becoming fluent. One of things that is a glaring hole in my personal resume is some sort of international volunteer work. With two almost teenage kids we can't pack up as a family and go on a Peace Corps tour so it looks like I am going to do some volunteer work for an NGO in Jordan in January.
I will be living with a Jordanian family and working in the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The program includes some survival Arabic instruction, but since I am beyond that I am going to try to squeeze in some lessons at the school I went to in Amman last year. If anyone ever needs a good recommendation for an Arabic School in Amman let me know.
Definitely ready for dinner at Hashim's!
Friday, August 27, 2010
The Government Waiting Game
There are quite a few really good FSO blogs that I followed this year as I went through the FSO process and the common theme no matter where you are is wait, wait, and wait. The only part that is quick and relatively painless is the hour or so you wait as the examiners call out names from the waiting room at the OA to tell you your fate.
If you walk in the room and see the lonely one envelope you know it isn't good news. I am guessing that some people know what did or didn't go well and are not too surprised when they walk in the room and are told to "take the hot seat." I think the flat, stale feeling that most of us feel that didn't achieve the 5.3 is after all of the waiting that goes on it is a quick double tap to the head, an escort out of the building and it is all over just that fast.
For all of the waiting I do have to give the State Department credit. I had several other government applications going in parallel that are still working themselves out, but rather than constantly teasing you at least with State when they put you down they do it as humanely as possible!
If you walk in the room and see the lonely one envelope you know it isn't good news. I am guessing that some people know what did or didn't go well and are not too surprised when they walk in the room and are told to "take the hot seat." I think the flat, stale feeling that most of us feel that didn't achieve the 5.3 is after all of the waiting that goes on it is a quick double tap to the head, an escort out of the building and it is all over just that fast.
For all of the waiting I do have to give the State Department credit. I had several other government applications going in parallel that are still working themselves out, but rather than constantly teasing you at least with State when they put you down they do it as humanely as possible!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Great Language Purchase
I bought a satellite dish and had it installed today. I was under the impression that I would only be getting Arabic channels from around the world, but as I have scrolled through the 200+ stations I have seen Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, Spanish, and several other Asian languages that I couldn't identify.
I only paid $200 for the dish and there is no monthly fee.
I only paid $200 for the dish and there is no monthly fee.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Time To Regroup
Honestly the biggest bummer about thinking about Plan B and C is figuring out how to maintain my Arabic proficiency. I don't live in a hot bed of Arabic instruction so I had to be very resourceful, yes one of the 13 dimensions, to become proficient in the language. I had a great tutor who really got me through the SCNL test, but he is moving and the local community college lost their instructor who was just OK, but better than nothing.
So I found two other possible options and will be meeting with them next week to see if one of them is a good fit and hopefully we can put together a program that will work. My wife who has been very gracious throughout this process also gave me the green light to go back to the Middle East for another cram session. Based upon when I can take the FSWE again I will probably try to find someplace in January.
For those of you who are about to start the process, LEARN a language. The rosters are getting long and it seems like the days of getting a 5.3 (easier said than done) and getting called are probably over. I only wish that I could auction off my Arabic and Veteran's preference points on EBay! You can get proficient in one of the SCNL's in under a year if you work hard at it so put together a long term plan and do it.
The other silver lining is that I still have two other interesting options where learning Arabic has really helped where I am still playing the waiting game. So all is not lost.
So I found two other possible options and will be meeting with them next week to see if one of them is a good fit and hopefully we can put together a program that will work. My wife who has been very gracious throughout this process also gave me the green light to go back to the Middle East for another cram session. Based upon when I can take the FSWE again I will probably try to find someplace in January.
For those of you who are about to start the process, LEARN a language. The rosters are getting long and it seems like the days of getting a 5.3 (easier said than done) and getting called are probably over. I only wish that I could auction off my Arabic and Veteran's preference points on EBay! You can get proficient in one of the SCNL's in under a year if you work hard at it so put together a long term plan and do it.
The other silver lining is that I still have two other interesting options where learning Arabic has really helped where I am still playing the waiting game. So all is not lost.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Further Reflection On Not Passing The OA
Well it has been two days, a great Goo Good Dolls concert at the Inner Harbor and a plane ride home to think about what happened on Monday. I have had a chance to hear from several of my fellow testers and from our GE group since then. We only had 3/12 pass and only one from our GE group.
I received an email from someone who's spouse is already an FSO and during his OA before his group walked into the room he reminded the group that this was a team effort and 80% of his group passed. That is probably really good advice. While our group didn't have any bad actors by a long stretch, we did have two people who were advocating very strongly for their project down to the wire. I am pretty sure that only two of us passed the GE portion.
The one person who passed overall did not get through her initial presentation so the myth that you have to do that and leave time for questions is probably false. My impression is that you can't win on the GE during the six minute presentation and that the discussion phase makes or breaks that section of the test. I was also surprised at the lack of organization of the projects. If you have been on the Yahoo boards follow the four quadrant method to stay organized and you can't go wrong.
Having missed by .05 I have thought about ways that I could have given myself more cushion throughout the day. Not knowing my actual scores other than I passed the GE and SI it is hard to say for sure. The one part I struggled with a bit during the GE was the fine line between letting others be heard and keeping the group on track. Because most of the initial presentations went poorly we used about the first five minutes to ask questions that should have been covered during the presentation phase.
That in conjunction with those that thought it was a competition to have their project win added interesting dimensions to the GE. If I had to do it over again I would have been more forceful at several points. I did stop them once or twice to give the two quieter members of our group the opportunity to add their two cents. The person who passed the GE while she probably could have been more concise during the presentation phase did an excellent job during the discussion phase which is why I am sure she passed that section.
Like the GE you need a little bit of good Karma on the SI in terms of who is evaluating you and which questions you get. Some of them will be a nice slow meatball right down the middle of the plate and others may not. I was not surprised by any of the questions and found the SI to be the most straight forward of the sections in terms of preparation being similar to the actual thing. I just didn't perform as well as I should have. It was luck of the draw, but I don't think I had the best examiners for the way that I tried to answer the questions.
If I had to guess I think I probably scored highest on the GE, then the SI and I must have tanked the CM pretty good. I must have gotten a 4.6-4.8 on it. I have certainly dealt with much more complex management issues in real life then the one presented on the CM so do not know what happened. I obviously didn't give the examiner what he/she wanted. I took a lot of time to read the material, wrote down every question I was asked to answer and made headings for each of those topics. So whatever I did, I guess I really stunk it up.
I received an email from someone who's spouse is already an FSO and during his OA before his group walked into the room he reminded the group that this was a team effort and 80% of his group passed. That is probably really good advice. While our group didn't have any bad actors by a long stretch, we did have two people who were advocating very strongly for their project down to the wire. I am pretty sure that only two of us passed the GE portion.
The one person who passed overall did not get through her initial presentation so the myth that you have to do that and leave time for questions is probably false. My impression is that you can't win on the GE during the six minute presentation and that the discussion phase makes or breaks that section of the test. I was also surprised at the lack of organization of the projects. If you have been on the Yahoo boards follow the four quadrant method to stay organized and you can't go wrong.
Having missed by .05 I have thought about ways that I could have given myself more cushion throughout the day. Not knowing my actual scores other than I passed the GE and SI it is hard to say for sure. The one part I struggled with a bit during the GE was the fine line between letting others be heard and keeping the group on track. Because most of the initial presentations went poorly we used about the first five minutes to ask questions that should have been covered during the presentation phase.
That in conjunction with those that thought it was a competition to have their project win added interesting dimensions to the GE. If I had to do it over again I would have been more forceful at several points. I did stop them once or twice to give the two quieter members of our group the opportunity to add their two cents. The person who passed the GE while she probably could have been more concise during the presentation phase did an excellent job during the discussion phase which is why I am sure she passed that section.
Like the GE you need a little bit of good Karma on the SI in terms of who is evaluating you and which questions you get. Some of them will be a nice slow meatball right down the middle of the plate and others may not. I was not surprised by any of the questions and found the SI to be the most straight forward of the sections in terms of preparation being similar to the actual thing. I just didn't perform as well as I should have. It was luck of the draw, but I don't think I had the best examiners for the way that I tried to answer the questions.
If I had to guess I think I probably scored highest on the GE, then the SI and I must have tanked the CM pretty good. I must have gotten a 4.6-4.8 on it. I have certainly dealt with much more complex management issues in real life then the one presented on the CM so do not know what happened. I obviously didn't give the examiner what he/she wanted. I took a lot of time to read the material, wrote down every question I was asked to answer and made headings for each of those topics. So whatever I did, I guess I really stunk it up.
Monday, August 2, 2010
So you are not going to be an FSO now
Had the OA today and got the dreaded 5.2 so missed it by .05. I am still trying to process what that means and am mulling over what I can and can't say to help those of you who still have this in front of you.
I guess the first thing I would say is that there wasn't just about anyone who tested today that I would have been upset if they had made it and I did not. We wound up having a pretty low success rate with only 3/12 passing.
I think my gut reaction is that there are parts that are a little arbitrary and out of your control a bit and the parts that you can control, on the SI in particular, you really have to squeeze every point out of it.
We had some interesting group dynamics on the GE that really hurt one person in particular. He seemed like a very solid candidate and I think he took it in the chops the way things played out. Now he could have done something to try to redirect things, but we got in the weeds pretty fast and two people fought to almost the bitter end on their projects. We came to a consensus with about thirty seconds to go. It wasn't pretty and I hope that this isn't how State operates in the field, but I passed and thought it was my strongest part of the day.
I had the SI next. In my opinion this is the one section of the test that you have the most control over and really need to rack up the points. It was definitely the most straight forward of the three sections. There is probably an element of luck to some of the questions you are asked, but if you know the thirteen dimensions inside and out you should do well on this part of the test.
Looking back on it now and to have missed by .05 this is the part I blew it on despite passing this section. There is one section of the SI where you pick one of two questions and on one of the questions both choices gave me some trouble. It wasn't that I hadn't thought about it, but both questions were very personal and I wasn't sure how to handle the question. So I wound up giving a very mediocre answer at best. This section should have been a huge strength for me and I definitely did not have my A game for some reason. The assessors were fine and they didn't interrupt me so no excuses other than not performing up to my abilities.
The CM is what it is. This is the one section that I did not pass. Like everyone has said before it is a bear to get through in terms of time, but it didn't appear to be an overly complex set of issues. I didn't pass so what do I know. I am not sure what you can do to prepare for this other than trying to find case management examples and getting used to dealing with the time crunch.
Overall I think it was a pretty fair process. I guess I find it a bit surprising that you can get to the end of such a competitive process and for most people this is your first direct experience with State. I am not too sure what I would do different other than making the SI more in depth. That seems to be the less arbitrary of the three parts and having several experienced FSO's interviewing candidates would be a very useful thing to do. As fast as you fly through the SI I am not sure if candidates are getting the best opportunity to really show their depth.
That being said it is the same for everyone and the examiners do a great job of keeping a level playing field for everyone.
I guess the first thing I would say is that there wasn't just about anyone who tested today that I would have been upset if they had made it and I did not. We wound up having a pretty low success rate with only 3/12 passing.
I think my gut reaction is that there are parts that are a little arbitrary and out of your control a bit and the parts that you can control, on the SI in particular, you really have to squeeze every point out of it.
We had some interesting group dynamics on the GE that really hurt one person in particular. He seemed like a very solid candidate and I think he took it in the chops the way things played out. Now he could have done something to try to redirect things, but we got in the weeds pretty fast and two people fought to almost the bitter end on their projects. We came to a consensus with about thirty seconds to go. It wasn't pretty and I hope that this isn't how State operates in the field, but I passed and thought it was my strongest part of the day.
I had the SI next. In my opinion this is the one section of the test that you have the most control over and really need to rack up the points. It was definitely the most straight forward of the three sections. There is probably an element of luck to some of the questions you are asked, but if you know the thirteen dimensions inside and out you should do well on this part of the test.
Looking back on it now and to have missed by .05 this is the part I blew it on despite passing this section. There is one section of the SI where you pick one of two questions and on one of the questions both choices gave me some trouble. It wasn't that I hadn't thought about it, but both questions were very personal and I wasn't sure how to handle the question. So I wound up giving a very mediocre answer at best. This section should have been a huge strength for me and I definitely did not have my A game for some reason. The assessors were fine and they didn't interrupt me so no excuses other than not performing up to my abilities.
The CM is what it is. This is the one section that I did not pass. Like everyone has said before it is a bear to get through in terms of time, but it didn't appear to be an overly complex set of issues. I didn't pass so what do I know. I am not sure what you can do to prepare for this other than trying to find case management examples and getting used to dealing with the time crunch.
Overall I think it was a pretty fair process. I guess I find it a bit surprising that you can get to the end of such a competitive process and for most people this is your first direct experience with State. I am not too sure what I would do different other than making the SI more in depth. That seems to be the less arbitrary of the three parts and having several experienced FSO's interviewing candidates would be a very useful thing to do. As fast as you fly through the SI I am not sure if candidates are getting the best opportunity to really show their depth.
That being said it is the same for everyone and the examiners do a great job of keeping a level playing field for everyone.
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