A couple of months ago, I decided to throw my hat into the ring and attempt the dreaded Foreign Service Written Exam, the first step in a long process to become a Foreign Service Officer, or diplomat, for the United States. I’ve tossed the idea around of pursuing this path for a number of years. But now, especially after having an absolutely horrendous experience with the Peace Corps in Guatemala, I can’t help but wonder if I should stay away from government bureaucracy. Although working for the State Department would not directly put my health at risk like working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a country poorly managed by the Peace Corps administration, I am nervous nonetheless.
Still, I decided to keep my options open and take a shot at the first step in the process, the written exam. Before sitting for the exam, one is required to submit an online application, which consists of job and education history, among other things. It’s not overly time-consuming, but there are better, more enjoyable ways to spend an hour. If only the State Department required prospective diplomats to learn how to bake bread or ride a unicycle for the initial application. Those activities may not directly relate to tackling international issues, but hey, what a life skill you would have!
Before you take the exam, which consists of English expression, job knowledge, biographical information-which, in my opinion, is a tricky little devil- and an essay, you must pick your cone. A cone is not a delectable treat, but a State Department way to say career track. Here are the five cones, pulled from the State Department website.
· Consular: Consular Officers protect Americans abroad and strengthen U.S. border security.
· Economic: Economic Officers work on economic partnerships and development, support U.S. businesses abroad, and cover environmental, science, technology, and health issues.
· Management: Management Officers run our embassies and make American diplomacy work.
· Political: Political Officers analyze political events.
· Public Diplomacy: Public Diplomacy Officers explain American values and policies.
For a detailed look at the Foreign Service Exam, check out this guy’s blog; he gives an excellent overview of the taxing affair.
I studied for a couple weeks, but decided to not get too worked up over it. In the end, I passed, and the next task was to submit my responses to five personal narrative questions, or PNQs. The prompts ask the applicant to submit responses that address particular areas of interest for whoever reads my application. For example, one prompt deals with intellectual abilities and another one deals with management capabilities. I enjoy writing, so this didn’t bother me too much, but, again, I’d prefer to learn how to bake bread. I think there’s a saying, teach a man how to bake bread, he feeds his family forever. Make a man write lots of essays, man hits head with brick. I submitted my essays a couple weeks ago, and now I wait. A panel is going to review my total application and decide if I have what it takes to get invited to the oral exam in March. In the meantime, it is off to Montana in mid-January to help improve economic security for individuals and families all over the state with Americorps VISTA.
· August 2010 – registered for Foreign Service Exam
· October 2010 - took Foreign Service Exam
· End of October 2010 – received results(passed)
· November 2010 – Submitted PNQs
· Late January 2010 – Await results of panel
Do I have what it takes to become America’s Next Top Diplomat? Man, that show would actually be pretty boring. It would probably show a bunch of people reading.
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