My first bid at becoming an FSO

At various points of unemployment in my life, I've written down ideas for future careers. One constant on my lists is working at the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer.

Last March, I finally took the entrance exam. I passed and was invited to orals in DC in September.

Orals is a full day assessment that tests a candidate's abilities through three exercises. The group exercise, where they see if you can play with others. The case management exercise, where they see if you can summarize an overstuffed binder of information into a two page memo. Lastly, the interview, where they ask you to recount past experiences and ask you what you would do as an FSO in certain hypothetical situations.

I did not pass the orals. I scored a 5.0 out of 7.0 . Passing is a 5.25 .

I've been part of a Yahoo group for Foreign Service hopefuls. Many people write a recap of their experience at orals for the others at Yahoo. Recaps are vague, because each candidate signs a non-disclosure agreement. It will probably only be interesting to people involved in the process, but I will post my version of the NDA compliant vague recap below.

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I took the orals in September, scoring a 5.0. I failed all three sections.

Four months later, my dominant memory from orals was that everything went very quickly. I needed a bit more time for every aspect. I was rushed at every turn.

There were 12 of us that day, with a good variety of ages and experiences.

I was in DC at Annex 44. If you are taking the Metro, use the Federal Center SW stop - it is closer than L'Enfant. I went the day before to scout it out and would recommend that you do the same. For those who don't want McDonald's during your lunch break, there is a good sandwich shop two doors down from the Metro exit.

We all met in the lobby in the morning. There was some time to chat a bit before our escort came to take us through security and into the building. While we were waiting, I had thoughts about one of the people in the group actually being an interviewer, and that part of the process was to see how we interacted when we didn't think we were being watched, but I later recognized this thought as a byproduct of having watched too many movies.

There was a brief introduction done by the office administrator and some forms to fill in. When we handed in our forms and our SOI, we were given badges to wear, and a personal schedule. There was a file cabinet where we could store bags.

I was pretty happy with my SOI when I wrote it and turned it in, but in retrospect, I think it was busy and that I tried to convey too much information in the small amount of space. If I get another chance, I'll simplify my SOI. The interviewers have so much to do that day that I don't think they have more than a two minute window to review your SOI, application, and essays.


In the group exercise, there is a lot to cover in your presentation, and I had just finished collecting my notes when the time was up. I didn't have a chance to review my notes, so I ended up reading off my notes page for most of my presentation. Two more minutes of time to review, and I would have felt much more comfortable, and would have made a better presentation.
I presented first, as recommended on the Yahoo site (to show initiative), but I think I would have done better to go later and let someone else provide the example, using their time to settle myself and get ready.
The discussion also goes very quickly. It is not easy to organize your own thoughts, let alone trying to coordinate between five other people. Everyone has a different direction they want to go in, and they all have a different agenda. 25 minutes is not enough time to allow for five different agendas.
To study for this section, I did mock presentations for all of the projects in the files section. I also took a short class on public speaking (four sessions, eight hours total). I was not able to get together with others to practice the discussion. I wish I had.

In the case management section, I feel like I got all the trivial stuff they asked me to cover, but didn't have a good solution for the main problem. I was surprised by how complex the issue was, and still don't know (months later) what I could have written to solve the main issue.
To study for this section, I did the practice case from the files section. When practicing, I tried to type notes on the computer as I read, but found that later I spent more time scrolling up and down to find a pre-typed section than I saved by pre-typing it. I decided that, for me, it is better to use a piece of paper for notes, where I can see everything at once.


For the interview, I also felt rushed. There is an hour, and they have a lot of things to get through. Answers must be succinct, but still show the depth of the experience you are telling them about.
As for hypotheticals, my local DIR says that the interviewers are not allowed to ask follow up questions in this section, so it is best to turn off your filter and to just say anything that pops into your head. I will do this next time.
To study for this section, I came up with as many examples as I could to fit the 12 dimensions. I practiced a short speech for each, giving the situation, my action, and the result. I looked at the hypo's in the files section. I also met with another FSO hopeful and we asked each other questions and gave feedback.


I was pretty disappointed at the end of the day when I found out that I hadn't made it, but it was easy for me to think of some areas where I can improve. I stumbled and coughed through my presentation in the group exercise, and my case management report didn't actually solve the problem.


The highlight of the day for me was watching a candidate absentmindedly eating the lip of his Styrofoam cup. It is a pretty stressful day.


I'm registering for the written exam in February. Hopefully, I'll pass, and get a chance to try the QEP and orals again.

Good luck to all.

- NJT