My Background: Part 4, Applying for the Foreign Service

I was signed up to take the FSOT in Raleigh on December 6. In the months before the exam, I studied compulsively, reading books and articles on management theory, American history, economics, public relations, current events and geography. At the same time, I did not neglect my job search, the result of which was that my first day at ASHA was scheduled for December 17. As much as I expected to like working there, I was not about to give up on the Foreign Service, so after Bongsu and I found an apartment in Rockville, we drove to Chapel Hill for the exam (I'd chosen the Raleigh location with the idea that there might be regional quotas, and that North Carolina might be less competitive than DC).

So I gave the test my best shot, again not really thinking that I would get to the next step, let alone all the way to a job as a diplomat. Most successful applicants end up having to go through the process multiple times before getting an offer. Right after the exam, I was full of beans - all that nervous tension let out (because even as I expected nothing, I couldn't deny to myself that I knew there was at least a chance, after all...), the memory of several questions that I thought were probably considered "hard" but that I was sure I'd gotten right, the memory of others that I didn't know the difficulty of but did know I had answered with a total shot in the dark, the feeling that I'd nailed the essay section....

As I started getting into the rhythm of being a bureaucrat in a professional association, furnishing our nice new apartment in Rockville, and living a normal life, I again let that enthusiasm fade away. I was still conscious of a slight chance that I'd passed and would be going on to the next step, but I didn't invest much time in thinking or planning for that. The fact is, I've never been happier in my work than I am right now at ASHA. Every day since I started, I have actually wanted to go to the office - the projects I work on keep my interest, and I feel like my work makes a valuable contribution to the association's mission of making effective communication accessible to everyone.

So for three months, I scarcely worried about the State Department until one day in March when, out of the relatively blue, I got a letter saying that I had passed the FSOT and the Qualifications Examination Panel (which reviews your test scores and resume, a step in the process over which the candidate has no control), and that I should now schedule my FS Oral Assessment, a full day of role plays, interviews, writing practice and other activities to gauge the candidates' aptitude for a diplomatic career.

I threw myself into preparation for the assessment, which I signed up for on the second-earliest possible day (Tuesday, April 15) - the less time to wait, the less nervous I would be able to get before I got there. In the intervening month, I read State Department Web sites during down time at work, attended practice sessions with other local candidates, started exercising for 30 minutes every morning to work off some excess adrenaline, read everything I could on various online forums related to the FSOA, attended an information session with a mid-level FSO, and made Bongsu read me more interview questions than she had for all my actual job interviews put together. I took both Monday and Tuesday off work, so I would have a three-day weekend to prepare.

One of the best things about the FSOA is that you learn the results before you leave the assessment center. At the end of the day, I was able to call Bongsu with the wonderful news that I had passed the assessment.

To be concluded!