How to Ace the Bio Section of the FSOT

For those of you taking the FSOT in February, I have some advice on how to do well on the biographical portion of the exam.  Like all advice, take it with a grain of salt.  I'm not a test-designer, nor do I have any special education in personality analysis.  That being said, I have done very well on the bio portion in the past, and I have suspicions as to why.  So here it is:

1.  Know your history.  Before taking the FSOT, spend some time with your resume.  Make sure you know what you've put there and be able to regurgitate it.

2.  Be consistent.  Typical examinations of biographical information/personality analysis will ask the same questions in different ways to see if you're answering honestly or at least consistently.  While taking the FSOT, try and remember the questions so that when you come across a repeater, you answer it consistently with any previous answers.

3.  It's a race.  I haven't looked at the number of questions or time alloted for the bio portion of the FSOT, and I'm too lazy to google the answer, but I recall that you have to be able to answer and get on to the next question asap.  If you follow #1 and #2, this won't be a problem.

4.  The 13 D's.  Most of the Foreign Service application process is designed to see how well you fit with the 13 dimensions, as well as your suitability for a life of living abroad.  Think of examples from your life that show how you are a living example of a great FSO.

That's all I have.  Maybe it helps, maybe not.  Regardless, good luck all you February FSOT'ers!

UPDATE:  Sorry, it's late for the February test-takers, but I forgot to add: Don't be modest when answering the Bio section.  Be proud of your accomplishments!  Whether you realize it or not, the FSOT is an interview.  So treat it as such.

Starting Over

It's a strange place to still be blogging on this site. Two offers received; two offers rejected. I made the decision to say no, and I have to live with it. I guess I decided to gamble on something that was far more important to me. Sadly, I lost that gamble. And now I'm back to the FS process. I have stayed away from the A-100 boards, so I have no idea what the registers are like anymore. Given that the economy is still treading water, I can't imagine they are very short. When I take the exam again in February, I will sign up for the econ register again I imagine. Although, and this is somewhat funny, my experience as a professor has me leaning towards the consular register. Never thought I'd say that - but my feelings about consular have changed quite a bit. Maybe it's that I feel a need for service to my fellow man, and the consular track does seem like the most hands on with respect to helping others. But who knows - that is an impression of the outside looking in. Maybe it's completely different. One of my former study buddies, a PD track FSO, hated his consular posting and felt like it was all about getting through X hundred plus applicants a day and not about doing good work. Funny, I do feel like I'm following the bubbles. First, as a structured finance attorney. Second, as a law professor (apps have been declining tremendously). Now, I'll probably be applying for a job in the government just in time for some massive budget cutting/hiring freezes.

The End

So September offers for Econ have all gone out, and I didn't get one. The news on the shadow register seem to indicate that calls didn't get past the double-digits. I guess there's still a last minute chance, but I think it highly unlikely. Unless there is a new A-100 in November (which I doubt), my time on the registry is over.

So, thanks to a spur of the moment decision, I took the FSOT a couple of weeks ago with the Mrs. We both passed. So at least we're on the path to getting on the register again. Wish us luck on the PNQ's for the next round.

FSOT Done!

So Mrs. FSOwannabe and I took the FSOT exam yesterday. We even managed to respect the NDA by not talking in specifics to each other about our exams. Impressions: not too bad. I wouldn't be surprised if I failed, nor would I be surprised if I passed. I thought the Job Knowledge was typical of what ACT has provided in their study guide. There were some questions I had no clue about and had to guess. In general, I think I did okay on it. English Expression was easy, I thought. Bio, too, but I think the word limit on the answers resulted in a lot of wasted time since I often had to go back and rework the answers to fit the 200 character limit. I think they should either open up the character limit or increase the time for that section. If I failed the FSOT, I tend to think it was on the essay. I did the typical five paragraph essay (intro, three reason paragraphs and a conclusion). I just didn't feel like the 30 minutes allotted gave me enough time to write a decent essay - I was definitely dissatisfied with the results.

Now we just have to wait 3-5 weeks for the results. Hopefully, I passed. If not, there is always next year.

The Studying Continues: 36 Days to Go!

Mrs. FSOwannabe and I took the Dept. of State's FSOT practice test.  We didn't take the essay portion, just the multiple-choice sections on English Expression and Job Knowledge.  All in all, not bad.  Mrs. Wannabe got  35/50 correct on the Job Knowledge section and a whopping 69/70 correct on the English Expression section.   I was not quite as grammatically correct; obtaining a 38/50 on the Job Knowledge and 64/70 on the English Expression.  I have no idea how these results on the practice test might indicate how we might do on the actual exam, since the actual FSOT score is based not only on how well you do, but how well everyone else does.  That being said, I think we're good on the English Expression portion of the exam.

As we are around 5 weeks out from taking the FSOT, we are planning to practice timed exams three times a week; and take practice AP US and World History multiple choice tests.  Based on the practice exam, I definitely have to work on my understanding of management principles.  

June 12, 2009

at 10:00 a.m. The final countdown to the FSOT begins!

Studying for the FSOT

So Mrs. FSOwannabe and I have begun to get serious about studying for the FSOT. With two little girls and full-time jobs, finding time to study is challenging. Here's what I'm doing:

Initially, I took the State Department's sample FSOT to figure out my weak points. Unfortunately, I seem to be a generalist as my points in each section were fairly equivalent. So I'll try and do what I can in a broad spectrum.

First, I'm taking daily quizzes (basically at work when I need a break) to bone up on all that history from high school and college I've forgotten. Here are some of the websites I'm using:

http://www.historyteacher.net/index.htm

http://www.course-notes.org/

I also have some flashcards - these are great since I often only have a couple of minutes to study at a time. For geography, I'm playing around with some of the Facebook quizzes. I continue to read like crazy, focusing on Times and Newsweek periodicals. I'm also flipping through the Cliff Notes on Management and Economics.

I've also joined the Yahoo group on essay writing to practice the essay writing part of the exam. I'm not sure how to 'prepare' for the Bio part of the FSOT. When I work out, I watch history documentaries to supplement my other studies.

As we get closer to the test date, I need to find the time to take full practice exams so that I can build my testing stamina. It's been many years since Mrs. FSOwannabe and I took the California bar, which was three days of eight-hour examination joy. So stamina building it shall be.

I've found some websites/blogs that give fantastic descriptions of the FSOT and provide links to study sources:

The Hegemonist has some great links here as well as a bunch of great posts on the FSOT, the Oral Assessment and the Foreign Service in general. 2 Crabs also has some great suggestions. Tumbleweeds, which sadly no longer seems to be active, has a bunch of posts on the old FSWE and study suggestions, as well as a bunch of great links for the Foreign Service minded.

Lots of study materials and lots to study!

FSOT First Contact

From Mrs. FSOwannabe's email:

"Dear FSOT Candidate:

Our records indicate that you have registered to take the Foreign Service Officer Test. The next test will be offered June 6-13, 2009.

An invitation to schedule your test seat will be issued soon by ACT, the contract test administrator, on a staggered schedule according to the career track you chose when you registered. You may not change your career track choice.

E-mail invitations to schedule a seat will be issued first to Management candidates beginning on April 27, then to Economic and Consular candidates on April 29, and finally to Political and Public Diplomacy candidates on May 5. After those dates, any candidate who registers before the deadline and receives an invitation to schedule a test seat may do so immediately.

Once you receive the scheduling invitation, you will be able to log in to your ACT account and review the available dates and times at all testing locations. We encourage you to schedule your seat promptly, as demand has increased greatly in recent months."

I haven't received the email yet, but I registered a bit later than Mrs. FSOwannabe. I'll start to panic if I haven't received it by next Tuesday.

I think this is the first time that the FSOT has been open to registration based on the cone one picks. Obvious from the dates, it looks like the Foreign Service is in need of management cone FSOs first, then consular and economic, with political and public diplomacy in last place for need, which I guess makes sense since the political and public diplomacy cones are typically considered the "sexy" cones.

Slacker isn't the 14th Dimension

So...it's been a while.  My bad.  No, really, my bad.  I certainly have plenty of entertaining excuses - new baby daughter...old baby daughter becoming a toddler...some health issues...a potential layoff turned into a payoff situation...some more health issues...some family drama.  That being said, I never finished my registration last year.  I also think the personal narratives and detailed employment history threw me for a loop.  Back in my day (imagine geezer voice here), it was a simple process to take the exam, just sign up and pay the fee.

So I let my application for the November exam lapse without registration.  And now it begins again.

Luckily for me, the Department of State has changed the requirements.  Now, the personal narrative is required after you take the exam.  That's more my speed right now.

So, me and Mrs. FSOwannabe are taking the June exam.  She picked the public diplomacy cone and I've picked the economic cone - with the idea that if we happen to win the lottery and both get in, we'll have a better chance of getting tandem assignments. 

Wish us luck. 

Step One to FSO-ness: Registration

The first step towards becoming a Foreign Service Officer is to fill out the on-line application, which you can find here. Seems simple, right? Other than providing a resume, I haven't actually had to fill out a job application since I worked for McDonald's 20 years ago. And the FSO application certainly isn't a one-pager like McD's.

As described on the State Department's website, the application has two parts:

1. an Application Form in which you convey factual background information including school and work history; and


2. a Personal Narrative in which you answer questions describing the knowledge, skills, and abilities you would bring to the Foreign Service.

What that simple little summary fails to mention is that you have to list all jobs you've had over the past ten years. Ten years. And the 'Personal Narrative' comes in the form of six different essays. I've applied to state bars with less hoopla.
I would be inclined to just rush through this, but starting in 2007 the Foreign Service began using this application as another measure in deciding whether to invite a prospective candidate to the oral assessment stage of the application process. It's best to take this as seriously as possible, and make this a great looking application.
I read somewhere that the application is supposed to take 3 hours. I expect it will take me more like 30. Luckily, I plan to take the test in November, so I imagine I will be ready to register by mid-July.

The Long March Begins

Welcome to FSO Wannabe, where I will detail anything and everything related to my quest to become a United States Foreign Service Officer. I am currently scheduled to take the November FSO test. Wish me luck, offer me advice, ask me a question!