The Foreign Service Journal, April 2020

FOCUS Managing a Foreign Service Career From the FSJ Archive Impressions of the “OutsideMan” on the Junior Foreign Service Selection Board for 1947 by G.W. Magalhaes, June 1947 The first thing that an “outsider” realizes when he is invited to help out on the selection of Foreign Service officers for promotion is the fact that he personally does not know the officers who he is to rate. The New Foreign Service: Problems of Placement by EdwardW. Mulcahy, August 1954 The “ready interchangeability of personnel” called for in the Wriston Report can flourish or it can founder on the shoal of placement. A Public Member Looks at the Selection Boards by Herbert Bratter, March 1956 If I were a young man starting my career I should have no hesitancy in joining the State Department’s foreign service corps. Are Efficiency Reports Lousy? byTheodore C. Achilles, July 1957 Anyone who has served on a Selection Board may shudder at the thought of the efficiency reports he himself has written in the past. Basic Questions on theWriting of Efficiency Reports by Arthur A. Ageton and Everett K. Melby, December 1960 Certainly some of us have failed to accept and exercise our responsibility with regard to efficiency reports. The Foreign Service Assignment Process by John Ordway, June 1963 The average Foreign Service officer has a very hazy idea about how the assignment process works. On the Education of Diplomats—A Commentary by Paul M. Kattenburg, April 1971 We can start by observing that attorneys become such upon completing law school, doctors upon completing medical school, and so on and so forth. But diplomats do not as a general rule prepare in “diplomacy.” Talking toMr. Syplogoo byMichael A.G. Michaud, September 1986 You will look at bids, staffing patterns, check position numbers, personnel audit reports, negotiate with colleagues, and take heat from bureau directors. Who Is the “Total Candidate?” FSOHiring Today by Shawn Dorman, June 2008 By government standards, the changes to the Foreign Service generalist entry process have been made at warp speed. EERs:The Forgotten Front in theWar for Talent by Jonathan Fritz, June 2009 The Employee Evaluation Reports we spend so much time writing every year fail to give promotion panels a useful means for comparing officers to their peers. Overhauling the EER Process by Tyler Sparks, September 2012 Now that another Employee Evaluation Review season has mercifully come to a close, it seems clearer than ever that our personnel evaluation system is broken. The New Specialists by Francesca Kelly, October 2014 Here is a look at the wide world of Foreign Service Specialists. The State Department Needs to Reevaluate Its Use of 360-Degree Reviews byWilliamBent, September 2015 If used correctly, 360-degree reviews can be a valuable tool for an organization seeking to develop its workforce and foster a culture of leadership and management excellence. Examining State’s Foreign Service Officer Hiring Today by GlennH. Guimond, July-August 2016 Here's an inside look at the process of becoming a Foreign Service officer, considered the “gold standard” in professional recruitment. A Roadmap for NewHires: 30 Rules to Survive andThrive by Stephen G. McFarland, July-August 2016 An experienced FSO ambassador identifies the unique attributes Foreign Service personnel should have and offers a guide to acquiring and perfecting them. Straight Talk on Bidding: What You Need to KnowBefore Trying for that Heavily Bid Job by Paul Poletes, April 2019 Most of the time, bidders’ hopes are misplaced. Think you’ve got what it takes to land one of those “dream jobs”? Here’s what you need to know. 48 APRIL 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL ON CAREER AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT