The Foreign Service Journal, October 2012

38 OCTOBER 2012 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL H ere is a selection of illustrative comments from new hires about what they wish they had known before joining the Foreign Service, including advice for those considering the career. I feel like I had fairly good information coming into the Foreign Service, but I would tell candidates to stay relaxed; don’t feel like this is the end-all, be-all. Don’t give up if you really want to join. It’s a great career, and there are amazing people you will work with. —State Consular Officer Salman Khalil, Embassy Amman The Foreign Service is not for everyone. It is a “lifestyle” career, definitely not a typical 9-to-5 job in any way. And while people try to recreate their U.S. lifestyle overseas, that is not the reason to join the FS. You work in a giant bureaucracy, so there are many things that feel stifling. But there are also many outlets and opportunities to make change and be creative (of course, this depends somewhat on your post and managers). Flexibility and the ability to adapt to change are probably the most important qualities you can bring to the Foreign Service. I think experience in another career is also really helpful. Colleagues in their first jobs have had some difficulty adjusting. But then again, colleagues who came from careers where they were the bosses have also had difficulty adjusting to working in an environment that requires buy-in from lots of different stakeholders. —Second-career officer serving at a post in India I would advise FS candidates to consider their willingness to be part of an extreme hierarchy. Many of us are strongly independent types, so having a military-like chain of com- mand is hard. —Consular Officer Tressa Weyer, Embassy Moscow I underestimated the“political”realities of working for State. I thought the success of my career would depend on how effectively I relate with foreigners. But it’s possible the most critical work requirement, from a career standpoint, isn’t managing relationships with foreigners, but with our own co-workers—particularly those serving at higher ranks. —Consular Officer Jason Spellberg, Embassy Islamabad I wish I had known how impersonal the system is. I thought it would get better after getting my offer, but the bureau- cracy only gets worse having to deal with assignments, training and relocating. My advice? Be aware that nobody is looking out for you or your best interests. You need to edu- cate yourself on the rules and regulations and have a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D in place in case your Plan A doesn’t work out. —Management Officer Jennifer Rizzoli, Embassy Cape Town I wish I’d known that I might be required to spend nearly half of my career inWashington. I thought this was the Foreign Service. —Security Engineering Officer Daniel Carlson, on assignment in Florida I wish I had known my first two-year tour would be state- side, and been better prepared to deal with the resulting financial burden. Expect to go through every administrative process as if you were the first-ever to go through it; the guinea pig, if you will. That’s how disorganized these processes can feel like most of the time. —An information resources management specialist Working for USAID I think USAID does its employees a disservice when they imply that we will be hands-on managing projects overseas and doing technical work. A lot of what we do is manage outside organizations that are managing projects and, once you are a chief or deputy of an office, you’re less likely to be involved technically. Making that clear at the outset would help attract and keep the right sort of people. —A USAID officer in southern Africa FOCUS THE NEW FS GENERATION I Wish I Had Known …