Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Will Work For .4

My candidacy falls on the trailing end of a much-vaunted State Department "hiring surge" that was, as recently as 12 months ago, responsible for record numbers of candidates taking the Foreign Service Oral Exam, the final participatory arbiter of who will and who will not be a Foreign Service Officer.  I was fortunate to fall in that window, as recent adjustments to the OA testing schedule and the QEP decisions handed down yesterday indicate that State is now returning to their more conservative hiring numbers. 
  
Roughly 18 months ago I progressed through the FSOT, QEP, OA, and clearance proceedings on my first try, which is uncommon.  Currently, I'm sitting on the PD register with an uninspiring 5.3 -- a score that, on it's own, will not be sufficient to make me a PD officer.  After 18 months months on the register, a candidate expires and is obliged to being the process anew by declaring their cone of interest and taking the written exam.  My "best if used by" date is currently set at December 24, 2011 -- Christmas Eve. 


I'm writing this as a little reminder to myself -- as a kind of motivation.  You see, this job is my dream.  I spent the better part of a year preparing for the process before I even took the written test, and most every life decision I've made in the last three years has been motivated by a desire to best prepare myself for the FS.  I earned a Masters Degree in a relevant field, read pertinent blogs, books and magazines compulsively, bought only multi-voltage appliances, etc.  I relish the opportunity to serve my country in a capacity where I can be useful and instrumental.  I want to interview Visa applicants, attend Jazz Festivals, help reunite international families, organize 4th of July proceedings for expats, bake pretzels for admiring hordes of pretzel-starved FSOs, LES' and EFMs, join Serbian punk bands, and generally be in a position to ensure that American interests are served as a result of my talents and effort.  The idea that I could do all this in the company of all of you, bloggers and friends I have met along the way, is humbling and inspiring.

All that is standing between me and my dreams, then, are .4 little points.  It seems silly to see it written there, so small.  In conversation with well-meaning outsiders wondering what's taking the State Department so long to call me, I have often referred to the language bonus as "4 points", rather than ".4 points".  "Point Four" just feels insignificant on my tongue, and yet it is that very tongue that so steadfastly refuses to earn them.

All that is to say that, yesterday, I began the process of scheduling my Turkish Language phone test with FSI.  Truth be told, I'm terrified.  I've studied for months, and I actually lived in Ankara for a year, but most of my study has been alone and academic, and I made what can only be described as a half-hearted effort to learn the language while actually in Turkey.  I spend a few hours a week speaking to a private tutor over Skype or a Rosetta Stone language specialist, and my wife and I frequently speak to each other in what is no doubt ghastly Turkish riddled with inconsistencies, but I feel unparalleled trepidation when preparing to speak, even when it's to well-paid tutors whose entire job is to improve just this.  Ironically, as I write this my wife is in the background watching "The King's Speech".  It surely is unpleasant, feeling enslaved to words you simply cannot seem to say.

I've scheduled the test now, partly out of a keen desire to move this process forward, and partly out of an understanding that, should I not pass, I would be able to test again in 6 months and still have eligibility left before Christmas Eve.  In any case, I always work better with a deadline.

So if any of you have suggestions, don't be coy.  I feel reasonably comfortable satisfying the L2 requirements on the State Department's informational sheet re: directions, simple conversations, etc. but i've little to no fluency in current affairs, and that seems to be what these things are all about.  At least, should I not succeed the first time, I'll have a better idea of how to prepare.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The language test is nerve wracking...even for me as a native speaker.

They start out slowly...asking you simple questions to get you comfortable...then they start asking questions on recent current events...then you have to listen to the person talk and interpret it back to the English person. Make sense? Watch current events, make sure you can discuss anything in that language. It is not about your personal opinion of the matter, but how you can communicate your opinion. You definitely have to understand what they are saying. But I would at least try watching some current events in countries that speak Turkish.

Basically...BS your way around the topic.

I hope this helps.

Valdysses said...

Every little bit helps, Anon. Thanks very much for the advice.

J-rod said...

Hey man, good luck on you. I know it can be hard to keep slogging away, but this is definitely a tortise vs hare race you're running. Consistent pressure will wear away the rock of ignorance and unleash the latent Turkish talent lurking within. The payoff for the drudgery is SO worth it, man. Even if you only study for 30 minutes at a time and then take a 2 hour break, that's 3 hours of work a day. Get yourself a skype talk buddy and just start getting them to help you say what you want or whatever. But do it! I'm pulling for you, mate.

Atlantis said...

I took the Arabic test after more than 200 hours of tutoring and 2 weeks of intensive study in Cairo. The phone test was very challenging, but I passed it. You need to know how to answer questions not only about your self, but about USA and the world.

Anonymous said...
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Valdysses said...

Atlantis and J-Rod:

Thank you both for your well wishes. I had been feeling like my low-level consistent study (and year of in country experience) was not going to be enough, but it might just be after all.

Also, I've just gotten the phrase "Consistent pressure will wear away the rock of ignorance and unleash the latent Turkish talent lurking within." tattooed on my left forearm in a gothic script. Every little bit counts.

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