revisiting the exam in DC
I’ve been to Washington DC quite a few times in my life, for work and for fun. I’m here for work again, and coincidentially staying at the same hotel where I stayed when I was here for the Foreign Service Oral Exam. This means that I passed the written exam and was invited to spend the day with other candidates and evaluators for a day full of activities. We pretended to be Foreign Service officers and were evaluated in the process.
It was a little odd because I had wanted to apply for a librarian/technology position but they were in the middle of reorganizing and somehow got put into this politics area. I was a little surprised I made it that far, and was not alarmed that I didn’t finally pass.
However, I thought a lot about the things they were testing us on. There is a list, and that was all of the preparation we had. I had that list on my office wall for a long time, and am reminded of it now that I am back in this hotel. Maybe I’ll put it back:
- Composure. To stay calm, poised, and effective in stressful or difficult situations; to think on one’s feet, adjusting quickly to changing situations; to maintain self-control.
- Cultural Adaptability. To work and communicate effectively and harmoniously with persons of other cultures, value systems, political beliefs, and economic circumstances; to recognize and respect differences in new and different cultural environments.
- Experience and Motivation. To demonstrate knowledge, skills or other attributes gained from previous experience of relevance to the Foreign Service; to articulate appropriate motivation for joining the Foreign Service.
- Information Integration and Analysis. To absorb and retain complex information drawn from a variety of sources; to draw reasoned conclusions from analysis and synthesis of available information; to evaluate the importance, reliability, and usefulness of information; to remember details of a meeting or event without the benefit of notes.
- Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group’s activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
- Judgment. To discern what is appropriate, practical, and realistic in a given situation; to weigh relative merits of competing demands.
- Objectivity and Integrity. To be fair and honest; to avoid deceit, favoritism, and discrimination; to present issues frankly and fully, without injecting subjective bias; to work without letting personal bias prejudice actions.
- Oral Communication. To speak fluently in a concise, grammatically correct, organized, precise, and persuasive manner; to convey nuances of meaning accurately; to use appropriate styles of communication to fit the audience and purpose.
- Planning and Organizing. To prioritize and order tasks effectively, to employ a systematic approach to achieving objectives, to make appropriate use of limited resources.
- Quantitative Analysis. To identify, compile, analyze and draw correct conclusions from pertinent data; to recognize patterns or trends in numerical data; to perform simple mathematical operations.
- Resourcefulness. To formulate creative alternatives or solutions to resolve problems, to show flexibility in response to unanticipated circumstances.
- Working With Others. To interact in a constructive, cooperative, and harmonious manner; to work effectively as a team player; to establish positive relationships and gain the confidence of others; to use humor as appropriate.
- Written Communication. To write concise, well organized, grammatically correct, effective and persuasive English in a limited amount of time.
Taken from: Foreign Service web site
Posted by Marie on June 24th, 2007 under Uncategorized
- updated photos on flickr
- ceiling fan, and baby exercises
- baby competition
- z’s first concert
- yay obama
- my lame halloween costume
- Our little social … human
- I guess time really is money
- starting and stopping work
- talking about breasts
- fresh out of the oven
- my life as a stay-at-home mom
- updated pictures on flickr
- but I do believe in miracles
- our little o negative baby
- blamers and the nuclear family
- his feet look like mine
- pictures on flickr
- new baby in the house
- We just joined the “buy more sh&t” club
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