Tradecraft > Pre-Apprentice
​
Intern To Apprentice—A recently tenured FSO on his path from Intern to Apprentice:
For me and for many others, a State Department internship was the first step on the 25-year apprenticeship. It was a remarkable experience, and one that I would recommend to anyone seriously considering a life in the Foreign Service. I tasted the overseas life of a diplomat, met a slew of impressive colleagues, and saw how an Embassy worked from the inside; all critical data points to inform a momentous career change. My time at the Embassy equipped me with insider jargon and perspective to signal to my evaluators in the structured interview that I had done my homework. Those colleagues I mentioned had each passed the dreaded oral exam and provided a well of insider tips that I was dipping into until the day I took the test. I cannot point to their mentorship as the reason I passed the exam, but I can say unequivocally that I would have failed without it.
A note of caution, though: there is no free lunch in the Foreign Service. State internships are different than most in that no one can hire you when you finish it. Unlike an internship at a bank or consultancy, the people you meet will have no hand in the Department’s decision to hire you. For this reason and notwithstanding the above, the real value of a State internship is to help you decide what is best for you and for your family. Like the military, it is a lifestyle as well as a job, and it applies to everyone you bring with you. That harmony, at home and at work, is what only an internship could ever help you evaluate which by itself makes an internship with State worth the investment. Start your application today.
What is an FSO's Job and How Can I Apply?
Thanks to a current high school student, and hopefully future diplomat, for sending in questions about the State Department.
What Does the Department of State Look for in an Applicant? Are Civilians at a Disadvantage?
First of all, to join the State Department, there is a test that is the same for everyone, so as long as you are 20 years old and an American citizen, everyone starts in the same place. After passing the initial written test, military veterans get preference through the hiring process as do people with exceptional language skills.
However, the state department is one of the only, if not the only, U.S. government hiring process that aims to be objective and test-based rather than resume-based.
What does the department look for? We (the apprentices) have not served on a hiring board and welcome others’ comments, but anecdotally, it seems that State looks for people who want to serve the United States, who know about our country as well as other countries, and, though not required, it helps to have lived overseas at some point. Overseas experience helps with language ability as well as offering insights into other cultures and political systems and very helpful once overseas as a diplomat representing the United States.
What do you do exactly before becoming a diplomat? Where do you work?
Before you become a diplomat, you might spend up to a year in school, learning about a specific country or region or language. We spend time training and learning languages so that we are able to work confidently and professionally when we are stationed abroad. Every day at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center, hundreds of foreign service officers are studying Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, Arabic... you name it! One of the cool things about being in the foreign service is you never stop learning new things.
One of the best things about the State Department is there are hundreds of embassies and consulates overseas as well as a variety of places to work in the United States (most of them based in Washington, DC). Overseas, we are usually stationed in a consulate or an embassy. Foreign Service Officers perform a multitude of different jobs, depending on their area of expertise. For example, a consular officer might spend his day interviewing visa applicants or helping American citizens in need at an embassy, while a political officer might be in meetings with foreign counterparts, then later reporting back to Washington what she's learned so that policymakers have a better understanding of how our allies and partners think about a given issue. A press officer could meet with journalists and even set up a press conference or speech for the Ambassador to communicate a key message that helps inform the public in a given country about U.S. intentions. The regional security officer is in charge of making sure those working the embassy and their families are as safe as possible. So there are a lot of different aspects to modern diplomacy, all of them important in their own right.
Ten Things to know about State and the Foreign Service
The State Department and the Foreign Service do not have a manual. However, almost everyone in the State Department is dedicated to passing on what they have learned so that new officers can make the most of their careers. Here are ten observations from a newly minted FSO, compiled during several internships, A-100 and training, gleaned from 100+ conversations with tens of State officials:
The Foreign Service is not a career; it’s a lifestyle. I have heard this quote from many diplomats throughout the years, and now that I am about to embark on my first tour, I could not agree more. We (as diplomats) have to learn the language, the culture, and the history of the host country we will be working in to be effective. We not only have to become a skillful chameleon every one to three years, but we also have to transport our entire family, pets, furniture, and belongings sometimes thousands of miles away. When we are bidding for our next tour, we need to think about the transportation system, the level of security, the schools for our children, the healthcare system, the food we might need to bring with us, and, for the single folks out there, the nightlife. The Foreign Service is not a career; it’s a lifestyle.
Your Corridor Reputation is real, and it is important. When we go through A-100 training, the orientation course at the Foreign Service Institute, we hear all about Corridor Reputation. This is the reputation that follows every officer throughout his or her diplomatic career. As Foreign Service Officers (FSOs), our greatest asset is our ability to confidently present and implement U.S. foreign policy. Diplomats are never off duty. We are the face of the United States abroad and our actions will impact our ability to conduct diplomacy. This matters when we are delivering information to our foreign counterparts, just as much as when we are interacting with a colleague in the workplace. No one wants to work with someone who is difficult in a six-person Consulate overseas—yes, they exist! Whenever we are interviewing for new jobs, our future boss will reach out to their network to verify our Corridor Reputation before hiring us. Your Corridor Reputation is real, and it is important.
Commas and spaces matter, period. If anyone is ever lucky enough to work in a front office position, they will learn that format is everything. Their boss will kindly point out when they forgot the dot after the “U” in “U.S.” or when they should use the Oxford comma. There are official “Line Guidelines” from the Secretary of State’s office that point people in the right direction when they are in doubt, but even those guidelines change with every incoming Secretary. Some FSOs disagree about whether there should be one or two spaces after each sentence. Details are everything. Commas and spaces matter, period.
Your intern can be your colleague a few years down the road, so be nice. The Foreign Service works like a recycling plant; it cycles people in and out of jobs. An intern today can be a colleague or boss after a few tours. We never know who we will be working for, or with, in the future, so it is in our best interest to be kind to everyone we interact with. I remember my first State Department internship at the U.S. Consulate in Düsseldorf in 2015. The Consul General made sure to include me in staff meetings, in visits to the German State Parliament, and even took time out of his schedule to have lunch and answer all my questions about the Foreign Service. Today I am an FSO. Your intern can be your colleague a few years down the road, so be nice.
The Foreign Service has no manual. Bill Burns included this phrase in “The Back Channel” book, and I could not agree with it more. There are no written guidelines for how to charm foreign counterparts or how to negotiate the best Air and Space Accord with Brazil. Most FSOs receive basic formal training at the Foreign Service Institute, but everything else they figure out on the job. There are many great mentors that are willing to teach young officers the tricks of the tradecraft. We have to find a few mentors that will guide us throughout our career and learn from our own mistakes. The Foreign Service has no manual.
People will talk in acronyms, so get used to it. The State Department has its own lingo. “We have the CTM in the FFCR with the DCM and PDAS for P so please make sure to print five copies of the BCL.” In regular speech this means, “We have the country team meeting in the first-floor conference room with the Deputy Chief of Mission and the Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs, so please make sure to print five copies of the Briefing Check List.” I know that there are dozens of acronyms I have yet to learn because they are office- or region-specific. But I take comfort in the knowledge that I will figure them out like all new officers. People will talk in acronyms, so get used to it.
There is no magic formula to become an Ambassador. I have heard this piece of advice from countless Ambassadors and Career FSOs who have worked for over 20 or 30 years. They always tell me to choose the job that I want the most and do my absolute best. People tend to do their greatest work when they enjoy what they do. I have also heard stories of FSOs who complete certain hardship tours or domestic assignments with the hopes of getting an Ambassadorship, only to be disappointed. Do not try to plan your career around becoming an Ambassador. If it happens, it happens. There is no magic formula to become an Ambassador.
Local staff like to be acknowledged, so please greet them. One of the top complaints among local staff is that FSOs do not say “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” around the Embassy or Consulate. It takes little effort from our part, and it makes all the difference in the work environment. Our institutional knowledge lies with our local staff. We rotate around the world while they stay for sometimes decades in the same position—building local contacts and expertise that we need for our job. Local staff like to be acknowledged, so please greet them.
Remember that the State Department includes many professions besides the Foreign Service. We are “One Team” and have “One Mission.” We need every profession to carry out our mission at home and abroad. This includes our Civil Service, our Specialists, our Contractors, our colleagues from other USG Agencies, our local staff, and our third-country national staff. FSOs need the expertise that all of these professionals have to offer. We could not do our job without them. Remember that the State Department includes many professions besides the Foreign Service.
Do not get attached to your writing style; it might change every two to three years. I remember the first time I wrote a BCL (Briefing Checklist) and it came back with multiple track changes. I knew I was a good writer, and I was so frustrated that it had so many corrections. Then I learned that the State Department has a very particular writing style that we acquire through practice. It is a skill we begin to acquire after multiple edits and drafts in back and forth email chains. Once we master the generic State Department writing style, then we need to figure out how our boss likes to write and adapt accordingly. Certain FSOs prefer a certain format for taking notes or writing a cable. When we change assignments, we will get a new boss and our writing style will change. Do not get attached to your writing style; it might change every two to three years.
​
​