U.S. Foreign Service
U.S. Department of State
IRAN 1979
IRAN 1979
Mark & Cora Lijek
GRENADA 1983
Grenada 1983
Phil Carter
IRAQ INVADES KUWAIT 1990
KUWAIT 1990
NAIROBI 1995
NAIROBI 1998
Bob Godec & Mike Marine
GREECE 1999
GREECE 1999
IRAQ 2010
IRAQ 2010
Laurent Charbonnet
IRAQ 2010
What do FSOs Do?
• Five main areas of specialization
(“cones”)
–Political Affairs
–Consular Affairs
–Public Affairs
–Management
–Economic Affairs
Desired Skill Set
“13 Dimensions”
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Composure
Cultural Adaptability
Experience and Motivation
Information Integration & Analysis
Initiative and Leadership
Judgment
Written & Oral Communication
Desired Skill Set
“13 Dimensions”
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Planning & Organizing
Quantitative Analysis
Resourcefulness
Working with others
Advocacy
• U.S. policy
• U.S. interests
– American citizens
– American corporations
– Perceptions of U.S.
• Intergovernmental organizations
– Votes
– Candidates
– Reforms
What do Officers Do?
• IT DEPENDS
– On the Administration’s policies
– On your post of assignment
– On the size of the post
– On the organization of the post
– On the presence of other agencies
– On the Ambassador
– On the host government
Typical Officer Duties
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Advocacy
Reporting
Outreach
Visitors
Reporting
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Host country internal developments
Host country external developments
Labor issues
Environment, science, technology,
health
• Agriculture
• Resources
Outreach
• Speeches, seminars, op-eds, visits to
– Parliamentarians
– Media
– Schools & universities
– NGOs
– Trade associations
– Chambers of Commerce
– Ministries (Foreign Affairs, Finance,
Economy, Interior, Justice, Environment)
Visitors
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White House
Congress
State Department
Industry delegations
Trade associations
Lobbyists
State, city, county
trade promotion
groups
• Other U.S. agencies
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Commerce
USTR
Defense
Transportation
Homeland Security
FAA
AID
Treasury
Agriculture
Energy
How Do I Prepare for a Foreign
Service Career?
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The Economist
Foreign Affairs
Business Week
National weekly news magazine
(Time, Newsweek)
• www.state.gov reading list
RESOURCES
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www.state.gov
www.facebook.com
www.afsa.org
(American Foreign Service Assoc)
www.foreignpolicy.com
www.usdiplomacy.org
pdstephenson@gmail.com
More Resources
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http://apps.usa.gov/doscareers.shtml
http://www.youtube.com/user/statevideo
youtube.com search FSOT
Facebook search FSOT, Department of
State