tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post4726429514025715945..comments2023-12-14T11:26:51.959-05:00Comments on Life After Jerusalem: One more thing to considerDiggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-83281541085109618212010-04-01T16:46:13.980-04:002010-04-01T16:46:13.980-04:00N8, first, good luck with getting "the call!&...N8, first, good luck with getting "the call!"<br /><br />I do all of those things (okay, I am on linkedin, but I don't use it). Joining organizations and really being involved is a great idea. I definitely recommend it. And take a look at this post, which I shamelessly stole from a CDO: http://lifeafterjerusalem.blogspot.com/2010/03/collected-words-of-career-advice.htmlDiggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-60477012249758057032010-04-01T15:55:03.724-04:002010-04-01T15:55:03.724-04:00thanks! very helpful explanation.thanks! very helpful explanation.Bfileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17657766918735380467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-42942132720198254822010-04-01T15:42:50.878-04:002010-04-01T15:42:50.878-04:00Thanks for this very interesting and insightful po...Thanks for this very interesting and insightful post. I'm anticipating starting A100 in June, so these subjects are naturally at the top of my mind.<br /><br />Beyond being dependable and nice on the job, are there other things one should try to do as a junior officer to try to burnish one's reputation in the hopes of opening doors down the road? I guess I'm thinking of participating in organizations (I'll be joining Glifaa for sure), perhaps blogging or contributing to things like State magazine, or utilizing networks like LinkedIn or Facebook. I'd love to know your thoughts.N8https://www.blogger.com/profile/02597559467210384062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-67338904288644813502010-04-01T14:45:09.323-04:002010-04-01T14:45:09.323-04:00What I am saying is that you should try to find ou...What I am saying is that you should try to find out about who you will be working for. And regardless of where you go, be the kind of person people want to work with. Because that will get you noticed. I don't mean be a suck up (though that will get you noticed too, just for the wrong reasons). Be dependable. Be NICE. That is what your corridor reputation is about...the best compliment someone can pay you is to say they'd serve with you anywhere.<br /><br />There isn't a lot that I COULD change. My wife had already been assigned to Jerusalem. So I had to bid that high or be separated again. But I'd have certainly given more thought to WHO I'd be working for and what the job was than WHERE the job was. Because ultimately, a great place can be a bad tour with bad management, and a bad place can be a great tour with good management. And you want to try to serve with good people who will be known in the areas you want to go. You have two tours to try to do it, so if you want the one exotic tour, see if you can work on the next one being in the region or specialty you want. Again, it is just another avenue of information...your control during that time is limited, but if you are as informed as possible, it could give you better control over the rest of your career.Diggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-20624639177236037202010-04-01T14:11:43.469-04:002010-04-01T14:11:43.469-04:00Ok. I understand some of this, especially the theo...Ok. I understand some of this, especially the theory. Who you know matters. But I don't get how you can control this from the get-go. Are you saying that if you want to serve multiple tours in Latin America, you shouldn't bid Mongolia high (just for the exotic factor) if it happens to appear on your bid list, since you won't get to know any of the big dogs in the WHA bureau? Or are you just saying that you should always try to get to know higher level officers, no matter where you are or what you're doing, bec you never know which one will be able to help you later? I would love some other specific examples of what you might have done differently from A100 (or what you recommend to others), if you can elaborate. Thank you!Bfileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17657766918735380467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-16333273308101219772010-04-01T13:38:22.285-04:002010-04-01T13:38:22.285-04:00I just use those words to describe the bidding pro...I just use those words to describe the bidding process, certainly not to describe my career. <br /><br />I talked more about what I did as an FSO when I was overseas. I'll talk more about it again when I am back overseas. My last two tours were in INR, so there was very little about my job that I could talk about. And now I am a staff assistant, so I fear what I do would bore people to tears. But soon I will re-engaging the foreign part of my service!<br /><br />And John, if you are reading intelligent and lucid prose, it can't possibly be on my blog (unless you are reading the words of the commenters!). :) For lucid and intelligent prose, I direct them to FSOs, including former FSOs such as you, with far more experience than I have.Diggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03856750834804127824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-43752191871125483012010-04-01T12:56:32.610-04:002010-04-01T12:56:32.610-04:00“Job,” “lobby,” “tour,” “biggest dogs to weigh in ...“Job,” “lobby,” “tour,” “biggest dogs to weigh in for me” “CDO” “assign” “bureau” – these are the words you use to describe your Foreign Service career.<br /><br />But why doesn’t your blog, if it truly wishes to enlighten its readers, talk more about what you <i>actually</i> do as an FSO? <br /><br />Such as: How and why you communicate and meet with local audiences; how you represent America on a personal and official level and how that can be improved; how you make the case the United States to those abroad who question its policies and wonder about the nature of its culture? <br /><br />How, briefly put, do you, in a substantive way, serve your country's interests overseas? <br /><br />I’d be eager to learn that from your blog, given your intelligence and lucid prose.John Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11408381085180641019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31417199.post-69535566764136065332010-04-01T11:32:47.136-04:002010-04-01T11:32:47.136-04:00Fantastic! Thanks for this!Fantastic! Thanks for this!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com