Rejection!

Anyone who has stumbled upon this blog while looking for porn knows that I applied to become a Foreign Service Officer. I registered to take the written exam in February of 2008 and I had my Oral Assessment -- the final step in the process -- this past weekend. I didn't get the job. My overall score was just under the 5.25 needed to pass.

For an awesome break down of the OA, see the March 5th entry on this guy's blog.

I am quite sure I know who passed the test and who did not. After all 12 of us had finished the group exercise, structured interview, and case management task, we assembled in a room for our test results. The first two names were called out in rapid succession and then the rest of us were called, one by one, afterward. It seems obvious that the first two guys got the job and the rest of us were told to scram. At the time, not everyone thought so. If I'm right, then two very qualified and smart guys got the job. A man in his 40s who and had spent the previous 8 years doing TB research in Africa got the nod, and so did a guy who flew in from Liberia for the interview. He did something there for the Carter center but now I forget what. I had a chance to speak with both of them during the day and was impressed.

Among those rejected: a woman in her 50s who worked at the Library of Congress, a girl getting her Masters from the Kennedy School, an annoying kid with acne who taught English in Japan, a woman who works for the US embassy in Kiev, and a very nice guy from Nigeria (now a US citizen). There were also 4 young women who were unexceptional and interchangeable as far as I could tell.

I allegedly signed a non-disclosure agreement, so I can't talk about the specifics of the interview. However, I can tell you about two bonehead things that I said. When asked how I would handle being offered a local dish that would almost certainly give me parasites, I said "grin and bear it." I later qualified that statement, but I think the damage had already been done. I also said that I butt into my coworkers' business too much when asked to give a weakness. That's not a good answer but what makes it hilarious is that it's the opposite of who I am. I am much more likely to not notice what you're doing than to get too involved. Why did I say that?

In the end, I'm fine with the State Department's decision. Being rejected always sucks, but I wasn't looking forward to asking Daniela to live with me in some god forsaken place. Right now I think graduate school is the better option anyway.

Technorati tags: Foreign Service, OA, Oral Assessment, Washington DC