what do fsos do? five main areas of specialization (“cones”) –political affairs –consular...
TRANSCRIPT
What do FSOs Do?
• Five main areas of specialization (“cones”)–Political Affairs–Consular Affairs–Public Affairs–Management–Economic Affairs
Desired Skill Set“13 Dimensions”
• Composure• Cultural Adaptability• Experience and Motivation• Information Integration & Analysis• Initiative and Leadership• Judgment• Written & Oral Communication
Desired Skill Set“13 Dimensions”
• 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
• Advocacy• Reporting• Outreach• Visitors
Reporting
• 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• White House• Congress• State Department• Industry
delegations• Trade associations• Lobbyists• State, city, county
trade promotion groups
• Other U.S. agencies– Commerce– USTR– Defense– Transportation– Homeland Security– FAA– AID– Treasury– Agriculture– Energy
How Do I Prepare for a Foreign Service Career?
• The Economist• Foreign Affairs• Business Week• National weekly news magazine
(Time, Newsweek)• www.state.gov reading list
RESOURCES
• www.state.gov• www.facebook.com• www.afsa.org (American Foreign Service Assoc)
• www.foreignpolicy.com• www.usdiplomacy.org• [email protected]
More Resources
• http://apps.usa.gov/doscareers.shtml• http://www.youtube.com/user/statevideo• youtube.com search FSOT• Facebook search FSOT, Department of
State