At this time of year, just about every employee in the Foreign Service is required to write up and submit an EER, short for Employee Evaluation Report. In simpler terms, every year we are all required to write a one page evaluation of ourselves, which in reality is an essay contest to see how good
This week we will talk about promotions in the Foreign Service. After my post about the cost of living increases and awards, a reader sent me this question: It is cool to see the government typically gives annual cost of living raises, but how do promotions work if there are any at all? I want
Nearly a year to the day that Nick learned he had finally received his security clearance and was added on the Foreign Service register, I too was notified that I have received my security clearance. As a result, I have been onboarded at U.S. Embassy Nouakchott and am wrapping up my first month on the
In 1981 Mauritania became the last country in the world to abolish slavery, and it wasn’t until 2007 that it became criminalized. That’s the sort of fact that is really difficult to wrap your head around in today’s day and age. Yes, various forms of indentured servitude/trafficking bordering on slavery exist around the world to
This week features a question I have been asked a couple of times in the last month by a few individuals that will be in the upcoming January MP class. Specifically one asked “now that you have been working abroad for a few months, do you actually like it?” I think based on the content
This week Nick is on a TDY (temporary duty) assignment abroad, so he was once again kind enough to let me take the wheel. I am going chat a little bit about what employment is like in the Foreign Service, and the process for getting hired as an eligible family member (which is basically any
I am often asked through this website or through friends and family if there have been any negatives to the job, lifestyle, or in general since joining the Foreign Service. I am a positive guy by nature, and I definitely try to keep things light and positive here (mostly because I don’t want to offend
I was recently sitting across from a foreign ambassador at a dinner event, hearing some of the most fascinating stories of their careers, when I realized I was living in a fascinating story myself, right then and there. Later that evening, while I was replaying the night in my head, I found my mind wandering
This week we will take little pit stop to answer a question I have received a couple of times now regarding hardship posts. Here we go: I keep seeing the term “hardship post” thrown around, and was wondering what it actually means and how it is determined? A Hardship Post is basically anywhere in the
How do you reconcile working for the government if you don’t agree with their policies or the direction things are going? What do you do if you strongly disagree with or even despise the current President or Secretary of State? This is a question I have been asked dozen’s of times since applying to join
