Choosing Your Cone:
The very first thing that any prospective FSO should do is to educate himself/herself on the five different "cones" that exist within the Service. Your options (in alphabetical order) are:
Consular
Economic
Management
Political
Public Diplomacy
There are incredible amounts of information on each of these cones. Information can easily be found directly from the State Department's website. Once your track is chosen (you declare it when you register for the FSOT), you are held to that choice and cannot change it. Don't fret too much, this selection should be something that you have a genuine interest and experience in, and should not be based on a rumor that Consular Officers have the shortest wait time on the roster. While this may be true, selecting Consular purely for that reason will probably not work out for you as the evaluators are very good at exposing unmotivated candidates.
FSO are considered Generalists and differ from FSS (Foreign Service Specialists) in that FSOs can do jobs out side of their selected cone. This is fairly common as the Officers have a direct hand in the assignments that they receive via the bidding process.
I selected the Management Cone because I have experience managing a multi-million dollar transportation operation during my time in college. I found the experience to be very rewarding, I liked being in charge, making decisions and helping others with their problems. I had plenty of practice thinking quickly on my feet, under pressure, and managing conflicting needs with limited resources. I was also particularly interested in the Political Cone because directly influencing policy and rubbing shoulders with other diplomats regularly appealed to me (as it does to many, the Political Cone is the most popular), I felt I did not have enough meaningful experience with that, outside of the classroom, to pass the tests.
Registering for the Test:
Once you have your cone selected, the next step is signing up for the FSWE. The FSOT is offered on a limited basis per year. ACT.org administers the test, and all registering is done through their system. The test is administered on the computer at one of their many testing sites around the nation. Be sure to adhere to their deadlines, there is no forgiveness unless arrangements are made well in advance for missed test dates.
I signed up and took my test during the June window of 2010. Unfortunately for me, the only time I could select for my test was right at the end of my Finals Week. Needless to say I was pretty stressed out that week. My test center was at San Diego State University at 11am. There was lots of flexibility in the time that I could take it, however there was only one center that was remotely close to where I was for me to choose.
Preparing Yourself:
I was incredibly nervous about this test before I took it. I heard many rumors from lots of people that had been through the test that it was the hardest test they've ever taken. I also read many blogs and comments from people, proudly displaying their qualities, that had not passed either. Being relatively young and not possessing a Master's or Ph.D. I was certainly weary of my prospects. I met with two DIRs to pick their brains about the test and ask them for any advice or strategies on the test.
Both assured me that this was not a traditional test that had a simple study guide with all the possible answers in it. According to the State Department website, the test is broken down as follows:
Job Knowledge
English Expression (Think SAT style "fix this sentence to make it grammatically correct")
Biographical Information
The Job Knowledge section of the test encompasses information including: US and World History, US Government, World Geography, Basic Finances and Economics, Management Theory and US Culture. Basically, the best piece of advice is to not get overwhelmed with this broad range of topics that can be covered. The only way to truly prepare for this test, if there is such a thing, is to read, read, read.
Both DIRs expressed this point to me repeatedly. Well, read what, you may ask? The Economist. Hands down, subscribe to this magazine and read it religiously the 3-6 months prior to your test. Cover to cover. I cannot stress enough how awesome that magazine is. It really shouldn't even be a chore. I, personally, found this piece of advice very reassuring because I love reading The Economist, or Time, or even Newsweek. And guess what, it has a fair amount of all the above topics rolled in to one handy magazine.
The English Expression section is probably the easiest section to traditionally study for, as it is the most traditional part of test. As mentioned above, think back to your SAT test and the English section where you had to pick the best sentence choice in a selected paragraph that was altered to be wrong. Study up on the basics of grammar, punctuation and spelling and this will be a breeze. Nothing too difficult here.
The Biographical Information section is usually the most neglected section (in terms of time devoted to study on the matter). According to one DIR, this is one of the reason people usually fail the test. Thinking about the Biographical Information section, you're probably thinking to yourself, "Hey, I know me. Why do I need to study it?", right? Well, wrong. The advice I was given, and will pass along, is to think long and hard about concrete examples from your life regarding attributes that you think will make you a qualified candidate for the FS. The NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) prevents me from elaborating too much further on the matter, but suffice to say, don't over look this section at your own peril.
Finally, the dreaded timed essay. Personally, this was my favorite part and the most relaxing for me. You're given a prompt and have a certain amount of time to finish an essay on the subject. It is not so important what you write about as how you write. Be sure to have an argument for your essay, defend it, and refute any counter-arguments to yours. Be organized and don't make too many (if any) grammatical errors. Don't feel too rushed; take your time to think of a game plan for your essay and then execute it. Practice writing under a time constraint to get the feel of how fast time will fly. This wasn't that big of a deal to me because I was still in college and used to formulating an idea and writing very quickly.
Remember, all of this is done on the computer, so typing proficiency is key. If you can type around 100 wpm then you'll have a bit of an edge in writing your essay. Don't be too afraid, there was plenty of time for the test. I was finished a good hour early and walked out of the center a little freaked out that I had so much time left. I don't normally ever leave a test early but I had triple checked all my answers before I moved on and was sure of almost every single answer.
Staying composed and thinking quickly on your feet while remaining organized is key to this test. You'll be nervous but part of the job will be to combat that and put your best foot forward. Best of luck!
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