On October 5, I once again tried the Foreign Service Officer Test, which is the first step in a long process of gaining employment with the US State Department. Although I have friends in government work, I have never placed all my hopes and dreams on passing, since a large number of people are competing for relatively few positions. So, that night I made my way to the Pearson Vue testing site in Taipei, as the only available slot was at 5:00 p.m. I was already extremely tired before the three hour test began, so let me just say that I should have opted for another time even if I missed class.

I thought the test was going well until I hit the situational judgement section. This recently replaced the biographic questionnaire, although both use the metric of gauging similar responses. Last time, I just answered consistently, if not entirely truthfully. This time I was flummoxed. The final essay question is really what threw me for a loop. I looked at the question about a living wage and started writing about guaranteed basic income. About 2 & 1/2 minutes left, I noticed what it was actually asking. I typed faster than I had ever typed in my life. What a disaster, as I thought I was finished.

Well, today I received the results: I passed. I seriously think the grader on that essay was smoking something. Here are the comparisons with my last test in July 2015:

2015:
Biographic Questionnaire: 57.78
English Expression: 59.67
Job Knowledge: 56.43
Multiple Choice Total: 173.88
Essay Score: 8

2017:
Situational Judgement: 46.2
English Expression: 53.21
Job Knowledge: 58.32
Multiple Choice Total: 157.73
Essay Score: 6

So, as you can see, I did poorly in comparison. My job knowledge improved, which saved me. English went down quite a bit, which I typically blame on living abroad. I often joke that my English is going, with nothing unfortunately replacing it. I will be reduced to grunting soon. The situational judgement score tanked, as I thought it would. My essay passed by the skin of my teeth. Altogether, I was just lucky someone was merciful out there.

Next step is the Personal Narrative Questions (PNQs), which I have never passed. I hate this section, as you have to write about yourself. As many friends have told me, do not be afraid to “embellish” a little, or a lot.

Update: Nov. 17: Finished and sent off the PNQs. Thanks to my friend Michael for his help and guidance. I would not have done as well as I did without his critiques.