1. What do FSOs Do? Five main areas of specialization (“cones”) –Political Affairs –Consular Affairs –Public Affairs –Management –Economic Affairs

2. Desired Skill Set “13 Dimensions” Composure Cultural Adaptability Experience and Motivation Information Integration & Analysis Initiative and Leadership Judgment Written & Oral Communication

3. Desired Skill Set “13 Dimensions” Planning & Organizing Quantitative Analysis Resourcefulness Working with others

4. Advocacy U.S. policy U.S. interests –American citizens –American corporations –Perceptions of U.S. Intergovernmental organizations –Votes –Candidates –Reforms

5. 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

6. Typical Officer Duties Advocacy Reporting Outreach Visitors

7. Reporting Host country internal developments Host country external developments Labor issues Environment, science, technology, health Agriculture Resources

8. 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)

9. 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

10. 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

11. RESOURCES www.state.gov www.facebook.com www.afsa.org (American Foreign Service Assoc) www.foreignpolicy.com www.usdiplomacy.org pdstephenson@gmail.com

12. More Resources http://apps.usa.gov/doscareers.shtml http://www.youtube.com/user/statevideo youtube.com search FSOT Facebook search FSOT, Department of State