One day Doug and I were walking and playing the “What would you do if you won the Lottery?” game. Doug said that he would travel the world and learn languages. He then said, offhandedly, “I should join the Foreign Service.” As the days passed he decided that he should join the Foreign Service and the long arduous process began.

Briefly, the first step towards being hired by the State Department to work in the Foreign Service is to fill out a lengthy application which, if I remember correctly, has lots of blanks to fill in, bubbles to color in and even an essay question or two. Doug turned in his application in May of 2008 and waited. No one at the State Department looks at these applications, but it is the first required step.

We were both excited about the possibility of Doug working for the State Department but also realized that this would not happen in a week or two. He had now been unemployed for about five months. Ever vigilant, Doug researched unemployment at his stage in life and career and it found out that the average time period looking for a job was a year and a half.

He turned in many applications, most of which were completely ignored (a sad state of corporate America and general cordiality). Those who did respond found themselves unable to categorize him. In his past jobs he oversaw accounting, human resources, facilities and anything else he saw that needed attended to that no one else was doing. However, he was not an accountant or a human resources specialist. His double major was Political Science (focusing on the then Soviet Union) and International Relations. He also has an MIM (Masters of International Management). For the many positions he applied, they deemed him overqualified. He couldn’t do anything (short of lying) to prevent them from seeing him as overqualified but he could bring some focus into his resume. He decided to get certified in Human Resources.

In the meantime, in keeping with our new dedication to free offerings, we stood in line outside a Chris and Rob’s the day of their grand opening in hopes to be one of the first 100 customers who would receive a free hotdog once a week for a year (no purchase necessary!). We got it! It was so fun walking the few blocks each week to get our free hotdog. I missed eating lunch out and this filled the spot.

The next step towards the Foreign Service was to take a scheduled written examination which is offered in a variety of locations. Doug took his at the University of Minnesota on July 12, 2008. This test covers local and international knowledge of politics, geography, culture and arts. It includes things we should remember from school, things we would know if we were really paying attention and some more obscure facts. I looked for about a half hour trying to find sample questions and had no luck. I know that somewhere online there is a place but it eludes me. After this examination the applicant waits. After about three months the test results are revealed.

Doug was hired by Olup and Associates in June of 2008 (happy birthday to me!) He didn’t want to tell anyone about applying to the Foreign Service just in case he was rejected. Kind of like when a woman is only two months pregnant she doesn’t say anything just in case. In Doug’s good conscience, he felt uneasy working for Olup and not only working toward but hoping to be hired into the Foreign Service. The fact that he started the process to join the Foreign Service before he was hired by Olup did little to relieve that.

I am struck by the many requirements to becoming a Foreign Service officer. I have always looked to Senators, Representatives, Governors, etc. with a little bit of awe (and a LOT of other stuff) but I realize they just had to get elected. Not that that is easy, I’m sure it is not. But elections can be bought and one can lie their way into a position of authority and power. There is no faking or buying your way into the foreign service.

On a light note, those of you (and I know two of you) who are considering the foreign service – listen to this: It is the best dating pool you will ever find. Think about it. 1. You know your fellow worker is intellectually equal. 2. You know they have been screened extensively for security so they have no major skeletons in their closets. 3. They had to pass a physical so you know they are healthy. You can’t get much safer than that.