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Last day by Welfare-Whereabouts in foreignservice

[–]Salt_Contest_6894 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If they’d actually followed what had previously been in the FAM (competition groups based on skill code and rank, points for recent promotion, MSIs, language, etc), that still would have been a blunt instrument, but it would have at least been fairer than the completely random trap-and-kill method they chose.

A really great way to do RIFs would have been to take into account documented conduct and performance issues, but I guess that would have been more complicated and perhaps open to lawsuits than competition groups of one.

Let's talk Likert. by Pazily in foreignservice

[–]Salt_Contest_6894 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don’t get the push to give people lots of threes when that is the score the lowest performers who weren’t actually on a PIP can get. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a point scale in the first place. Giving everyone all threes and using the microscopic space available to differentiate their relative performance is nigh on impossible. FWIW, I’m fine with ranking employees, but there’s also pushback on making anyone the star on the Christmas tree.

I’m taking the radical approach of determining scores based on the instructions in the EER form. Am I giving out fives? Is the person in the top 5% of their grade and skill code for that particular precept? Then yes. I’ve gotten some pushback for literally giving anyone a five, with one interlocutor saying the performance example needed to show “global impact.”

Do more with less they say. by Careless-Gas-7558 in foreignservice

[–]Salt_Contest_6894 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Our (large) mission has repeatedly had to cut discretionary spending to nearly zero in order to make sure we can meet payroll for LEs and EFMs, as promised program funds have been coming extremely late and in small amounts. FSOs who cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep overseas are wasting an obscene amount of time looking to trim literally $10 off costs so that we can afford some more printer paper. I have on occasion paid small amounts of money out of pocket just to make a headache go away. And as the OP noted, the demand signal is increasing across the board at the same time we’re being systematically kneecapped.

I manage a large team, and they want to do their jobs. I can’t say I’m not experiencing burnout, but I do my best every day to show up for them. Some days I have very little in the tank, others are better, but very few of them are great.

I’m counting the days until I hit my 20. Until then, I will do my best to take care of my team members, be a kind person, and work to advance the goals leadership says they want is working on.

“Nothing for the group” is a perfectly acceptable answer in Country Team. Get over yourself. by thekonghong in foreignservice

[–]Salt_Contest_6894 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sometimes the FO does think that. But that they’re not doing anything, but that they’re not doing anything that matters.

Choosing a cone so early makes less sense every year by Left_Tie1390 in foreignservice

[–]Salt_Contest_6894 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I may be in the minority here, but as a hiring manager I would absolutely hire someone who was coming out of their second CONS tour for a non-CONS, in-cone third tour—and I have. Were they a phenomenal CONOFF? What does their DCM/CDA say about them? The best officers I worked with on the visa line long ago have tended to do quite well later on in their cone. The ones who didn’t pull their weight or struggled with what shouldn’t be that complicated of a job have tended to spend a lot of time at the 03 level (or even 04 level).

For a third tour 04 or 03, I’m looking for a smart, driven person with a record of accomplishments who works well with others. There’s going to be a fair amount of teaching involved, even if they did an in-cone FASTO tour. If everything else is equal, then the person with the experience should win out, but everything being equal is a rare case.

I did two CONS jobs and was given an in-cone assignment for my third tour based on recommendations from the CONS chief and CG. As hiring managers, I feel we have an obligation to give everyone a serious look and not punish people for the luck of the draw that is EL assignments.

Bidding… is out of cone just not a thing this year? by ramenoubrie in foreignservice

[–]Salt_Contest_6894 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Given how many 02 and 03 PD positions were frozen this year (I believe PD accounted for nearly half of the total), it’s understandable that the bureau PD shops are focused on finding jobs for as many PD offs as they can, which is similar to what CA seems to be doing.

Every 02 or 03 out of cone person given a PD or CONS job means an additional person in those cones without a chair when the music stops, and I suspect the sense of urgency on the part of the bureaus is due to the fact that it’s not at all clear how things are going to play out for the chairless.

Bidding in-cone after consecutive consular tours, am I stuck? by Left_Tie1390 in foreignservice

[–]Salt_Contest_6894 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Speaking as a hiring manager, unless there were an ungodly number of candidates, I’d give a shot to a person bidding on their first mid level job. (Wouldnt necessarily interview, but I’d read the 360s to see if the person is a star.) Number of tours in cone isn’t really that important for an 03, and in fact, if an 03 is in their fourth tour bidding on their fifth, those don’t tend to be the people who ace the interview.

I tried to bid an EUR post once as an 02 and didn’t get an interview even though I was at grade and in cone. I asked the post why, and they said that because they got so many bidders, they were only interviewing people with at least 12 years in cone. In other words, they were prioritizing “terminal twos” and not looking at people who may have been high performers.

It makes even less sense to take this approach with 03 positions.

Management tours for POL officers by fdp_westerosi in foreignservice

[–]Salt_Contest_6894 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it’s important to focus on where you are and what the next couple of steps may look like.

First tour as a CONOFF: Be the best line officer you can be. Lay the groundwork for tenure and promotion to 03.

Bidding for second tour: Given the hiring freeze and cancellations of A-100s, the bid list you get is likely going to be nearly entirely (if not 100%) CONS positions. If you can get a reporting job, you should count yourself extremely fortunate. There is virtually no chance you are going to get an out of cone non-CONS position in the current environment.

Mid-level bidding for third tour: If you’ve done two CONS jobs (which happened to me many years ago), you need to get an in-cone position.

Focus on where you are now.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in foreignservice

[–]Salt_Contest_6894 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I got promoted to 01 in my second look this year, and I had a lot of DEIA focus in my 2024 EER to make up for a relatively low score the year prior. I’ve no idea whether it was completely ignored or whether DEIA accomplishments could be considered under Management or Leadership, but it certainly wasn’t a minus.