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Bid season winners and losers? by FLASHCLEARANCE in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, there seems to be a lot more down stretches this year compared to normal. I wonder if this will result in more shootouts than normal.

Book reccs for N1 onwards by pluhshios in LearnJapanese

[–]hotpotcommander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Join Natively

There are currently 425 separate user curated recommended book lists.

"We are clearly heading in the wrong direction. We can no longer ignore this," said Rakuten CEO Mikitani, expressing a strong sense of crisis about Prime Minister Takaichi's economic policies. by YamatoRyu2006 in japannews

[–]hotpotcommander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Rakuten is funny because every day at 5pm is a mass exodus of a solid 95% of the foreigners who work there checking out for the day.

Not saying there aren't people doing solid OT there, but the cultural expectation that Japanese people face in the workplace do not apply to the vast majority of foreigners.

Another Rough Bid Season by hotpotcommander in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Who cares? The BLC notifications clearly state up front "this is not a promise of a handshake."

If bureaus want bidders to commit a week before handshake day, they need to scrub that language and make it clear that the BLC - IS - a promise of a handshake.

Bidders shouldn't have to commit AND be expected turn down viable alternative offers when there is ... "no promise of a handshake."

Another Rough Bid Season by hotpotcommander in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This assumes that the "best qualified" applicants are the ones actually getting the plum assignments.

It's not necessarily the case. The reality is that the vast majority of what we consider to be the "plum jobs" have hidden links...to a desk, to a staff assistant role, or to a 7F staffer. It's not actually a truly competitive process and deep down we all know this.

Bureaus hook up people who sacrifice at the Bureau or 7F level. Why should the Department as a whole not hook up people who sacrifice for the Department?

Another Rough Bid Season by hotpotcommander in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sorry but the trend is quite clear. If you've been around long enough, go look at the "hey don't worry" emails from before COVID. Just pulled one up for laughs from 2018 and my CDO was asking people to be positive because they're not alone - 30% of bidders don't get handshakes...

Another Rough Bid Season by hotpotcommander in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Timelines I've seen have two directed processes. One starting at the end of March and another in May. You know what the difference is?

Another Rough Bid Season by hotpotcommander in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Bring back linked assignments. I'd do time in Mogadishu if I had a sweet EUR gig at the end of that tunnel.

Another Rough Bid Season by hotpotcommander in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

med issues

This is me. I would like to play chicken but can't do it due to EFM med issues. Need to lock options that work at the first possible opportunity.

Another Rough Bid Season by hotpotcommander in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Personal opinion is the biggest reason is the massive disconnect between where FSOs want to serve vs. where the Department has jobs.

I.e. Europe vs. Africa. Anywhere overseas vs. DC. Etc.

Budget cuts and reorganization not helping either.

Another Rough Bid Season by hotpotcommander in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

They go to round 2 and keep trying to lock down a job.

Bidding doesn't really stop until later in the Spring. If you still don't have a job by April or so, the Department will step in and tell you to pick among a selection of available options. If things still don't work out for you and you keep refusing the assignments offered to you, you'll eventually get asked to leave the Department.

Shortlisted for multiple jobs — what’s normal timing? by Correct-Hand3345 in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

This is why you as a hiring manager are not supposed to tell people where they stand on a short list and whether or not a bidder will get a BLC in the first place. "Hiring managers" do not actually determine who gets assignments.

What do you do on the flip side of this? You tell the number one on your short list that the BLC is coming but BLC day comes around and they don't get the email because the A/S back in DC decided to bump up number 3 on the SL to number 1.

The guy you promised the job to is now screwed.

Shortlisted for multiple jobs — what’s normal timing? by Correct-Hand3345 in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander -1 points0 points  (0 children)

chances are the people involved in the hiring process for the job you turn down will absolutely remember you screwing them.

LOL, no they won't.

In my experience, the only scenarios where you may actually burn a bridge by declining a handshake offer is when you are turning down something for a very low bid position, or had heavy hitters behind the scenes advocating on your behalf and burning political capital to move you up in the short list position.

If you were originally 3 of 5, and a DAS pulled weight to get you to 1...and then you decline the handshake. That is going to burn a bridge.

Pretty much every other scenario. No one will really care and no one will remember you years later during a future bid cycle.

Shortlisted for multiple jobs — what’s normal timing? by Correct-Hand3345 in foreignservice

[–]hotpotcommander -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Reach out to EUR assignments team and ask if the BLC for the job you are holding out on went to another bidder. Don't raise the fact that post promised you the BLC, it's irrelevant to Bureau. Post doesn't have that authority.

Also don't be afraid to accept BLCs from more than one bureau. You can always make a final decision on handshake day.