QUESTIONS:
* 1) Substantive Knowledge: The Foreign Service seeks a diverse workforce with broad job skills and a depth of experience to represent the US overseas. Briefly describe why you chose the career track you selected.
Well over a year ago, I considered working with my brother-in-law at Northwestern Mutual. I took the preliminary tests and did very well. Along with the other partners, I met with David Thompson, the Managing Director. Ultimately, I decided to pursue other options. However, the director and I, sharing what I hope is mutual respect, developed an uncommon bond. As we parted ways, he gave me a bit of counsel that has become something of a guiding light. The parameters surrounding his work are: “Do I love…show more content… As we set about our work, new, untarnished tools in hand, Haitians would stop us to offer suggestions and corrections. Using no more than hand gestures and simple motions, these patient old professionals would teach us their methods and maneuvers, drastically increasing the speed and enjoyment of the work. It then became our challenge to figure out how to ask questions and formulate expressions with only our hands.
The lesson reinforced to me that day is that language barriers are nothing more than inconveniences, and that communication, while greatly enhanced by spoken language, does not rely on it. This lesson served when well when I faced the challenge of learning Portuguese years later, immersed and essentially alone in Brazil.
* 5) Management Skills: Foreign Service Officers are often required to manage projects, demonstrating the ability to plan and organize, set priorities, employ a systematic approach, and allocate time and resources efficiently. Describe a project you managed or helped to manage and how you sought to achieve the project’s goals. (What was the project? What steps did you take to manage the project? What was the result?)
I currently work as the General Manager of a large movie theater/bar in the St. Louis suburbs. I accepted the job in early 2010, months before ground was broken on the building. Along with other members of the corporate team, I oversaw the construction, equipment installation, and Grand Opening process. I
