"Fail better."

Two posts in two days!

Well, despite the picture I posted yesterday of a corgi who swore on the professionalism of this blog, this post is a little bit more...personal.

Yesterday's post mentioned the fact that I interviewed for two jobs but was offered neither of them. You'll notice the fact that while I voiced my frustration over one organization's practices, I didn't say much else about my feelings of not getting the position. I'm guessing that my subconscious knew I'd have to write much more about those feelings than I would have allowed myself in that post (given that I had a lot more to talk about), and so now I'm writing about them here.

The truth? It kills to get that cookie-cutter e-mail of rejection. I was so interested in the position and the work that the organization did, and I could see myself going to work and loving being there, which is more than I can say about most positions. I know that there are always so many circumstances surrounding new hires, but when I get the rejection e-mails, I can't help feeling that it is entirely my fault and that I'm not good enough. I'm really not good at failing. Of course, I don't know many people who are, but I've been lucky (or I guess, unlucky) enough that my life up to this point has been successful and has had relatively few snags. It's been very hard this summer to get rejection letter after rejection letter, without any explanation as to why I won't be a good match.

"It's not you, it's me. I wish you all the best. We will keep in touch! Love, HR"

Anyway, I suppressed the stresses of yesterday's rejection until today, when I had a mini-meltdown while looking for new positions. I had to blog it out a bit and remind myself of all the famous, successful people who never gave up. And I don't care so much about being famous, but it helped me to remind myself that even the most successful people have been rejected again and again before reaching success.

I learn best when I write down information; something about the physical transcription of the words also seems to etch the lessons onto my brain. I decided to help myself remember to keep going by giving myself a temporary tattoo of some motivational words. This isn't the first time I've done this, and it certainly won't be the last.

Wise words from playwright, Samuel Beckett.

Welp.

So, it's been exactly a month since I last wrote. I've been meaning to write, I swear! It's just...reasons.

Anyway, rather than launch into a hearty apology for not writing, here are a few updates on the things in my life.

Two Interviews, No Job Offers
I had two interviews in D.C. for administrative jobs at nonprofit organizations. I was very excited about both, and I really thought that the interviews went well. I found out two days after one interview that they had chosen someone else, but as I was really hoping for the other position, I wasn't too upset. I finally heard back from the second organization that I didn't get the job today. It took two weeks and my sending an uncomfortable e-mail inquiring about the status of the position for me to hear back. Honestly, it seemed unprofessional and annoying; I doubt that HR decided two hours after I e-mailed that they had just received acceptance from their chosen candidate. Regardless, I'm back to Square 1 on the whole "finding-a-full-time-job-that-doesn't-make-me-want-to-rip-my-eyes-out" front.

So I'm Studying...
Or at least trying to. The test is in exactly one week! I know I haven't prepared enough, but these are some things I've been doing to prepare:

The first Google autocorrect after the title "Guns, Germs, and Steel" is "Guns, Germs, and Steel summary." #America

• finish filling in maps of the world (though I'm not trying to memorize as much; it's more of a basic geographical understanding)
• read a few articles from the newest issue of Foreign Affairs
• obsessively listen to NPR (though that's not a new thing)
• Watch some documentaries (or at least parts of them...), including Ken Burns' The War and National Geographic's Guns, Germs, and Steel (based off the Jared Diamond book). Guns, Germs, and Steel is on the suggested reading list for the FSOT test. I wasn't able to locate it at my library, and frankly, I had enough things to read, so I watched the 3-part series. It was informative but pretty repetitive, so I hope to read the full book and get more details sometime soon.

• Take some practice tests related to geography, business, and economics 'cause I'm not so good at those.
• Read up on my U.S. history through the Complete Idiot's Guide to American History and The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. The first is mostly to brush up on basic facts about wars, presidents, important court cases, etc. The second is on the suggested reading list for the FSOT, and it's fascinating. Obviously, it's a little difficult to read from cover to cover, as it's a dictionary. But there's SO much information in here and it's impossible to pick the book up without learning something.

Attempting to Re-live College

Homecoming Weekend happened this past weekend. It was simultaneously way better and way worse than I expected. Without going into too much detail (after all, this is my professional blog, and not my diary), I think that it was a difficult weekend because being back at school conjures so many different emotions. The nostalgia of being back in a place so familiar, the joy of seeing old friends, the reliance on others to house you, the frustrations of old friendships that come back so quickly, the sadness that the carefree times of college are over. But I'm glad that I went; I ultimately had a great time and it was awesome to catch up with people I care about (as well as meet some new faces ahhhh I'm so old).

Like I said, this is my professional blog.

Anyway, hope that this long post has made up for the dearth of posts in the last few weeks. Looking forward to posting more in the near future!

FSOT Friday: An Experiment

As I mentioned before, I'm currently preparing to take the Foreign Service Officer Test with my boyfriend in about six weeks. For those of you who don't know what the FSOT is, let me give you a general idea. The test is a person's ticket into the Foreign Service (the State Department); if you pass the written assessment, you go on to the oral assessment and from there, hopefully become a foreign service officer. The written test is quite a hurdle to jump, however. Considered to be one of the hardest tests a person can take, the FSOT measures personal experiences and skills (biographical), English expression and usage, and job knowledge. The job knowledge section is what trips most people up, and what will certainly trip me up. Job knowledge covers U.S. government, history, and culture; world history and geography; international affairs; economics; math; management/business; and psychology. Soooo, not much, huh? ;)

I'm experimenting with the idea of a themed post every Friday related to the FSOT. You know, ways that I'm approaching studying, anything I've come across that could be helpful, current events briefings from places like the Economist or Foreign Affairs, iPhone apps, you know, the like.

Today, I'll focus on what I studied yesterday: geography.

It's no secret that America sucks at geography, but luckily, I've found a few tools to help me out. I only did European and South American geography yesterday, so I still have a few continents to master. The Latin America tests were somewhat of a throw-away, since I'm already pretty proficient there. But hey, my teachers never made me learn where Suriname or Guyana are, so those were new for me. And of course, it's not like the FSOT shows you a map and asks you to name the countries, but having a general idea of where countries are located in relation to each other definitely helps. Here's what I've done to prep so far...I'll use Europe as my example.

Printed out blank maps of the continent

Wrote in country and capital names 
(try squeezing Bosnia and Herzegovina in that itty bitty space)

Tried to find something interesting/memorable about countries
For example, Macedonia is this tiny little landlocked country not far from Greece. It's the only small landlocked country in the area.

Test myself on my knowledge using apps/websites
I haven't found a perfect site yet, but I used Funbrain levels 1 and 3 to test my knowledge of country location and capitals. Funbrain doesn't have a very good randomization process; out of the 10 questions in Level 3, 3 of them asked me what country's capital is Brussels. So that's something to keep in mind.

I also used an iPhone app for geography; it's called TapQuiz Maps and is decent for quick reviewing of countries. The app names a country and you must tap its location. Pretty straightforward. However, for very small countries, it's a little trickier and takes more time; you have to zoom in by holding your finger at the spot, and then lining up the little "x" with the country. It might work better on an iPad.

Keep in mind that this approach does not cover topography, like the mountain ranges and rivers that are likely important to know. I'm thinking about drawing those in but...we're gonna need a bigger map.

Yeah. It's kinda like that. (via)

"How did you hear about us?": a tip

Lately I've been getting frustrated by the job search engines I use. Don't get me wrong, they're incredibly handy and organized. However, I'm looking for fairly specialized positions, and there aren't too many new opportunities where I'm looking. I log onto Idealist and see the same 18 jobs leering at me and, well...it's not pretty.

So I came up with a simple method of expanding the job pool by expanding my search engines. It's not foolproof, since it doesn't work when applying through an e-mail. But many sites with online applications can help you out by pointing you towards some new search engines. The process is simple:

1. Find a job that you're interested in and go to their website's application form. It doesn't really matter if you choose to apply fully or not (i.e. if you're grossly over/under-qualified), only that the job is in a field/location you're interested in.

2. On the application, find the "How did you hear about us?" question. There should be a drop-down list with lots of options, and hopefully some of those options should be job search engines that you haven't heard of.

3. Go to those new job search engines and get yourself a job!

Hope this helps!

What to Expect While Reading This Blog

Seeing as this is only my second entry, it's hard to say what exactly I'll be writing about consistently. But here are some topics that you can expect to see:

Job Hunting Tips/Tricks/Rants/Disappointments
As my primary occupation right now is finding a full-time job related to international politics, I expect to write quite a bit about my job search and practices that have/have not worked for me throughout this process.

Latin America & International Politics
Latin America is my area of interest (I wouldn't say "expertise"!) within the realm of international politics. I studied for a semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina, speak Spanish with near fluency, and have  done a number of independent research projects about Latin American affairs. I'd like to use this space to report on current events with my own insight. I'll of course include other events outside of Latin America; however, I'd like to dedicate most of my "reporting" time to my favorite region.

The Foreign Service Officer Test
My boyfriend and I are taking the FSOT at the end of September on a whim. Well...perhaps it's more than "on a whim." I've wanted to take the test for years, and though I'm a bit overwhelmed by the mass of information that the test covers, I'm really enjoying preparing for it. I hope to post some study methods, information about the test, practice questions, and other related knowledge.

Corgis
...Ok. You can't blame me for this one; with such dense subject matter otherwise, I need a few derpy puppies to lighten the mood. Trust me, you'll thank me on this one.

You're welcome. (Photo via)

Introduction

As it turns out, setting up a blog takes less time than for a tea kettle to boil water.

In other news, hi! On the recommendation of my other half, I've decided to get myself writing again by starting this blog. I just graduated this past May from a small liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with a degree in International Studies (Human Rights NGO Administration). I've spent the summer applying to jobs while still living in my parents' home outside of Philadelphia. As of this moment, I am quite unemployed, and I'm finding a need to remind myself why I chose my career path in the first place.

You see, I'm not completely incapable of finding a job. Just recently, I was offered a corporate job with great benefits in Washington, D.C. The base salary would be higher than anything I'd be making at a non-profit at this point in my career, and there would be quarterly bonuses. The job would allow me to move closer to my boyfriend, to start paying off student loans and even--gasp!--save some money, and to otherwise start the next chapter of my adult life.

But I turned it down. I wasn't passionate about the corporation or its work. A place that generates too much money and too little social change is not a place where I can earnestly make a career. Of course I could do the job, but it would lack the heart that's so present in my academics and volunteer work. And I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where I have a safe roof over my head while I continue to look for jobs that will excite and challenge me. I do not take that for granted, and so I'm starting this blog to keep my writing sharp and study issues that I'm passionate about while I continue my applications.

You can call me naive (perhaps), liberal (definitely), or anything else you like, but I decided a long time ago that I wanted to go in a different direction. And though I'm attempting to convince myself and my readers alike of this fact, I'm hoping this blog brings me a bit more confidence, a bit more practice in writing/editing, and a bit of an adventure.

-Caroline