November 1, 2024 • 26 mins
In this episode, we get to learn from Sarah Veldhuizen Stealy, who is currently the diplomat in residence for the Central Region of the United States. She shares a bit about her background, as well as how to apply for federal positions and great details about working for the State Department. Our conversation provides a glimpse into the variety of opportunities available for multiple career paths within the federal government.
Web resources:
- usajobs.gov
- careers.state.gov
- Sara Veldhuizen Stealy, Diplomat in Residence StealySV@state.gov
South Dakota State University Office of Career Development:
- careers.sdstate.edu
- Kevin Fullerton, kevin.fullerton@sdstate.edu
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:06):
Welcome to Career Connections. I'm your host, Kevin Fullerton, the director of career development at South Dakota State University.
In this episode, we get to learn from Sarah Valve using steely,
who is currently the diplomat in residence for the Central Region of the United States.
She shares a bit about her background, as well as how to apply for federal positions and great details about working for the State Department.
(00:29):
Our conversation provides a glimpse into the variety of opportunities available for multiple career paths within the federal government.
All right. Hello, sir. Thanks for joining us on the Crew Connections podcast.
Hi, Kevin. Thanks so much for having me. I'm really happy to be here.
So before we get into sort of the specifics of of kind of work for the State Department, I would like to just get some some background on you.
(00:54):
And how did you sort of arrive to where you're at? Yeah, it was a journey.
It's been a journey. I, I grew up in Oskaloosa, Iowa, which is a town of about 10,000 people.
I did my undergrad at Northwestern College of Iowa, uh, a couple hours southeast of here in Orange City.
(01:17):
And even though we're talking about the State Department, I did not major in political science or international relations.
I actually started out as a theater and secondary ed major, and then ended up graduating with, um, double major in theater, speech and communications.
From there, I worked for two minor league baseball teams in Montana and Iowa.
(01:40):
Huge baseball fan, right? Um, I worked in the hospitality industry.
I managed the convention space at a hotel, and then I worked in corporate marketing for a national accounting and consulting firm.
So, you know, nothing really in foreign affairs.
And then one day,
(02:01):
I just happened to read an interview with Colin Powell when he was secretary of state about the State Department and the Foreign Service.
And I had never again thought about the State Department, um, or our embassies.
I studied in London for a semester as a theater major. I met the ambassador once and still never thought who works at the embassy.
(02:22):
And then I read this interview and realized that their, I guess I should say,
if I had thought about the department, I maybe thought about the political officers.
Right. Like you're the the ones you think of as a stereotypical diplomat.
And then I read this interview and realized how many different people work on advancing U.S. foreign policy,
(02:44):
and that they live all around the world representing America,
and that there are public diplomacy officers who think about messaging and audience analysis.
And how do we talk about policy? And they work with the media while also managing these cultural programs and educational programs.
And so as someone with a background in theater and communications, I read that.
(03:06):
And like the light bulb went off, the angels sang, um, and I was like, yeah, I like that.
That's what I want to do. Okay.
So you mentioned, you know, working on policy and advancing policy.
Uh, can you just describe sort of, um, sort of briefly what that means?
(03:26):
Sure. I, you know, in my career, I've served at four embassies overseas.
I've served in Zambia, Latvia, Ghana, and most recently in Lithuania.
And at each embassy we put together, um, a strategy of what are the key issues in this country that we're working on.
And so, for example, in Lithuania, a lot of it was national security related because of their location on the eastern flank of NATO.
(03:54):
And so a lot of defense and NATO related policy there, as well as things like, um,
Holocaust related issues and Holocaust distortion and what happened in Lithuania during the Holocaust.
And so part of my job was, for example, working with non-profits to come up with curriculum that teachers could teach in schools to help students
(04:16):
understand that history and and hopefully prevent anything that atrocious from happening again in the future.
In in Ghana, there was a lot of more related to, to health and, um, to democracy and agriculture and things like that.
And so just the way that the U.S. government works together with citizens and governments in other countries.
(04:39):
To make the world safer, more prosperous, more democratic in ways that benefit them, but ultimately benefit citizens of the United States.
Wow. Okay. Yeah. It's really important work. Thank you.
Wow. Fantastic. So just your background and makes me feel like we could do several episodes about working for minor league baseball teams, like offer.
(05:03):
Oh, yeah. And that's. I mean, I feel like I remember, you know, you're in college and you think, like,
what's the thing I'm going to do in this pressure that, like, you have to figure it out right away and you don't.
And I meandered a while before I found what I was supposed to be doing.
Yeah. Yeah. For sure. And I say often that I didn't grow up saying I wanted to be a director of crew development, but my path led me here, you know.
(05:32):
Yeah. Grateful for my experiences. Yeah. Mhm. Okay.
Great.
And and I like the idea too of, of you know, that level of curiosity and that you have where you're, you're reading interviews for Colin Powell.
Right. And, and that content sort of really starts to inspire you about oh wait,
it shed some, some more light and more nuance onto the work that you're doing it.
(05:56):
And I think that's that's a really important thing for,
for students and for listeners to think about is you don't really know what it's going to be that really clicks and inspires you for that,
that, that path. But, um, yeah, to stay curious is always important.
Absolutely. Top notch advice.
Okay, so I kind of want to just so big picture think about federal jobs generally and talk about sort of the application process for that,
(06:24):
because I know it's kind of, uh, can be kind of daunting, maybe intimidating, but there's several steps involved in it.
Maybe you can sort of help the help, uh, dispel some of the mystery about what that process is like.
Sure. So in general, federal jobs, um, civil service, federal service jobs are going to be posted on USA jobs.gov.
(06:47):
And so I recommend that if you know people go out there, you can search by agency.
If there's a specific part of the government you know you want to work in.
There are so many different skill codes as well.
And so it's worth it for someone to go through that list of skill codes and decide which ones they're interested in and can qualify for.
(07:10):
And you can search by that. Um, you can search by location.
There's also there are hiring mechanisms if you are a person with a disability, if you're a veteran, if you're a recent graduate.
So there are all these different mechanisms for applying to the federal government.
Um, and so yeah, it can be intimidating.
(07:32):
But the first step I think is to make that USA jobs.gov account and just start kind of poking around a little bit to see what's out there.
Set up a saved search. And then so the government will post vacancy announcements.
It may be a one offs like a regular corporation where they're hiring one position.
(07:52):
Or sometimes an agency may need 12 budget analysts in different bureaus across their agency, and so they'll post one vacancy announcement.
Um, from that, you know, the persistence is key with all of these federal jobs.
Almost everybody who works for the federal government applied more than once.
(08:13):
And so keep up that same search. Check it.
Start drafting like a the basic outline of your resume in USA jobs,
because a federal resume is also going to be different from a private sector resume.
It will typically be longer. And you can have your basic info in there.
(08:34):
But once you see that vacancy announcement that you want to apply for it,
you really want to tailor your resume so that the hiring manager can draw a direct line from the skills that they're looking for and your experience.
Town. Yeah, great. So, uh, just I think that's an important point to think about is to.
(08:56):
It needs to be an active process. So you create the profile you apply for for one job and the work isn't done there.
Right. So. Right. So it's important to me to check on, uh, what's available here and those positions.
Can you describe a little bit more, uh, about what what you mean by a longer resume?
(09:19):
Sure. So, you know, I think when in the private sector, it's typically 1 to 2 pages, right?
Unless unless you have a lot, a lot of experience.
Um, but for the federal government, the vacancy announcements are going to be pretty lengthy,
and they're going to spell out exactly what they're looking for.
(09:39):
And your goal when you're applying is to meet the minimum qualifications.
And so you want to go through that point by point.
And then make sure that as you're putting your experience in your it's directly related to what they're looking for.
So when the hiring manager looks at it, they see that you check all the boxes that they're looking for.
(10:02):
And so it's a mixture of like thorough but concise, right.
Yeah. Um, but because of that, it's still the resume might end up being longer,
particularly as you get into, you know, your 20s and 30s and have more experience.
A federal resume could be 8 to 10 pages long.
Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for that. Even even just that page count.
(10:24):
You can get some sort of sense of of what we're talking about.
Uh, so when we talk about, like, private sector resumes, we usually have, you know,
the typical headings of like education and work experience, um, awards, maybe a volunteer service, stuff like that.
Um, how would you structure this resume?
(10:44):
Sort of the same way. Or is it, is it more really about like skills or just addressing what that job posting really is?
It's asking for, um, the, I guess I would say kind of a mixture and I'll, uh,
I'll say it for anyone who's looking at applying for civil service jobs, I would also, you know,
there are a lot of resources out there that go into greater depth on this since,
(11:06):
um, I'm more focused on the Foreign Service side, but in general, um, yeah, it is.
It's going to be very much focused on kind of the.
Yeah, the skills and the experience that you have, which I think can be ticked off a little bit in the header.
But then as you go through each one, each bit of your experience, um, really going into depth,
(11:29):
uh, because, yeah, if you look at that vacancy announcement, you'll see how in-depth those are.
And you just want to make sure that you're making it clear that you meet the minimum qualifications on every everything that they're looking for.
Right? Okay. Yeah. Thank you, Sarah. And students listening to this, please know, um, of course, you can stop by our office and, you know,
looking for an appointment that we can work with you specifically on, on this kind of this kind of stuff.
(11:52):
This is what we're here for as well. So. Yeah. And actually, I will put in my quick pitch.
I mentioned recent graduates. Um, that is part of the pathways federal government program.
Those are jobs that are specifically geared to get people who have graduated within the past two years into federal service.
And so that is a saved search. I would set up, uh, for sure, for students who are, um, getting ready to graduate and looking for jobs.
(12:17):
Great. All right. Thanks, Sarah. Okay, so I think now we're ready to kind of get into the State Department work.
And what does that actually look like? In short, like we're we're the agency that advances the president's foreign policy.
We're the ones who represent America overseas.
And so within the State Department, we we have the civil service side,
(12:39):
thousands of people who are working at headquarters in DC, as well as at passport agencies all across the country.
And then we have the Foreign Service, which is what I'm part of, and we are the ones working out of embassies and consulates all around the world.
Um, we do work in D.C. sometimes, too, or in Saint Louis, where I am now.
(13:01):
And but in general, we are the ones engaging with foreign governments on policy issues,
whether that's bilateral policy issues or global issues that we're working with allies to address.
We help Americans overseas. If you're traveling, we issued your passport.
Um, if you get hurt, sick, anything overseas?
(13:24):
Um, we're the ones who help for any of your international students at Sdsu.
We're the ones who facilitated their travel to the US by issuing them their student visa.
And again, if you think about. The whole breadth of policy issues.
We hire people with expertise in those areas, but also for applied careers.
(13:45):
So cybersecurity is a policy issue. How are we working with allies to thwart malign actors who are targeting infrastructure?
But then also we hire information technology professionals who have the applied career of protecting our own systems.
And so really, it's a. It's a broad career.
(14:06):
Uh, how do I want to say this? We hire from all backgrounds.
That's the easiest way to say it. Yeah, yeah.
So. And clearly illustrated by your background, you know, in the background of theater communications, right?
Yeah, absolutely. So. It's helpful to understand that and know that, you know, there's necessarily a specific thing that students should major in.
(14:31):
But as a student thinking about maybe, you know, pursuing a career with State Department, what is there a should like,
should I major in something, or what kinds of experience should I make sure to try and train game?
You know, I mean, I first off, I'm going to go back to what you said earlier.
Be curious. That's one of the biggest things.
(14:55):
Be someone who asks questions and thinks critically about about life and about issues.
Beyond that, though, for a major I, I tell people, major, what you're passionate about,
major, in what you're passionate about, because then you're going to be engaged.
You're going to be working hard and thinking.
(15:15):
Look for opportunities to lead, to be involved.
Because we don't require a specific major or anything like that.
What we do look at are what are called the dimensions.
There are 11 of them. That is things like critical thinking, judgment, integrity, planning and organizing, um, communication skills, things like that.
(15:39):
And people think, oh, I don't have a lot of international experiences.
I don't speak another language. That doesn't matter.
We're looking at those dimensions and you can develop those dimensions in Brookings just as well as you can in Budapest.
Um, and yeah, we you know, we do. We offer internships, we offer fellowships, and those are amazing experiences.
(16:02):
But again, not necessary to go through the process of applying for the Foreign service, um, which again,
is a slightly different process than if you're looking at the civil service side of things.
Okay. Yeah. Fair enough. So, um.
Okay, so, hypothetically, I'm a senior in college.
(16:23):
Uh. I'm majoring in history.
I'm not exactly sure what I want to do. I'm going to graduate, you know, next year.
And I've had a couple of jobs here and there, but I'm not really, really clear of what I want to do yet.
And this this work sounds kind of interesting to me. Um, is it too late for me to really apply and get experience?
(16:48):
Absolutely not. And actually, on the Foreign Service side, the average age that people come in is in their early 30s.
So I think most people in the Foreign Service had another career before they came in.
But let me start with the fellowships. If if our history major thinks they want a master's degree, which is not required to join the Foreign Service,
(17:11):
but if you love school and you want it, apply for one of our fellowships.
The Pickering Fellowship or the Rangel Fellowship pays for a master's degree in any field related to U.S. foreign policy.
You do two paid internships over the summers, and then once you graduate, you commit to five years in the Foreign Service.
And, um, I guess I should run through real quickly in the Foreign Service side,
(17:34):
I kind of mentioned all the things we do, but on my side, we actually do have those career tracks.
So public diplomacy, for me, political and economic are fairly self-explanatory.
Those are the officers who are working on trade, investment, human rights issues, things like that.
We hire management officers, the people who handle the budgets and logistics.
They're like the CEOs of the embassy and then the counselor officers, the ones working with American citizens and facilitating travel.
(18:02):
Um, so, yeah, if you do one of the fellowships, you graduate, you pick one of those career tracks, you start your career as a foreign service officer.
That sounds like a really great program.
So it's graduate of the bachelors, but then you jump into a master's fellowship, you get your master's paid for internships that are paid for.
Right. And then you submit to five years of foreign service. Um, what's I imagine that's a pretty competitive process, right?
(18:28):
It is. It is competitive. But I know there have been, uh, Pickering and Rangel, fellows from South Dakota also.
Um, and the department is we do want the Foreign Service to reflect America and the full breadth of our diversity,
and that includes geographic diversity along with everything else.
And so you're not going to get the fellowship if you don't apply.
(18:50):
So it's competitive. But put your best foot forward and, you know, knock out an amazing application.
Yeah. Okay. So, um, so if graduate school is not the thing.
Yeah. Um, first off, you can start taking the Foreign Service officer test as soon as you turn 20.
And that is the entry way for foreign service generalists like me.
(19:15):
Um, most of us take it more than once. I took it three times.
Persistence is key, as I said before.
So you can go ahead and take the test, see what it's like knowing full well that again, most people get some experience before they come in.
And part of that is because when you do take the test,
you submit some narratives along with your application about how you've shown your managerial skills,
(19:39):
your communication skills, interpersonal skills, things like that.
Things that you might need some more time in the workplace to accumulate those examples.
So in the meantime, I just tell people like, live your fabulous life, right?
Like seek out opportunities that are going to help you grow.
If you end up in the job that you know is not your forever job,
(20:00):
you can still gain skills and experiences from that that relate to what you would do in the Foreign Service.
With that test, is there? Forgive me if you already said this. Is there a fee for that test?
Uh, no. It is free to apply. And so, yeah, if you're it's offered three times a year in February, June and October.
(20:22):
And, you know, there are people like me all across the country, diplomats and residents who provide advice.
We actually just did a virtual session last night to help prepare people taking the June test.
Um, if you are looking for the other side of it is our specialist careers.
Those are the people who come in with a skill set. So your IT majors, your engineers, um, office managers, special agents, things like that.
(20:49):
They they have a slightly different process.
They don't take that foreign service officer test, but they take a different, uh, test that's related to that specialty.
Okay. All right, fair enough. So. And actually, I'll throw out real, real quick, too.
There are two fellowships on that. If you have your your information technology people,
there's a fellowship that will pay for either a master's degree in an IT related field or anyone who is, uh,
(21:15):
I guess presently a freshman wrapping up their freshman year could apply this coming fall for that same fellowship,
and then it will cover junior and senior year of undergrad. Okay.
And then another fellowship for special agents will pay for a master's degree in any field.
And then you join the Bureau of Diplomatic Security as a special agent for a minimum of three years.
(21:38):
Okay. And that's fine. Uh, for any listeners, please note and go to the episode show notes.
Uh, there's going to be information. I'll have links in there for, for you to, to pursue some more of this information.
Yeah. Everything's out on careers.state.gov.
Uh, but again because of how many careers there are it's kind of easy to get lost in careers.
(22:00):
Dot state.gov. So um, if you do um my contact information will be out there uh, in the show notes to you and.
Reach out to me. I can help dig you out from wherever you got lost on careers that state that gov.
Um and talk through like what what are your interests and how does that align with what we do overseas representing the United States,
(22:23):
representing policy. Great.
Yeah. Um, so there's a lot of, kind of, a lot of information to take in, and they're kind of,
you know, a lot of questions that thinking about all the possibilities. Uh, so actually, one more question.
Uh, is there a sort of a season for applications for fellowships?
Uh, sort of timeline generally? Yes.
(22:47):
And each one's a little bit different. Um, so a lot of them are in the fall for the fellowships.
Um, the Pickering and Wrangell or typically in September.
Um, the Foreign Affairs, IT fellowship and the Clark Diplomatic Security Fellowship are kind of in the winter.
Um, and then our internships, those open up typically about eight months in advance of the internship window.
(23:15):
So in June, we expect that applications will open for spring of 2025 because you do need to get a security clearance.
Okay. So there's also one more that I'll mention real quick that's going to be opening in August.
It's an internship program called the US Foreign Service Internship Program, separate from our our regular student internship program.
(23:38):
And that one is specifically for students demonstrating financial need.
And so if there are Pell Grant students and others, um, who are interested, August, take a look at that one.
All right. Great. Are there some other details that that we haven't covered yet that you wanted to make sure to, to share?
And just on the on the practical side of things.
(24:02):
People say, oh, I, I have a family, I, I have pets.
How does that all work? Yeah, it is not like the military where you're deployed.
Families come along. Um, I, I don't have kids, but a lot of people do.
And, you know, there are schools overseas that your kids go to.
(24:22):
We have pets. Our pets come along.
My spouse, um, has Tello worked, uh, at times during the career, but then there are also jobs available at embassies and consulates for spouses.
And so he's also done that. There are some really great practical benefits here.
Housing is provided when you're overseas. We have a pension plus a retirement plan.
(24:45):
You get a stipend to send your kids to school. You get federal employee health insurance, which stays with you after you retire.
And so in addition to just overall, I would say, an incredibly meaningful career,
I wake up every morning and I know what it is that I'm working for, and that's very meaningful and worthwhile to me.
(25:05):
But there are some great benefits and the opportunity to travel the world and sometimes be the only American that someone has ever spoken to.
And to be able to represent your country that way, is it?
I can't imagine anything better. That was great.
Thanks so much for for taking the time to, uh, shed some light on, uh, work for State Department and, um.
(25:29):
Yeah, I really wish you well. So thank you so much, Kevin.
And, yeah, students and alumni are welcome to to reach out to me.
And if they want to talk more about what a career represented America can look like.
All right. Great. Thanks. Thank you for listening to Career Connections.
(25:50):
Please follow our podcast and your thoughts on other related topics and for topic suggestions or questions,
you may contact me at Kevin Dot Fullerton at SD state that Edu and for more information about my office please go to careers dot fd state that Edu.
Welcome to Career Connections. I'm your host, Kevin Fullerton, the director of career development at South Dakota State University.
In this episode, we get to learn from Sarah Valve using steely,
who is currently the diplomat in residence for the Central Region of the United States.
She shares a bit about her background, as well as how to apply for federal positions and great details about working for the State Department.
(00:29):
Our conversation provides a glimpse into the variety of opportunities available for multiple career paths within the federal government.
All right. Hello, sir. Thanks for joining us on the Crew Connections podcast.
Hi, Kevin. Thanks so much for having me. I'm really happy to be here.
So before we get into sort of the specifics of of kind of work for the State Department, I would like to just get some some background on you.
(00:54):
And how did you sort of arrive to where you're at? Yeah, it was a journey.
It's been a journey. I, I grew up in Oskaloosa, Iowa, which is a town of about 10,000 people.
I did my undergrad at Northwestern College of Iowa, uh, a couple hours southeast of here in Orange City.
(01:17):
And even though we're talking about the State Department, I did not major in political science or international relations.
I actually started out as a theater and secondary ed major, and then ended up graduating with, um, double major in theater, speech and communications.
From there, I worked for two minor league baseball teams in Montana and Iowa.
(01:40):
Huge baseball fan, right? Um, I worked in the hospitality industry.
I managed the convention space at a hotel, and then I worked in corporate marketing for a national accounting and consulting firm.
So, you know, nothing really in foreign affairs.
And then one day,
(02:01):
I just happened to read an interview with Colin Powell when he was secretary of state about the State Department and the Foreign Service.
And I had never again thought about the State Department, um, or our embassies.
I studied in London for a semester as a theater major. I met the ambassador once and still never thought who works at the embassy.
(02:22):
And then I read this interview and realized that their, I guess I should say,
if I had thought about the department, I maybe thought about the political officers.
Right. Like you're the the ones you think of as a stereotypical diplomat.
And then I read this interview and realized how many different people work on advancing U.S. foreign policy,
(02:44):
and that they live all around the world representing America,
and that there are public diplomacy officers who think about messaging and audience analysis.
And how do we talk about policy? And they work with the media while also managing these cultural programs and educational programs.
And so as someone with a background in theater and communications, I read that.
(03:06):
And like the light bulb went off, the angels sang, um, and I was like, yeah, I like that.
That's what I want to do. Okay.
So you mentioned, you know, working on policy and advancing policy.
Uh, can you just describe sort of, um, sort of briefly what that means?
(03:26):
Sure. I, you know, in my career, I've served at four embassies overseas.
I've served in Zambia, Latvia, Ghana, and most recently in Lithuania.
And at each embassy we put together, um, a strategy of what are the key issues in this country that we're working on.
And so, for example, in Lithuania, a lot of it was national security related because of their location on the eastern flank of NATO.
(03:54):
And so a lot of defense and NATO related policy there, as well as things like, um,
Holocaust related issues and Holocaust distortion and what happened in Lithuania during the Holocaust.
And so part of my job was, for example, working with non-profits to come up with curriculum that teachers could teach in schools to help students
(04:16):
understand that history and and hopefully prevent anything that atrocious from happening again in the future.
In in Ghana, there was a lot of more related to, to health and, um, to democracy and agriculture and things like that.
And so just the way that the U.S. government works together with citizens and governments in other countries.
(04:39):
To make the world safer, more prosperous, more democratic in ways that benefit them, but ultimately benefit citizens of the United States.
Wow. Okay. Yeah. It's really important work. Thank you.
Wow. Fantastic. So just your background and makes me feel like we could do several episodes about working for minor league baseball teams, like offer.
(05:03):
Oh, yeah. And that's. I mean, I feel like I remember, you know, you're in college and you think, like,
what's the thing I'm going to do in this pressure that, like, you have to figure it out right away and you don't.
And I meandered a while before I found what I was supposed to be doing.
Yeah. Yeah. For sure. And I say often that I didn't grow up saying I wanted to be a director of crew development, but my path led me here, you know.
(05:32):
Yeah. Grateful for my experiences. Yeah. Mhm. Okay.
Great.
And and I like the idea too of, of you know, that level of curiosity and that you have where you're, you're reading interviews for Colin Powell.
Right. And, and that content sort of really starts to inspire you about oh wait,
it shed some, some more light and more nuance onto the work that you're doing it.
(05:56):
And I think that's that's a really important thing for,
for students and for listeners to think about is you don't really know what it's going to be that really clicks and inspires you for that,
that, that path. But, um, yeah, to stay curious is always important.
Absolutely. Top notch advice.
Okay, so I kind of want to just so big picture think about federal jobs generally and talk about sort of the application process for that,
(06:24):
because I know it's kind of, uh, can be kind of daunting, maybe intimidating, but there's several steps involved in it.
Maybe you can sort of help the help, uh, dispel some of the mystery about what that process is like.
Sure. So in general, federal jobs, um, civil service, federal service jobs are going to be posted on USA jobs.gov.
(06:47):
And so I recommend that if you know people go out there, you can search by agency.
If there's a specific part of the government you know you want to work in.
There are so many different skill codes as well.
And so it's worth it for someone to go through that list of skill codes and decide which ones they're interested in and can qualify for.
(07:10):
And you can search by that. Um, you can search by location.
There's also there are hiring mechanisms if you are a person with a disability, if you're a veteran, if you're a recent graduate.
So there are all these different mechanisms for applying to the federal government.
Um, and so yeah, it can be intimidating.
(07:32):
But the first step I think is to make that USA jobs.gov account and just start kind of poking around a little bit to see what's out there.
Set up a saved search. And then so the government will post vacancy announcements.
It may be a one offs like a regular corporation where they're hiring one position.
(07:52):
Or sometimes an agency may need 12 budget analysts in different bureaus across their agency, and so they'll post one vacancy announcement.
Um, from that, you know, the persistence is key with all of these federal jobs.
Almost everybody who works for the federal government applied more than once.
(08:13):
And so keep up that same search. Check it.
Start drafting like a the basic outline of your resume in USA jobs,
because a federal resume is also going to be different from a private sector resume.
It will typically be longer. And you can have your basic info in there.
(08:34):
But once you see that vacancy announcement that you want to apply for it,
you really want to tailor your resume so that the hiring manager can draw a direct line from the skills that they're looking for and your experience.
Town. Yeah, great. So, uh, just I think that's an important point to think about is to.
(08:56):
It needs to be an active process. So you create the profile you apply for for one job and the work isn't done there.
Right. So. Right. So it's important to me to check on, uh, what's available here and those positions.
Can you describe a little bit more, uh, about what what you mean by a longer resume?
(09:19):
Sure. So, you know, I think when in the private sector, it's typically 1 to 2 pages, right?
Unless unless you have a lot, a lot of experience.
Um, but for the federal government, the vacancy announcements are going to be pretty lengthy,
and they're going to spell out exactly what they're looking for.
(09:39):
And your goal when you're applying is to meet the minimum qualifications.
And so you want to go through that point by point.
And then make sure that as you're putting your experience in your it's directly related to what they're looking for.
So when the hiring manager looks at it, they see that you check all the boxes that they're looking for.
(10:02):
And so it's a mixture of like thorough but concise, right.
Yeah. Um, but because of that, it's still the resume might end up being longer,
particularly as you get into, you know, your 20s and 30s and have more experience.
A federal resume could be 8 to 10 pages long.
Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for that. Even even just that page count.
(10:24):
You can get some sort of sense of of what we're talking about.
Uh, so when we talk about, like, private sector resumes, we usually have, you know,
the typical headings of like education and work experience, um, awards, maybe a volunteer service, stuff like that.
Um, how would you structure this resume?
(10:44):
Sort of the same way. Or is it, is it more really about like skills or just addressing what that job posting really is?
It's asking for, um, the, I guess I would say kind of a mixture and I'll, uh,
I'll say it for anyone who's looking at applying for civil service jobs, I would also, you know,
there are a lot of resources out there that go into greater depth on this since,
(11:06):
um, I'm more focused on the Foreign Service side, but in general, um, yeah, it is.
It's going to be very much focused on kind of the.
Yeah, the skills and the experience that you have, which I think can be ticked off a little bit in the header.
But then as you go through each one, each bit of your experience, um, really going into depth,
(11:29):
uh, because, yeah, if you look at that vacancy announcement, you'll see how in-depth those are.
And you just want to make sure that you're making it clear that you meet the minimum qualifications on every everything that they're looking for.
Right? Okay. Yeah. Thank you, Sarah. And students listening to this, please know, um, of course, you can stop by our office and, you know,
looking for an appointment that we can work with you specifically on, on this kind of this kind of stuff.
(11:52):
This is what we're here for as well. So. Yeah. And actually, I will put in my quick pitch.
I mentioned recent graduates. Um, that is part of the pathways federal government program.
Those are jobs that are specifically geared to get people who have graduated within the past two years into federal service.
And so that is a saved search. I would set up, uh, for sure, for students who are, um, getting ready to graduate and looking for jobs.
(12:17):
Great. All right. Thanks, Sarah. Okay, so I think now we're ready to kind of get into the State Department work.
And what does that actually look like? In short, like we're we're the agency that advances the president's foreign policy.
We're the ones who represent America overseas.
And so within the State Department, we we have the civil service side,
(12:39):
thousands of people who are working at headquarters in DC, as well as at passport agencies all across the country.
And then we have the Foreign Service, which is what I'm part of, and we are the ones working out of embassies and consulates all around the world.
Um, we do work in D.C. sometimes, too, or in Saint Louis, where I am now.
(13:01):
And but in general, we are the ones engaging with foreign governments on policy issues,
whether that's bilateral policy issues or global issues that we're working with allies to address.
We help Americans overseas. If you're traveling, we issued your passport.
Um, if you get hurt, sick, anything overseas?
(13:24):
Um, we're the ones who help for any of your international students at Sdsu.
We're the ones who facilitated their travel to the US by issuing them their student visa.
And again, if you think about. The whole breadth of policy issues.
We hire people with expertise in those areas, but also for applied careers.
(13:45):
So cybersecurity is a policy issue. How are we working with allies to thwart malign actors who are targeting infrastructure?
But then also we hire information technology professionals who have the applied career of protecting our own systems.
And so really, it's a. It's a broad career.
(14:06):
Uh, how do I want to say this? We hire from all backgrounds.
That's the easiest way to say it. Yeah, yeah.
So. And clearly illustrated by your background, you know, in the background of theater communications, right?
Yeah, absolutely. So. It's helpful to understand that and know that, you know, there's necessarily a specific thing that students should major in.
(14:31):
But as a student thinking about maybe, you know, pursuing a career with State Department, what is there a should like,
should I major in something, or what kinds of experience should I make sure to try and train game?
You know, I mean, I first off, I'm going to go back to what you said earlier.
Be curious. That's one of the biggest things.
(14:55):
Be someone who asks questions and thinks critically about about life and about issues.
Beyond that, though, for a major I, I tell people, major, what you're passionate about,
major, in what you're passionate about, because then you're going to be engaged.
You're going to be working hard and thinking.
(15:15):
Look for opportunities to lead, to be involved.
Because we don't require a specific major or anything like that.
What we do look at are what are called the dimensions.
There are 11 of them. That is things like critical thinking, judgment, integrity, planning and organizing, um, communication skills, things like that.
(15:39):
And people think, oh, I don't have a lot of international experiences.
I don't speak another language. That doesn't matter.
We're looking at those dimensions and you can develop those dimensions in Brookings just as well as you can in Budapest.
Um, and yeah, we you know, we do. We offer internships, we offer fellowships, and those are amazing experiences.
(16:02):
But again, not necessary to go through the process of applying for the Foreign service, um, which again,
is a slightly different process than if you're looking at the civil service side of things.
Okay. Yeah. Fair enough. So, um.
Okay, so, hypothetically, I'm a senior in college.
(16:23):
Uh. I'm majoring in history.
I'm not exactly sure what I want to do. I'm going to graduate, you know, next year.
And I've had a couple of jobs here and there, but I'm not really, really clear of what I want to do yet.
And this this work sounds kind of interesting to me. Um, is it too late for me to really apply and get experience?
(16:48):
Absolutely not. And actually, on the Foreign Service side, the average age that people come in is in their early 30s.
So I think most people in the Foreign Service had another career before they came in.
But let me start with the fellowships. If if our history major thinks they want a master's degree, which is not required to join the Foreign Service,
(17:11):
but if you love school and you want it, apply for one of our fellowships.
The Pickering Fellowship or the Rangel Fellowship pays for a master's degree in any field related to U.S. foreign policy.
You do two paid internships over the summers, and then once you graduate, you commit to five years in the Foreign Service.
And, um, I guess I should run through real quickly in the Foreign Service side,
(17:34):
I kind of mentioned all the things we do, but on my side, we actually do have those career tracks.
So public diplomacy, for me, political and economic are fairly self-explanatory.
Those are the officers who are working on trade, investment, human rights issues, things like that.
We hire management officers, the people who handle the budgets and logistics.
They're like the CEOs of the embassy and then the counselor officers, the ones working with American citizens and facilitating travel.
(18:02):
Um, so, yeah, if you do one of the fellowships, you graduate, you pick one of those career tracks, you start your career as a foreign service officer.
That sounds like a really great program.
So it's graduate of the bachelors, but then you jump into a master's fellowship, you get your master's paid for internships that are paid for.
Right. And then you submit to five years of foreign service. Um, what's I imagine that's a pretty competitive process, right?
(18:28):
It is. It is competitive. But I know there have been, uh, Pickering and Rangel, fellows from South Dakota also.
Um, and the department is we do want the Foreign Service to reflect America and the full breadth of our diversity,
and that includes geographic diversity along with everything else.
And so you're not going to get the fellowship if you don't apply.
(18:50):
So it's competitive. But put your best foot forward and, you know, knock out an amazing application.
Yeah. Okay. So, um, so if graduate school is not the thing.
Yeah. Um, first off, you can start taking the Foreign Service officer test as soon as you turn 20.
And that is the entry way for foreign service generalists like me.
(19:15):
Um, most of us take it more than once. I took it three times.
Persistence is key, as I said before.
So you can go ahead and take the test, see what it's like knowing full well that again, most people get some experience before they come in.
And part of that is because when you do take the test,
you submit some narratives along with your application about how you've shown your managerial skills,
(19:39):
your communication skills, interpersonal skills, things like that.
Things that you might need some more time in the workplace to accumulate those examples.
So in the meantime, I just tell people like, live your fabulous life, right?
Like seek out opportunities that are going to help you grow.
If you end up in the job that you know is not your forever job,
(20:00):
you can still gain skills and experiences from that that relate to what you would do in the Foreign Service.
With that test, is there? Forgive me if you already said this. Is there a fee for that test?
Uh, no. It is free to apply. And so, yeah, if you're it's offered three times a year in February, June and October.
(20:22):
And, you know, there are people like me all across the country, diplomats and residents who provide advice.
We actually just did a virtual session last night to help prepare people taking the June test.
Um, if you are looking for the other side of it is our specialist careers.
Those are the people who come in with a skill set. So your IT majors, your engineers, um, office managers, special agents, things like that.
(20:49):
They they have a slightly different process.
They don't take that foreign service officer test, but they take a different, uh, test that's related to that specialty.
Okay. All right, fair enough. So. And actually, I'll throw out real, real quick, too.
There are two fellowships on that. If you have your your information technology people,
there's a fellowship that will pay for either a master's degree in an IT related field or anyone who is, uh,
(21:15):
I guess presently a freshman wrapping up their freshman year could apply this coming fall for that same fellowship,
and then it will cover junior and senior year of undergrad. Okay.
And then another fellowship for special agents will pay for a master's degree in any field.
And then you join the Bureau of Diplomatic Security as a special agent for a minimum of three years.
(21:38):
Okay. And that's fine. Uh, for any listeners, please note and go to the episode show notes.
Uh, there's going to be information. I'll have links in there for, for you to, to pursue some more of this information.
Yeah. Everything's out on careers.state.gov.
Uh, but again because of how many careers there are it's kind of easy to get lost in careers.
(22:00):
Dot state.gov. So um, if you do um my contact information will be out there uh, in the show notes to you and.
Reach out to me. I can help dig you out from wherever you got lost on careers that state that gov.
Um and talk through like what what are your interests and how does that align with what we do overseas representing the United States,
(22:23):
representing policy. Great.
Yeah. Um, so there's a lot of, kind of, a lot of information to take in, and they're kind of,
you know, a lot of questions that thinking about all the possibilities. Uh, so actually, one more question.
Uh, is there a sort of a season for applications for fellowships?
Uh, sort of timeline generally? Yes.
(22:47):
And each one's a little bit different. Um, so a lot of them are in the fall for the fellowships.
Um, the Pickering and Wrangell or typically in September.
Um, the Foreign Affairs, IT fellowship and the Clark Diplomatic Security Fellowship are kind of in the winter.
Um, and then our internships, those open up typically about eight months in advance of the internship window.
(23:15):
So in June, we expect that applications will open for spring of 2025 because you do need to get a security clearance.
Okay. So there's also one more that I'll mention real quick that's going to be opening in August.
It's an internship program called the US Foreign Service Internship Program, separate from our our regular student internship program.
(23:38):
And that one is specifically for students demonstrating financial need.
And so if there are Pell Grant students and others, um, who are interested, August, take a look at that one.
All right. Great. Are there some other details that that we haven't covered yet that you wanted to make sure to, to share?
And just on the on the practical side of things.
(24:02):
People say, oh, I, I have a family, I, I have pets.
How does that all work? Yeah, it is not like the military where you're deployed.
Families come along. Um, I, I don't have kids, but a lot of people do.
And, you know, there are schools overseas that your kids go to.
(24:22):
We have pets. Our pets come along.
My spouse, um, has Tello worked, uh, at times during the career, but then there are also jobs available at embassies and consulates for spouses.
And so he's also done that. There are some really great practical benefits here.
Housing is provided when you're overseas. We have a pension plus a retirement plan.
(24:45):
You get a stipend to send your kids to school. You get federal employee health insurance, which stays with you after you retire.
And so in addition to just overall, I would say, an incredibly meaningful career,
I wake up every morning and I know what it is that I'm working for, and that's very meaningful and worthwhile to me.
(25:05):
But there are some great benefits and the opportunity to travel the world and sometimes be the only American that someone has ever spoken to.
And to be able to represent your country that way, is it?
I can't imagine anything better. That was great.
Thanks so much for for taking the time to, uh, shed some light on, uh, work for State Department and, um.
(25:29):
Yeah, I really wish you well. So thank you so much, Kevin.
And, yeah, students and alumni are welcome to to reach out to me.
And if they want to talk more about what a career represented America can look like.
All right. Great. Thanks. Thank you for listening to Career Connections.
(25:50):
Please follow our podcast and your thoughts on other related topics and for topic suggestions or questions,
you may contact me at Kevin Dot Fullerton at SD state that Edu and for more information about my office please go to careers dot fd state that Edu.
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