Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

Has anyone every worked at an embassy? I had an interview for being the assistant to the RELO (Region English Language Officer=, which basically was to be a glorified secretary. I never called to see if I had passed the test.

It seems like it would be difficult to get into the American or British embassies. What about other countries? Anyone have experience with this?

[william wallace]

The Canadian way is so PC, I'd have better luck at other embassies.The Beijing embassy was competitive in 1996, so it must be a lottery now.

[spiral78]

I THINK you can only get work at the Embassy representing a country you are a citizen of, or at an Embassy representing a different country when the Embassy is located in your country:
in the US Embassy in Prague, for example, there are Czechs and Americans working, but they wouldn't process an application from, say, a Canadian. I have a friend who works there, and this came up in conversation a few years back. Perhaps it's different for other countries, but it seems quite logical for Embassy work...

That would narrow the field quite a bit, if it's true.

Though I suppose if you had really specialized skills and experience, that you might be valuable enough to be an exception.

[Frizzie Lizzie]

I have friends working at embassies, but they were recruited in their country of residence and went abroad to only work for their country's consulates and embassies. Most of them are law graduates.

[rusmeister]

[spiral78]

They don't all work in citizen services. They run the security checks, do paperwork in the background, and liason with local authorities. They deal with their countrypersons in terms of visas.

They're essential.

But I agree they might be annoying in citizen services, particularly if their language skills are lacking.

[spiral78]

By security, I don't mean researching your background. I mean scanning your belongings through metal detectors to ascertain that you're safe to allow inside.

[rusmeister]

Right. I know all that. My point is that if they are in citizen services, their poor English (and it's usually not that poor) might not be the biggest concern. Again, if you have ever gotten static from a foreigner, through whom you have to go in your own bloody embassy to apply for something, you will know what I am talking about. There's something really wrong about having a Russian or Chinese guy tell you you can't do/have something you're applying for. Sure, maybe they hold a US passport or green card, but when they are not your people, you will probably find it particularly upsetting.

[misterkodak]

I have to agree with Rusmeister. To be honest, I avoid consulates and embassies like the plague. I've only had negative experiences with them. The first time I had to deal with it was when I was in the military and my passport expired and we were going to do a deployment. (The logic of having to have a passport to sleep in the desert escapes me!) I to do it through the embassy in Bonn. They told me it would take 4-6 weeks to have done. When I returned to where I was stationed, our base commander called up some places and chewed some backside and I had my passport within 10 days. It wasn't a big secret back then that the state department people really didn't care for the military. They like to use our facilities but moan when they have to work.
The latest run in I've had with "diplomacy in action" was when I went to the US embassy in Ankara. There's nothing like being frisked down by guys wearing domino's pizza delivery costumes who don't speak English. They were the security geeks at the gate. Once inside, some weasely looking non-US person squawking orders at people in Turkish and Farsi tells my wife that the photos she and my stepdaughter took aren't appropriate because their ears aren't showing and they're smiling. WTF? We followed the instructions they gave us. When I told him this and also asked to see an American, said person told me "Don't give me problems or you won't get your greencards." I have a suspicion this idiot was running a scheme with the photo shop around the corner. Anyhow, once we did get inside and to the interview, everything else went smoothly. My congressman did get a letter about weaselman.
I have no desire to work for an embassy or consulate. They all seem like clueless ivy league people who are on vacation at taxpayer's expense.

[Dillinger]

About a year ago there as an ad here in Laos looking for a part time English teacher for Lao staff at the US Embassy and at the Ambassador's residence. US citizens preferred. My non-US colleagues were quite jealous. Conventional wisdom here is that if you teach for an NGO or an Embassy then you can expect big bucks.

I went in for an interview and the experience was pretty awful. The American woman who interviewed me was brusque, ingnorant of teaching credentials ("CELTA what?"), and rather openly condescending. In short, she was undiplomatic. To top it off, it turned out that the pay they were offering was about 50% below the standard rate for private teaching gigs. I pointed this out to the interviewer and she rather snidely told me that they had done their research and knew what the language schools paid. And after all that, I didn't even get the job.

Every embassy must be a different experience because like any organization it depends on the quality of the people you're working with. The only positive experiences I've had at the US Embassy here have been with the Lao staff.

Which brings me to your post Rusmeister:

"There's something really wrong about having a Russian or Chinese guy tell you you can't do/have something you're applying for. Sure, maybe they hold a US passport or green card, but when they are not your people, you will probably find it particularly upsetting."

Maybe I've misunderstood but if we're talking about America and these people have "a US passport or green card" then what exactly does "not your people" mean? Do you mean they're not white? Not a native born citizen? I don't see how a bureaucratic dead-end would be any more or less frustrating if the bureaucrat in question did not look of sound like oneself.

[rusmeister]

[coffeedrinker]

Hmm...reading this thread makes me re-examine my belief that embassy staff are paid too much...

[Justin Trullinger]