I'm committed. 1 1/2 months from now I'm taking the PHR. 3 months from now I should be taking the FSOT. That means the next few months will be dedicated to preparation for both tests.
Luckily, I have already taken prep classes for the PHR so all I need to do for that is review. As for the FSOT, I've already downloaded the study guide and started requesting books from the recommended reading list. I took the practice test that came with the study guide and it helped relieve some of my worries. I think if I take the time to review things like history, grammar rules, business, and stay up on current events I should be okay. The tests cover a lot of areas, and they can't possibly expect anyone to be an expert on all of them. It contains a lot of information so I can see why so many people recommend it.
The same goes for the book Realities of Foreign Service Life. Far from scaring me away with the often sad stories, the book only increased my desire to join. Two big things I have learned from it: It's hard to be in the foreign service with children and anything involving food is important. It also helped me feel more confident about dragging my husband along. My husband wants to do freelance writing and editing and that's probably one of the easier careers to tag along with a foreign service spouse. I've already ordered the second book and I look forward to a lot of reading over the next few months. Good thing I'm such a bibliophile.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
It's official
This has been a busy last month. I ended one job and started another. All in all, I was only unemployed for about a week. Unexpected, but happy. So where does this leave my FSO plans?
Well, on Sunday, March 1st, I submitted my application. And on Monday, March 2nd, I got the confirmation email that around April 29th I'll get an email telling me to sign up for a seat for the June testing window. It's official now. I have 4 months to study and prepare for the written exam. Oh, and did I mention I also signed up for the PHR May testing window? That's right, I have to prep for my HR certification test at the same time.
Can you say glutton for punishment? Or maybe you could just call me driven. Why did I sign up so soon for the FSOT? Well, my new position is contract, not a permanent position, so I have no idea how long it will last. Right now, I have more to lose if I don't jump in and go for it. The next few months are going to be intense though.
Well, on Sunday, March 1st, I submitted my application. And on Monday, March 2nd, I got the confirmation email that around April 29th I'll get an email telling me to sign up for a seat for the June testing window. It's official now. I have 4 months to study and prepare for the written exam. Oh, and did I mention I also signed up for the PHR May testing window? That's right, I have to prep for my HR certification test at the same time.
Can you say glutton for punishment? Or maybe you could just call me driven. Why did I sign up so soon for the FSOT? Well, my new position is contract, not a permanent position, so I have no idea how long it will last. Right now, I have more to lose if I don't jump in and go for it. The next few months are going to be intense though.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A selfish kind of love
This weekend I finally told my mom about being laid off. She has a lot of stress on her plate right now and I have been hesitant to contribute to it. I was talking to her about my plans and mentioned to her that I was planning on taking the FSOT this year, maybe in only a few months (yikes! so soon!) if my job hunt wasn't going well.
Now, I didn't expect her to be happy. My sister isn't even happy about it because she doesn't want me to be so far away. What I didn't expect was for my mom to tell me that, and I quote, she wants me to fail horribly. Sigh. She doesn't want me to possibly go to a country where my life would be put at risk. But really, fail horribly? I guess that's love, if only an incredibly selfish kind of love that has completely effed up priorities.
She also seems to hope I lose my house and have to live with her. Yeah, no. Do other people who join the foreign service face these kinds of issues from their family?
Now, I didn't expect her to be happy. My sister isn't even happy about it because she doesn't want me to be so far away. What I didn't expect was for my mom to tell me that, and I quote, she wants me to fail horribly. Sigh. She doesn't want me to possibly go to a country where my life would be put at risk. But really, fail horribly? I guess that's love, if only an incredibly selfish kind of love that has completely effed up priorities.
She also seems to hope I lose my house and have to live with her. Yeah, no. Do other people who join the foreign service face these kinds of issues from their family?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Shifting priorities
I would have blogged about this sooner, but I've been busy (no excuse, right?). Last week I received some bad news; I'm being laid off from my current position on Feb. 6th. Not completely unexpected, but still a big blow. Just when I thought I had laid out some nice goals and plans for 2009, this comes along and shakes everything up.
This is when it is good to be flexible and resilient. Thankfully, I'm both. So how is job searching going to be affecting this blog and my FSO goals? Well, that depends. If I don't have a new position by April/May, I may decide to move up my plans of taking the FSOT. No point in waiting around until Oct. if I need a job now. However, if I secure a position relatively quickly (crosses fingers), then I'll probably push back my plans again. I'm not a job hopper so I would never want to leave a job so quickly, assuming I passed the tests and all.
Things are up in the air at the moment, but the blog will continue! Let's see how things play out.
This is when it is good to be flexible and resilient. Thankfully, I'm both. So how is job searching going to be affecting this blog and my FSO goals? Well, that depends. If I don't have a new position by April/May, I may decide to move up my plans of taking the FSOT. No point in waiting around until Oct. if I need a job now. However, if I secure a position relatively quickly (crosses fingers), then I'll probably push back my plans again. I'm not a job hopper so I would never want to leave a job so quickly, assuming I passed the tests and all.
Things are up in the air at the moment, but the blog will continue! Let's see how things play out.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Hello 2009
It is the new year and I know it will go by fast. I have decided that I will sign up for the FSOT testing window for October of this year. That means I have a lot of preparations to make in about 10 months. Yikes.
This is earlier than I was planning on taking the test because I wanted to give myself more time to prepare. I'm sure that to a certain extent I am overly worried about my abilities. However, I would rather be over prepared for the test than under prepared and fail horribly. But if I don't pass, I can still take it the following year. I lose nothing by taking the test this year and probably have a lot more to gain.
So with my goal set I have a bunch of things I need to get done. Please look forward to posts on that later this month. And no, I'm not making these resolutions, I hate making resolutions.
This is earlier than I was planning on taking the test because I wanted to give myself more time to prepare. I'm sure that to a certain extent I am overly worried about my abilities. However, I would rather be over prepared for the test than under prepared and fail horribly. But if I don't pass, I can still take it the following year. I lose nothing by taking the test this year and probably have a lot more to gain.
So with my goal set I have a bunch of things I need to get done. Please look forward to posts on that later this month. And no, I'm not making these resolutions, I hate making resolutions.
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