Are you planning on registering for the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) soon? Several times a year, the registration window opens. Since 2019, applicants have to submit their Personal Narratives when they register.
These six short stories require you to write about your work history clearly and very concisely. You’ve got only 1300 characters* per response — not words but characters — and you want to stand out in all the right ways!
If you’re staring at that blank page and feeling unsure of how to begin, check out my top tips on how to get started. If you’d like to chat about it, contact me.
Helpful links & a free video at https://globalnomadenglish.com/foreignservice/
Top Tips for Drafting your Narratives
Step 1. Print out the Core Precepts and grab a drink.
Use the Core Precepts** to brainstorm stories from your work history. The Personal Narrative questions directly correspond to the Precepts for the promotion of current Officers and Specialists.
Before you choose your narratives, it’s important that you understand how the Foreign Service defines: Leadership, Management, Interpersonal, Communication, and Intellectual Skills. Using the Precepts to help you brainstorm means that you’ll see and incorporate keywords from their definitions, which should prompt you to think of stories that best exemplify your skills.
I usually suggest grabbing a beer or a glass of wine (or, if you don’t drink, then go for a walk). The key is to get out of your head, let your mind wander, and turn off the internal editor that stops you from considering work stories and life experiences that you think aren’t good enough.
You’re just brainstorming, so relax! As Anne Lamott says, you have to get it down before you can fix it up. Don’t cut ideas before you’ve given them a chance.
Remember, you’re being compared to the other applicants, so you want to be a flamingo in a flock of pigeons. Think outside of the box about your experience!
If you don’t take the time to read through the Core Precepts, at the very least print out the six Personal Narrative questions, highlight keywords, and brainstorm your answers based on the most important words in the questions.
(You can find pdfs of the Core Precepts and Personal Narrative questions at https://globalnomadenglish.com/foreignservice/ )
Step 2. Outline and organize your narratives.
Answer the questions by following the pattern they give you. If you read the questions, you’ll see that the last line of each one (except Substantive Knowledge, which I’ll address later) ends with some variation of: identify the goal or problem, the steps you took, and the result.
If you’ve ever used STAR to answer behavioral interview questions, then this will sound familiar. Each of your answers should explain the Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
I find that answering direct questions helps people write their responses more easily, so simply ask yourself:
- What was my situation at the time?
- What was I trying to do?
- What did I do and how did I do it?
- What happened as a result?
Use these questions to help turn the stories you brainstormed into quick outlined answers. If you can’t quickly outline your story in the STAR format, then maybe it’s a better answer to an interview question later.
Be sure to choose narratives that require as little background info as possible. You’ve only got 1300 characters, so you don’t have room to explain a complicated situation.
Don’t waste too many words explaining where you were or what happened to you. Focus on what you did and why it matters.
Also, don’t forget to show not just what you did but how you did it. Walk the reader through your thought process (especially for Intellectual Skills).
Step 3. Know your ‘Why’ and connect the dots.
The STAR format ends with Result, but don’t stop there! Don’t make your reader guess why you’re sharing this particular story. Far too often when I edit Personal Narratives, I find that the writer stops before answering the real question: what does this narrative show about who you are, how you think, and what you can do?
The result of your actions might be that you saved your former company money, but “So what?” Don’t make the reader guess WHY you’re telling this. particular. story. Connect the dots for them.
- What does it show about you?
- What did you learn from the experience that will help you in the future?
- What strengths does it highlight?
You can call it a Summary or So what? or Show or Strengths, but don’t forget that final, hidden S in STAR(S).
Finish with a strong closing sentence that reminds the reader why you’re sharing this narrative. Tie it up in a little bow, present it on a platter…make it easy for the reader to immediately make a connection between your narrative and what it shows about your ability to do the job.
Step 4. Draft the Substantive Knowledge question last.
As I said, the other five narratives all end with similar guidance on how to organize your answer. Substantive Knowledge is different. It’s essentially asking: why do want this job and why do you think you’d be good at it?
For most clients I’ve worked with, this is the most challenging question, so I suggest saving it until you’ve written your other responses.
By answering the other questions first, you’ll hopefully build your confidence by seeing all the amazing stuff you’ve done. You’ll remind yourself why you’re awesome and why you really are a good fit for the job!
You also may see a theme or persona begin to emerge from your different stories. Your Substantive Knowledge response serves as a sort of mission statement. Use it to tie together your work experience into a tight summary of who you are and what you can bring to the table. And don’t forget to directly address why you want the job!
Step 5. Get feedback.
Sometimes it can be difficult to know if you’re giving too many details or too few. Other times you might have trouble deciding which story to choose. Often, a narrative may be a good fit for several questions, so how do you decide whether a particular story best shows your communication skills or your interpersonal skills?
It’s really easy to get stuck in your own head and feel indecisive and then spiral into feeling like an imposter… We’ve all been there when applying for jobs!
That’s why it’s so important to get honest, objective feedback. Ask family and friends to read your narratives. If they have questions, then perhaps you didn’t explain the situation clearly enough. If they think you’ve done a fantastic job, but you think they’re just being nice, then come talk to me. 😉
I offer helpful, objective feedback on what’s working and what isn’t. And I can also use my expert ninja editing skills to make sure you’re under the character limit.
Contact me if you’re interested in learning more about my Personal Narrative Editing Package.
* If you’re applying for a Specialist position, you get slightly more space at 2000 characters per answer, but you also have to submit a Statement of Interest when you apply. I offer editing services for both Officers and Specialists.
** The Core Precepts that guide promotions for Foreign Service Officers and Specialists changed in April 2022. However, I haven’t yet heard any news about whether the Personal Narrative questions will be updated to match the new Precepts. For now, the questions conform to the Precepts from the last rating cycles.