US STATE DEPARTMENT CAREERS (including Foreign Service)

The UO Main Campus Career Center is delighted to host US Department of State representative Ms. Brooks Robinson, Diplomat-in-Residence, UC Berkeley, on Thursday, October 6. She will speak about State Department careers and internship opportunities. Ms. Robinson is a 25-year Senior Foreign Service Officer and has most recently served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Liberia. Before that, she held public diplomacy positions at three posts in Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, and Swaziland) and at the US Mission to the UN in Geneva.

Familiarize yourself with the State Department website before attending the sessions below.

State Department Internships Q & A (drop-in)
9:30-11:30 a.m., Career Center, 220 Hendricks Hall (2nd floor).
Attend this informal opportunity to ask questions about State Department summer internships with the experts before you apply (Application deadline: November 1). More information is available at http://careers.state.gov/students/programs. Also, see the Government Honors & Internship Handbook for information targeted to law students (Check the Career Center tab under MyLaw for the link and password information).

State Department Careers & Internship Presentation
12-1:30 p.m., Knight Library Browsing Room.
Learn about what a Foreign Service Officer does and what the selection process entails. Foreign Service with the State Department offers an opportunity for public service, challenge, lifelong learning, and foreign language study, all while living and working overseas.

Graduate Students: Meet One-on-One with the Diplomat-in-Residence
3-5 p.m., Career Center, 220 Hendricks Hall (2nd floor).
Meet briefly (15 minutes) with Ms. Robinson to ask questions and share your unique work experience and background. Feel free to bring your resume to share. RSVP to Tina Haynes with your first two choices of times to meet with Ms. Robinson between 3 and 5 p.m.

The Foreign Service Officer Test is an ideal first step to joining the US Department of State. For more information and to register, go to http://careers.state.gov/officer/selection-process. Neil Hop (UO Law ‘01) took and passed the Foreign Service Exam during his second year of law school. (The process at that time was more lengthy. If you are interested in taking the test, go to the information session and ask about current timing.) Neil’s legal background has often been very useful to him; he has worked in Israel, Chile, and Iraq, and he completed a year of Arabic training in Tunisia in preparation for working in Qatar as the Political-Economic Chief. He is happy to answer questions from UO Law students; if you are interested, contact the Law School Career Center.

The Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) is administered three times per year; one location has been on the UO campus. The next test is in February 2012. You may submit your registration at any time, and you are encouraged to register well in advance.

See http://careers.state.gov/officer/selection-process for more information. For an online exploration of diplomatic history and foreign affairs, please visit http://www.USDiplomacy.org.