The Bid List is Upon Us!

I can't believe it, but it's actually time for Sarah and I to start bidding on our second assignment in the Foreign Service!  We just got the list of available positions, so Sarah and I have been excitedly going over all the different places around the world that we may be moving to in 2015.  But let me back up, and explain the process a little bit. 

As you may recall from previous blog posts, the first two assignments in the Foreign Service (FS) are "directed assignments."  What that means is that we receive a list of available positions around the world, and then tell the State Department which ones we are interested in.  They then make the assignments for us, and we are basically bound to accept them.  This is different from mid-level assignments, where you personally contact the posts you are interested in, and lobby for assignments.  You are also allowed to turn them down if they don't interest you.  Not so with your first two tours. 

For first-tour officers (which I was in September of last year), they receive a list of basically all the leftover positions around the world, which is why there are quite a few positions on that list that many people would consider slightly less-desirable (Lagos (Nigeria), Dakar (Senegal), etc).  For my first-tour list, we received a list of about 90 positions and had to rank all of them high, medium, or low.  We then found out our assignment on Flag Day at the end of our six-week orientation class.

For second-tour officers (which I will be soon), the process is a bit different, because it introduces the concept of "equity."  Essentially, how difficult your first assignment was will determine the order in which you bid on your second assignment.  Ciudad Juarez is considered a high equity post, meaning we will get to bid in the first group of bidders.  Basically, assignments will be handed out in the following order: first to FSOs in Sudan and similar locales; then us; then the rest of the world. 

Also unlike the first assignment, Sarah and I now have a much larger list to choose from.  There are about 400 positions available worldwide, and Sarah and I only have to rank our top 30.  Although there are 400 available positions, however, not all of them will work for our timing.  For example, I am scheduled to leave post in April 2015.  If there is a spot in Rome that opens in May 2015, I wouldn't be allowed to bid on it because there wouldn't be enough time for the State Department to teach me Italian.  So it can be a bit of a bummer when you see amazing locations on the list, but realize the timing just won't work.

Sarah and I have just about finalized our list of 30 assignments around the globe.  I won't be posting it online because I don't want to somehow jinx ourselves.  We're hoping to find out sometime in early December.  Wish us luck!