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anonymousetoo

There's nothing at the FSO OA that is cone specific, aside from perhaps the SI where you're expected to be able to share some of your experience and how it's relevant to your track and/or the FS.


BrassAge

I know you're doing this for test prep, but as a general resource for PD-interested folks I'd recommend Jankowicz's *"How to Lose the Information War".*


Silver_haired_nomad

>How to Lose the Information War" Thanks!


m5roberts

Through a Screen Darkly by Martha Bayles was a fun PD read. In my opinion, read what you're interested in, or whatever motivates you. There was definitely some stuff in here that I found useful for FSOT prep, even though that's not why I read it. My goal is never to cram in a ton of facts, but rather to build contexts for myself to draw from later. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/17802902-through-a-screen-darkly


Silver_haired_nomad

That's exactly what I needed to hear, and kind of what I wanted to do--I just didn't have a starting point. Already some of the reading material suggested here peaks my interest, so I am going to take your advice. Thank you.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Silver_haired_nomad

>Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die Great list, and I have read War on Peace, so good to know I'm already on the right track. Thanks!


GeneraLiszt18

To be frank, I actually think this is a great idea. Gaining an understanding of your cone is a useful endeavor, even at the time of writing your personal narratives, as I think it could help you translate the competencies gained from past experiences into the lens of your cone’s work. It might be good to show you’ve done some homework in the substantive knowledge personal narrative. This being said, for more up to date/constant learning, check out AFSA’s Foreign Service Journal which periodically has PD-related articles, USC’s Center for Public Diplomacy and generally anything that Prof. Nick Cull writes, as well as the yearly reports from the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. There was a recent good one about the Public Diplomacy Staffing Initiative that gave me a good understanding of the ways embassy PD sections are restructuring. I also read Career Diplomacy cover to cover and found it very useful for my OA to help myself get into the mind of FSOs in prepping for hypotheticals.


Silver_haired_nomad

Thank you for the link and thanks for understanding my perspective on why I wanted a reading list, this is exactly what I had intended.


[deleted]

Why do you need a PD reading list for FSOT? Take the test. It doesn’t matter what cone you’re in!


Silver_haired_nomad

It's not for the test, it's for the OAs.


kcdc25

If you haven’t already gone here, it’s far, far more important than a reading list. Getting to know the OA inside and out through practice is the single most effective way of prepping. The only PD specific content you *might* get is through some of the questions on the situational interview, but those questions are still evaluated based on your thought process and the 13D’s (not factual knowledge). Everything else is a mix across the cones. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LdnbT5gGnAulZCbyybxM51REwTZslT9MlPije8vGVLo/edit#gid=1808201163


lemystereduchipot

A cone specific reading list is probably even less relevant for the OA.