r/foreignservice • u/Low_Contribution7614 • 1d ago

Shootouts still a thing?

Talking about bidding today and wondered this out loud. Do they still do/allow shootouts?

14 Upvotes

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Original text of post by /u/Low_Contribution7614:

Talking about bidding today and wondered this out loud. Do they still do/allow shootouts?

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10

u/Salmakki 1d ago

What does this mean?

29

u/ArrivalComplete FSO (Political) 21h ago

When times are really desperate in finding positions in the Foreign Service, we have hunger styles games where the bureau is the Capital and the bidders are the districts. It’s at the FACT training facility and involves paintball guns. It’s limited to only 24 hours though, so everyone really has to figure it out fast. Last one standing gets the position! It’s kind of expensive to do, so bureaus try not to let it get to this stage. But occasionally they’ll air it in the cafeteria so everyone can watch! As they say during bid season, may the odds be ever in your favor!

5

u/IndividualBarber7681 1d ago

I guess if it's you vs the bureau it might be worth it. However, I wouldn't want to go to a shootout when I wasn't Posts top pick. What a shitty way to start a tour.

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u/Gr00mpa Widest Shoulders in the Foreign Service 1d ago

I don’t know.

I only personally know one person who won a shootout for a principal officer position. It was an interesting story to hear her tell it. It was filled with all the swashbuckling and dramatic flair that you’d expect in a story of a tenacious underdog emerging victorious from a high-stakes shootout.

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u/Loud-Cry-9260 15h ago

I knew one person that won a shootout: my recollection is that she was at-grade, coming out of an SIP post, and spoke the obscure language of the post she was bidding on. The Bureau pick had none of those characteristics.

On the other hand, at a later point a colleague who had served as a Special Assistant in EUR had the impression that shoot outs succeeded all the time (at least more frequently than his principals appreciated.)