U.S. Department of State

Office as

July 2017 - August 2018 • Nogales, AZ

What I liked

I got to do some fairly substantial stuff some of the time, got to help out with cool cases, et cetera.

What I wish was different

I had a lot of unstructured time which felt wasteful

Advice

Don't do the "dress to impress" thing. Dress like a normal human being and do well when asked to do well and be consistent. If that isn't enough in your workplace to do alright, unionize or something.

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USFSIP Intern

June - August 2019 • Washington, DC

What I liked

The practical work experience and exposure to U.S. government.

What I wish was different

I wish I had taken advantage of people in other Bureaus more.

Advice

Learn how to write and do not be afraid to speak up.

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Department of State Intern

May - December 2019 • North Charleston, SC

What I liked

Learning how government did their job to give back to the country.

What I wish was different

University of Miami could offer more online course choice.

Advice

When ever I encounter the difficulties in the training, I always tell myself that I am blessed to be offer this opportunity. I need to give myself the chance to do it right.

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Consular Intern

June - August 2019 • Washington, DC

What I liked

The other foreign service and civil service officers were very helpful and welcomed me in from day 1. The training I went though before starting geared me to fully understand the different areas of the Department and how they function. Being young and living in Washington D.C is an amazing experience in itself. You get to meet so many other motivated young students wanting to truly make a change in the world.

What I wish was different

Advice

Network with as many people as you can while you're there. There are so many meetings and events to go all day at the Department and in general in DC. Try to go to at least a few events a week and network. In the ten weeks I made so many contacts that I still keep in touch with.

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us department of state intern

June - August 2019 • Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region

What I liked

I was able to experience all aspects of work as a foreign service officer. Because of that, I was able to meet Chilean government officials and members of the private sector and see how the US government work with foreign countries to create stronger bonds. I was also able to practice my Spanish and travel!

What I wish was different

Advice

Get involved in as many projects and possible and volunteer to go to meetings. Even when they don’t seem interesting, they are great learning experiences.

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Intern

May - August 2018 • Washington, DC

What I liked

The experience aligned perfectly with my future career plans. They had a well-developed intern program with lots of activities and opportunities to learn more. Employees were helpful and welcoming to interns.

What I wish was different

I wish I had designed a cumulative project. It was something suggested to me in the beginning but never really followed up on, and I had little guidance on what I could even do for that, though other interns in the past had started research projects they carried into school.

Advice

Interns should take every opportunity to participate in any way they can, whether it is asking around the office for more projects or attending various events the department puts on. There are so many opportunities to learn more and be fully immersed in the DOS culture.

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intern

June - August 2018 • Washington, DC

What I liked

The people in the office, the connections and network I built, the mission of the Bureau - CSO (Conflict Stabilization Operations)

What I wish was different

I wish I had consistent, substantial work. I felt like it was just everyday random tasks. I felt like there were many days where I had no work and I’d always go around the office looking for more work.

Advice

Take advantage of where you are, get coffees and lunches with people in your bureau, not in your bureau. Hear their career paths and experienced and learn from what mistakes they might have made.

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Human Resources Intern

June - July 2018 • Taipei, Taiwan

What I liked

The people I worked with!

What I wish was different

I wish I’d been able to work for a longer period of time.

Advice

Take advantage of every opportunity!

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Intern

September 2018 • Washington, DC

What I liked

It has been incredible working at the center of foreign policy for the United States, especially since it has been exactly what I'm studying in SIS (conflict resolution in Sub-Saharan Africa)

What I wish was different

I wish it was paid, or at least offered a stipend.

Advice

Be assertive about what you want to work with. Everyone I have talked to has been interested in tailoring my work towards what I'm interested in. They have also always been happy to give me work, but because they do all have their own work they can often forget to assign me things so you have to sometimes be willing to take the step to ask for work.

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Intern

September 2018 • Washington, DC

What I liked

The responsibilities I have

What I wish was different

I wish there was more socialization with other interns as things get lonely

Advice

Try and take on a little more than you think you can chew and push yourself

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Case Assistant

July 2018 • Washington, DC

What I liked

Unique work. Specifically, working on international inter parental child abductions . It's meaningful to me to be working on this type of work.

What I wish was different

pay, however, the government doesn't budge much with intern salaries.

Advice

When applying to Department of State, don't discount the title: Although the title stated office automation, the nature of the work was hidden.

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Intern

May - August 2018 • Washington, DC

What I liked

I loved being in a workplace where I had the opportunity to work with individuals from different cultures and areas of the globe each and every day. It was incredible to be able to represent the United States and to contribute to mutual understanding and exchange between diverse nations. In this position, I felt like I was truly making a lasting impact.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Political and Economic Section Intern

May - August 2018 • Astana, Kazakhstan

What I liked

Living overseas in an exciting and new setting was the highlight of my internship. Tight-knit community at the embassy helped me meet many mentors. Access to high level diplomats meant I could get a perspective of the various levels of American foreign policy.

What I wish was different

More interns at post would have made my experience better as I did get lonely sometimes having no peers at the same point in their education as me.

Advice

Learn as much as possible about how embassies run beforehand by reading "Inside an Embassy". It helped me avoid having to spend weeks learning acronyms and job portfolios and let me get right into the work of being at the embassy.

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Intern

June - August 2018 • Washington, DC

What I liked

Incredible experience to get an in-depth look at how the government handles foreign policy. Great opportunities to learn about how the State Dept. works and how to manage to get work down in a bureaucratic system. Everyone is eager to teach you and help you mature professionally and expand your understanding of foreign policy.

What I wish was different

Advice

Be proactive and always ask for more opportunities to do work or attend events. You will learn so much and become a major asset to your office if you take the time to develop background knowledge to meet the expectations of your office and bureau.

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Intern

June - August 2018 • Arlington County, VA

What I liked

Lots of opportunities to explore the State Department's different bureaus and network. My supervisor and coworkers were great!

What I wish was different

I wish I had more meaningful work.

Advice

Go to as many events as possible and reach out to bureaus you're interested in.

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Summer 2018 Intern

June - August 2018 • Washington, DC

What I liked

The State Department treats its interns super well - I got hands on experience with real tasks. There were constantly events to attend and my co-workers (all with incredible experience, some within the Foreign Service) were always offering to take me to lunch to talk about career. I loved my office in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. I learned so much, made many connections, and gained considerable confidence in myself.

What I wish was different

It's really, really difficult to do a full-time unpaid internship. It was worth it for me but very inaccessible and I'm still feeling the loss of all those hours worked unpaid. The State Department needs to make its internships more accessible if they want a more diverse, more qualified pool of applicants.

Advice

Go for it! I applied not expecting to get in, but I threw my hat into the ring and I'm so glad I did. It's an incredible experience that I feel I made the bet of by exploring the Department and meeting for coffee with individuals in each of the Bureaus I was interested in.

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Social service assistant

June - September 2018 • Dallas, OR

What I liked

Meeting new kinds of people and learning the computer system

What I wish was different

I had more work everyday

Advice

Be open minded and ask questions!

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Intern

June - September 2018 • Seoul, South Korea

What I liked

This internship was very hands on. I was able to research and present on multiple subjects of interest to me, and I assisted at several community outreach events.

What I wish was different

Advice

Remember to pursue the areas that are most relevant to you. If you are interested, ask!

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Front Office Intern

May - August 2018 • Paris, France

What I liked

I loved being in Paris and the people I was working with were also very cool. It was also really interesting to work face to face with the Ambassador.

What I wish was different

I wish it was a paid experience.

Advice

Start the security clearance ASAP if you have traveled a lot recently. Be open to changes in your job as well as offer to help in as many different capacities as you can to broaden the experience you get.

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Office of Chemical and Biological Weapons Affairs Intern

May - August 2018 • Washington, DC

What I liked

I helped to prepare and report on bilateral consultations regarding North Korean chemical and biological weapons nonproliferation. Through media monitoring and talks with allies, I worked to counter Russian and Syrian Regime chemical weapons use and disinformation. I assisted with lobbying efforts and coordinated collaboration with states party to the Chemical Weapons Convention to successfully pass an attribution mechanism for chemical weapons use in Syria through the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

What I wish was different

Advice

Always go out of your way to engage with and speak to coworkers! Never be afraid to jump into a situation you are unfamiliar with, so long as you ask questions and trust your team.

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