Foreign Affairs

Andrea Stylianou

Overseas postings keep the pace of life exciting in Foreign Affairs, Andrea Stylianou reports.

Working for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) opens the door to job opportunities in almost 100 countries. Bruce Soar, a DFAT director, says the best thing about working for the department are the opportunities to travel, live overseas and meet people from all walks of life.

“The downside is that you move around a lot, normally spending three years working overseas and return to Australia for a similar period before going overseas again. “That’s hard for families, particularly partners and school-age children,” he says. Soar says those who want to work for DFAT should be good communicators able to adapt easily to different situations and cultures.

“There’s no need to have a second language or qualifications in international relations, although these do help,” he says. “I’ve been working in the department for a little over 10 years, but in that time I have done a number of different jobs.

“I’ve worked as a trade negotiator for Australia in the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum and as an accountant in the department’s corporate-management division. “I’ve also spent nine months learning German, then another three years living in Germany and working as a diplomat at the Australian embassy in Berlin.”

Soar, 36, returned to Australia to a more traditional public-service job in July, 2004. Born in Adelaide, he completed a degree in economics, commerce and law (honours) before working as a tax consultant for two years.
He also worked part-time as a tutor before joining DFAT. “I wanted to see the world and do something different and exciting. A career as a diplomat offered that.”

From 2001 to 2004, Soar’s career took him to Germany, where he worked in the political and trade section of the embassy in Berlin. His work focused on German foreign policy, international security issues such as Iraq, and the fight against international terrorism. He also managed the embassy’s public affairs and cultural relations program for two years.

From 1996 to 2000, Soar worked for DFAT in Canberra on the Closer Economic Relations treaty with New Zealand and on APEC. State DFAT offices are responsible for issuing passports, helping businesses access markets, liaising with state governments on trade issues, and dealing with natural disasters or when Australians get themselves into trouble overseas. The most difficult thing about working for DFAT is the disruption caused by regular moves overseas or interstate, Soar says.

“Most overseas postings are for three years, but it’s difficult to predict when a vacancy at a particular embassy will come up. “So it’s very difficult to know what job you’ll be doing and where you’ll be living in a year or two from now. “I didn’t mind this uncertainty when I was younger, but now that I have a family it can be quite unsettling to move cities or countries every three years.

“It has meant that my wife hasn’t been able to keep the same job for more than a couple of years, and that my two young boys will have to go to a new school after I finish my job here in Adelaide. “It also makes it hard to maintain friendships.” Good communication skills are the most important asset in a diplomatic job, Soar says.

“Diplomacy and trade negotiation are all about communicating with people from other countries. flexibility and adaptability are also important. “With a variety of tasks in any of a number of countries over the course of a career, it’s important that people working for DFAT are able to adapt quickly to different cultures and environments.”

By Andrea Stylianou,  The Advertiser, March 4,  2007.