I keep thinking I should be stressed out about this bidding process... and it is stressful. However, I have to believe that it'll all just work out. Maybe I'm super self confident, maybe I'm overly optimistic, or maybe it's because my fourth choice still has fewer bidders than positions open. Who knows. Either way, I had what will likely be my last interview today. This puts me on the short list for the top (and only) 4 posts I'm bidding on. That's a pretty good feeling.One of the common interview questions is, of course, "where do we rank on your list." People often debate whether they should lie (tell every post they’re your favorite) or how to obfuscate their answer. I refuse to lie about this and I want to be as transparent as possible. I've told pretty much everyone where I'm bidding and the order. However... my preference order is a bit nebulous. My top two posts (Reykjavik and Ho Chi Min City) are both places I would go in a heartbeat. As I see it, it has less to do with which I'd prefer and more to do with who is willing (or able) to commit to me first. This will put me in for an awkward position if I'm offered both (at the same time) and am forced to choose. Otherwise, I'll take whichever comes up and consider myself lucky; they're both great posts and I'll have successfully navigated my first open bidding cycle!
Regardless, with some good interviews (and lucky intersections between who I know and who the people at the posts I'm bidding know), I am feeling fairly confident that I'm going somewhere I want to go. It's impossible to know until we get that official handshake (or the unofficial air kiss), but I'm not sweating a little more waiting. It seems like waiting is the name of the foreign service game.
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