Bids were due the very Friday I returned to Rangoon after a month-long hospitalization in Thailand. Fortunately, I had already submitted my top bids at least a week earlier, fulfilling the minimum five-bid requirement while staying laser focused on my strategy.
I had also reviewed the applicable portals again a few days before the deadline (and again the morning of) to fine-tune and make sure my entries hadn’t somehow disappeared into the vortex, rendering me a non-compliant bidder.
Fortunately, each of my bids were indeed registered and official. I departed Thailand with the comforting knowledge that—if nothing else—at least I had prevented my accident from derailing my bidding and lobbying efforts. Lining up my onward assignment could in theory impact my career and family all the way until 2031, and wasn’t something to take lightly even if the timing was awful.
In fact, as a bidder, I made every effort to participate despite my personal hardship, including completing multiple on-camera interviews and consultations. There have been times in my career when I admittedly prioritized my work to the detriment of my health. In this case, however, I felt that showing up—despite the accident—demonstrated the kind of consular officer I am now and would be if selected: resilient, direct, good-natured, resourceful, and, above all, present and dependable.
Prior posts on sixth tour bidding:
Sixth Tour Bidding: Showing Up (December 2025)
Sixth Tour Bidding: Not So Fast (October 2025)
Sixth Tour Bidding: Ready or Not (September 2025)
A Year Out From Sixth Tour Bidding: The Daydream (November 2024)
This may be the most competitive bid cycle I’ve ever participated in, with credible rumors of double the number of bidders at multiple grades vis-à-vis available consular positions.
It may also be the most optimally positioned I have ever been—both experientially and in terms of equity—to secure the next tour I’m aiming for. In Rangoon I am earning additional equity through a high-hardship differential Special Incentive Post (SIP) assignment, along with the consular credibility that comes with it. At the conclusion of my tour I will also have three mid-level consular assignments under my belt. A far cry from my first time mid-level bidding as an untenured 04 going up against…well, present-day me!
Now comes the busy time for the Bureau of Consular Affairs as they turn their attention to forming consular teams at embassies and consulates worldwide and in domestic offices. They will consider bidders short-listed by posts or domestically for consultative positions (section heads, SIP assignments, and Washington jobs). After that, they will fill out consular teams by slotting bidders into non-consultative positions (deputy and unit chiefs, fraud prevention managers, and other non-entry level consular positions). It is a great deal of work, with many criteria and decision points to consider, and it carries a massive impact on the officers and families involved.
In the meantime, bidders must stay tuned in case the bureau asks us to expand our bid lists and consider additional assignments (read: our bid lists are not feasible as submitted). Otherwise, fortunate bidders can expect news of future assignments in late January 2026 with the release of Bureau Leading Candidate emails, followed almost immediately by handshake day.
May the new year bring us all great things, and may the odds be ever in our favor.
Collecting Postcards 