Cierra Saylor-Lipscomb

I spent nearly a decade inside the U.S. Department of State as a U.S. Foreign Service, and I know exactly what it takes to get in, get through, and get ahead once you're there, because I've lived every stage of it myself. I started as a Congressional and Political Assistant in Washington and The Hague, passed the FSOT and FSOA, and went on to serve as a tenured Political Officer and Deputy Consul across postings in the Middle East and the Eastern Caribbean, holding a TS/SCI security clearance throughout my career. Along the way, I was the first U.S. political and economic liaison to Saint Kitts and Nevis, negotiated directly with five heads of state at a regional roundtable, and led U.S. crisis response during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the repatriation of thousands of American citizens. I now run my own consulting firm, Watermelon Strategies advising organizations on government affairs and public policy, but coaching people into and through careers in the Foreign Service and intelligence community is where I get to give back. Whether you're studying for the FSOT, prepping for the FSOA, navigating the security clearance and medical clearance process, deciding between a State Department and intelligence community path, or trying to figure out how to actually thrive once you're at post, I've been exactly where you are and I know what separates the candidates who make it from the ones who don't. I'll give you genuine guidance I wish someone had given me, not generic test-prep advice you can find in a book.