The Foreign Service Officer Selection Process |
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Thank you for considering a career as a Foreign Service Officer. This is a career like no other, for Foreign Service Officers represent America to the world, working on the key issues that challenge the world, contributing and making a difference.
The Foreign Service Officer selection process begins with online registration, and for those who succeed, culminates in assignment to the A-100 course, the training course that marks the beginning of every Foreign Service Officer career. The steps in between are intricate, and the following paragraphs will describe them in detail
The Selection Process: Four Major Steps
- Registration: Application and Personal Narrative
- Foreign Service Officer Test
- Qualifications Evaluation Panel
- Oral Assessment
After the Selection Process: Additional Steps
Key Considerations
- Foreign Languages
- Career Track Choice
- Candidates with Disabilities
- Veteran's Preference
- Commitment to Foreign Service Work
The Selection Process: Four Major Steps |
1. Registration: Application Form and Personal Narrative
Registration is the first step toward becoming an FSO. In order to register, you must meet the eligibility requirements described in "Who Qualifies."
Registration consists of two parts:
an Application Form in which you convey factual background information including school and work history; and
a Personal Narrative in which you answer questions describing the knowledge, skills, and abilities you would bring to the Foreign Service.
The Personal Narrative is one of the most important elements of your candidacy; it is your opportunity to stand at center stage and tell us about yourself, highlighting the personal strengths you would bring to the Foreign Service.
Please be aware that all the information you give us is subject to verification, and that any exaggeration of your experience and qualifications, including your language ability, would weaken your candidacy. Misrepresentations may be grounds for terminating your candidacy, or for dismissing you after you have begun work, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment.
You can begin registration for the Foreign Service Selection Process by filling out the online Application Form and Personal Narrative. Your registration remains valid for one year from the day you submit it. Once your Registration Package (both the Application Form and the Personal Narrative) is received and confirmed to be complete, you will receive an e-mail authorizing you to make an online reservation to take the Foreign Service Officer Test at any one of approximately 230 test centers in the United States. Overseas test center locations will be available beginning with the December 2007 test.
Download the Guide to the Foreign Service Officer Selection Process (263kb, PDF) for more detailed information about the Application Form and Personal Narrative.
2. Taking the Foreign Service Officer Test
The second step in the selection process is the Foreign Service Officer Test, which is administered online at designated test centers and which will take about three hours to complete.
The test will be given during eight-day windows, several times a year. Reservations for a seat during any given test window must be made at least 48 hours prior to the first day in that test window. When you go online to reserve a seat, you will be informed of the exact deadline date. After you have made your reservation, you will receive instructions for downloading the admissions letter that you will need to bring with you to the test center.
Test center seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be advised that the number of seats for each window is limited. If seats at the test center you want are filled, you are free to search for a seat at a different test center. If the 8-day test window you want is already full, you will be able to schedule later for a subsequent test window. Note that you must reserve a test seat within one year of submitting your Registration Package. Your actual test date may be later than a year after you registered, but you must have reserved your seat within the one year limit. You may take the test only once in a 12-month period.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are unable to take the test on the scheduled date, you will need to cancel your seat at least 48 hours before the test date. Your admissions letter will contain information on how to do so. If you fail to provide this notification, you will be assessed a $50 fee.
Preparing for the Test
Here are a few suggestions that may help you prepare for the process. First, consider ordering the Study Guide and review the Suggested Reading List (42kb, PDF). Then, the night before the test, get a good night’s sleep! Finally, remember to show up at the test center with your admission letter and a valid government issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, passport, or military ID.
The test will measure your knowledge, skills and abilities, including writing skills that are necessary to the work of a Foreign Service Officer. The test includes three multiple-choice sections: job knowledge, English expression, and a biographic information section that asks you to describe your work style, your manner of interacting and communicating with others, and your approach to other cultures.
Job knowledge questions will cover a broad range of topics including but not limited to the structure and workings of the U.S. government, U.S. and world history, U.S. culture, psychology, management theory, finance and economics, and world affairs. In addition, you will be given 30 minutes to write an essay on an assigned topic.
Do you have other questions about the test? Check out the Register for the FSO Test page to get the Study Guide, Guide to the Foreign Service Officer Selection Process, as well as our suggested courses and reading list.
Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP)
If you pass the Foreign Service Officer test, both the multiple choice and the essay sections, the test administrator forwards your scores, along with your Registration Package (the Application Form and Personal Narrative) minus any proscribed data (age, ethnicity, etc.) to a Qualifications Evaluation Panel, the third step in the hiring process.
The Panels use a Total Candidate approach, similar to that used by major international corporations in screening their job applications. A Panel, comprised of trained, Foreign Service Officers, carefully reviews your (1) educational and work background; (2) responses to the Personal Narrative questions; (3) skills and abilities, including self-evaluated and Foreign Service Institute-tested language scores; and (4) FSOT scores. There is no pre-set cut-off score; the Panel evaluates your file within your chosen career track, looking at how well you demonstrate the qualities that are predictors of success in the Foreign Service: substantive knowledge within your career track and intellectual, interpersonal, leadership, communications and management skills. We then select the best qualified candidates for oral assessments based on the Panels’ evaluations and State’s anticipated hiring needs.
Although the QEP is a total file review, with no one element dominating all the factors considered, you have the most control over your responses to the Personal Narrative questions. This is an important part of the application and is read carefully by each Panel member. Your responses can be influential in determining your standing in your chosen career track. This is the place for you to highlight not just what you have done, but how you have done it and what you have learned. It is a place to emphasize how what you have done shows you have the skills to be a successful FSO. Bear in mind that your responses are subject to verification by the Board of Examiners.
Once the Panels have completed their work, ACT will inform you of the results via an online letter that you can access using the personal login ID and password you chose when registering.
4. Oral Assessment |
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If you are invited to the Oral Assessment, you will proceed to the fourth step in the selection process. The Oral Assessment is conducted in Washington, D.C. and in various major cities around the United States. This day-long program seeks to determine whether you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are essential to the performance of Foreign Service work. It includes a group exercise, a structured interview, and a case management writing exercise.
The Oral Assessment is an assessment for selection as an entry level Foreign Service Officer. Oral Assessment exercises are based on a job analysis of the work of the Foreign Service and reflect the skills, abilities and personal qualities deemed essential to the performance of that work. It is not an adversarial process: you do not compete against other candidates but instead are judged on your capacity to demonstrate the skills and abilities necessary to be an effective Foreign Service Officer.
Please click here (140kb, PDF) to download the Letter from the Director of Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service, a detailed explanation of the Oral Assessment and the dimensions measured by it, as well as sample exercises.
Please click here to see the schedule for the Foreign Service Officer Test and Associated Oral Assessment Schedule.
After the Selection Process: Additional Steps
After you pass the Oral Assessment, you will receive instructions about the process of obtaining medical and security clearances. When you receive your medical and security clearances, your candidacy will be reviewed for overall suitability for the Foreign Service by the Final Review Panel. If that panel finds you suitable for the Foreign Service, you will be placed on a rank-ordered Register. You should be aware that, depending on your place on the Register and the number of Foreign Service Officers needed, it is still possible that you may not receive an offer of employment.
5. Medical Clearance |
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The Office of Medical Services of the Department of State determines a candidate's medical fitness and ability to serve overseas. Many Foreign Service posts are located in remote areas with extremely limited medical support; therefore, each candidate must meet rigorous medical standards in order to qualify for the required worldwide medical clearance. Medical clearance determination by Medical Services is based on its thorough review of each candidate's medical history and physical examination, including an individual assessment of his/her specific medical needs and the medical capabilities of Foreign Service posts to meet those needs.
After receiving a Conditional Offer of employment, each candidate is provided with the necessary examination forms (with instructions) to give to the examining health care practitioner (MD, DO, NP, PA). We also provide an authorization for the Department of State to pay for the examination. However, candidates living within a fifty-mile radius of Washington, D. C. must have their medical examination performed at the Examination Clinic, Office of Medical Services in Washington.
Regardless of who administers the medical clearance exam, the Department's Office of Medical Services determines whether or not a candidate is medically eligible for assignment to all Department of State posts worldwide. While a candidate may effectively manage a chronic health condition or limitation within the United States or in specific areas outside of the U.S., the Office of Medical Services might well determine that the same individual is not eligible for a worldwide ("Class One") medical clearance. Such clearances may only be issued to candidates whom the Office of Medical Services deems able to serve at the most isolated and restricted overseas posts.
Such a post could feature extreme isolation in terms of limitations on reliable air service in and out of the country, unreliable Internet and telecommunications connections, and/or unreliable postal and delivery systems. Any of these limited services can have a severe adverse impact in terms of both bringing in required medical services and/or supplies, and/or permitting timely medical evacuations. Other infrastructure at such a post might also be inadequate. There might be a poor or negligible public health system, poor sanitation, unreliable electricity and a lack of potable water. There might also be infectious and communicable diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, tuberculosis, rabies, encephalitis and gastrointestinal diseases. There might be no health unit at the post and next to no local medical facilities. The emergency room, for example, might be completely inadequate, without ventilators, defibrillators, x-ray capabilities, etc. There often would be no blood bank or medical supplies or medications available locally. Because of political instability, security could be a concern.
Candidates should be aware that these posts are not few in number nor confined to a specific geographic region. Also, there are numerous other posts — in Asia and Europe for example — where conditions appear similar to that of the U.S. but which also feature some of these restrictive characteristics.
As a result of these characteristics of a post, the stress level among employees might be very high. Given these concerns, the Department of State would only assign employees with unrestricted medical clearances to such posts (of which there are many), and is unable to hire new employees without such clearances.
While the candidate must be medically cleared for worldwide service, the Department of State does not consider the medical condition of eligible family members for pre-employment purposes. It does, however, require that each eligible family member have a medical clearance before they can travel overseas at U. S. Government expense when accompanying an employee on assignment.
Please note that employees with a family member who has been issued a limited medical clearance (not worldwide) may be assigned to posts where that family member cannot accompany them. We strongly advise candidates to consider this situation as they pursue employment with the Department of State.
On request, the Director General of the Foreign Service, or designee, may consider granting a waiver of the worldwide availability requirement for a candidate who is unable to qualify for a worldwide medical clearance. Candidates should be aware, however, that the granting of such waivers is rare.
For more information on medical clearances, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions page.
6. Security Clearance |
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Candidates who pass the Oral Assessment must apply for the security clearance required for appointment to the Foreign Service. A comprehensive background investigation, conducted by the U.S. Department of State in cooperation with other federal, state, and local agencies, will provide the information necessary to determine a candidate's suitability for appointment to the Foreign Service and for a Top Secret security clearance. The process considers such factors as: failure to repay a U.S. Government-guaranteed loan or meet tax obligations; failure to register for the Selective Service; past problems with credit or bankruptcy; unsatisfactory employment records; a criminal record or other violations of the law; drug or alcohol abuse; and less than honorable discharge from the armed forces.
Candidates who hold dual citizenship (39kb, PDF), have had extensive travel, education, residence and /or employment overseas, or who have foreign contacts, a foreign-born spouse, immediate family members or relatives who are not citizens of the United States, should be aware that the clearance process will take longer to complete. The background investigation includes interviews with current and previous contacts, supervisors and coworkers. Candidates who do not receive a security clearance are ineligible for appointment. Potential candidates who have any serious issues that may prevent them from receiving a clearance should give some thought to the likelihood of their being found ineligible before starting this process.
7. Final Review Panel
Upon completion of the background investigation, a Final Review Panel will examine the candidate’s completed file (except medical records) to determine the candidate's suitability for employment with the Foreign Service.
The attainment of U.S. foreign policy objectives depends substantially on the confidence of the public (both American and foreign) in the individuals selected to serve in the Foreign Service. The Department of State, therefore, requires the highest standards of conduct by employees of the Foreign Service, including an especially high degree of integrity, reliability, and prudence. Given the representational nature of employment in the Service, employees must observe proper standards at all times. The purpose of the Final Review is to determine, from the candidate's total record, whether the candidate is indeed suitable to represent the United States. The Final Review Panel has the authority to terminate a candidacy.
In evaluating suitability, the Final Review Panel takes into consideration the following factors:
- Misconduct in prior employment, including marginal performance or inability to interact effectively with others
- Criminal, dishonest, or disgraceful conduct
- Misrepresentation, including deception or fraud, in the application process
- Repeated or habitual use to excess of intoxicating beverages affecting the ability to perform the duties and responsibilities of the employee's position
- Trafficking in or abuse of narcotics or controlled substances
- Reasonable doubt as to loyalty to the U.S. Government
- Conduct which clearly shows poor judgment and or lack of discretion which may reasonably affect an individual or the agency's ability to carry out its responsibilities or mission
- Financial irresponsibility, including a history of not meeting financial obligations or an inability to satisfy debts
The most common grounds for a finding of unsuitability are a recent history of drug or alcohol abuse and delinquency in repaying debt or other evidence of financial irresponsibility. Candidates whose file indicates such issues are unlikely to be found suitable for the Foreign Service. The Director of the Board of Examiners can reconvene a Suitability Panel should new information become available prior to hiring a candidate.
8. The Register
After receiving medical and security clearances and passing the Final Suitability Review, your name is placed on the Register, which is a rank-ordered list of successful candidates, grouped by career track.
You may raise your standing on the Register by receiving Veteran’s Preference points or credit for foreign language proficiency (see information below on languages and veteran's preference.
You should be aware that your placement on the Register does not guarantee an appointment as a Foreign Service Officer, for the number of appointments depends on the needs of the Foreign Service. Your name may stay in the Register for a maximum of 18 months. After 18 months, your name will be removed from the Register. You may decline one appointment offer before we remove your name from the Register; that is, if you decline a second offer your name will be removed from the Register. If you wish to try to improve your place on the Register, you may begin the process anew at any time after your original 12-month registration validity has expired.
KEY CONSIDERATIONS:
1. Foreign Languages
While you are not required to know a foreign language to become a Foreign Service Officer, proficiency in one or more languages will enhance your competitiveness for selection.
If you claim a working knowledge of a language(s) that is identified as a Super Critical Needs Language (Arabic (Modern Standard, Egyptian, and Iraqi), Chinese (Mandarin), Dari, Farsi, Hindi, and Urdu), you will, upon passing the Foreign Service Officer Test, be asked to schedule quickly a telephonic language test with the Foreign Service Institute. Receiving a "pass", i.e., at least a speaking-level "2" on our 5-point scale, will enhance your candidacy in the review by the Qualifications Evaluation Panel.
If you claim a working knowledge of a Critical Needs Language (Arabic (forms other than Modern Standard, Egyptian, and Iraqi), Azerbaijani, Bengali, Chinese (Cantonese), Korean, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Pashto, Punjabi, Kurdish, Russian, Tajik, Turkish, Turkmen, and Uzbek) or some other language, you may schedule a telephone test with the Foreign Service Institute once you pass the Foreign Service Oral Assessment.
If you "pass" the Foreign Service Institute-conducted telephone test in any one of the Super Critical Needs Languages or Critical Needs Languages, you will receive 0.4 additional points (0.5 for all forms of Arabic) that will raise your ranking on the Register. Candidates who score successfully in other languages will receive 0.17 additional points on the Register.
Successful candidates who take advantage of the language bonus provision for knowledge of Super Critical or Critical Needs Languages will be required to serve in a country where that language is spoken at least twice in their careers: once during their first two tours, and again after being promoted to the mid-levels of the Foreign Service.
2. Career Track Choice
When you fill out your online Application Form, you will be asked to select a career track from one of the following: Consular, Economic, Management, Political, or Public Diplomacy. Candidates compete for appointment within their chosen career track, and our hiring depends on the need for officers in each career track.
Choose wisely. Inform yourself well about these career tracks and make this choice carefully, because your choice of career track will greatly influence the course of your career and the kind of work you do; you cannot later easily change your career track. Here are some resources to help you make this decision:
3. Candidates with Disabilities:
We welcome candidates who have special needs. In accordance with Federal law, we will provide reasonable accommodation to enable qualified applicants with disabilities to take the Foreign Service Officer Test. We will provide similar accommodation to candidates who are invited to the Oral Assessment.
Candidates needing accommodation should note this in their application form (part of the on-line registration process). Requests for accommodation must include complete, current (within the last five years) supporting documentation along with a copy of the on-line confirmation that the candidate’s registration has been accepted. ACT, the private testing firm which prepares and administers the test for the Department of State, must receive these at least three weeks prior to the requested test date -- preferably earlier -- so that ACT has as much time as possible to make necessary arrangements. Requests for accommodation and complete supporting documentation should be sent to:
ACT, Inc.,
Foreign Service Officer Test (82)
P.O. Box 4070
Iowa City, IA 52243-4070.
Requests that are incomplete or are not supported by appropriate documentation by the registration deadline may not be approved. We cannot guarantee that the accommodation can be in place if requests are not received at least three weeks prior to the test date. In that case, ACT will ask you to schedule for the following window.
Those receiving accommodation will receive a letter from ACT confirming the accommodation to be provided. If your request is incomplete or does not support the accommodation request, ACT will notify you in writing. You may then provide complete or updated documents prior to the deadline. Every effort will be made to provide accommodation at your chosen test center. However, be aware that some test centers may be unable to provide certain types of accommodation.
For a comprehensive description of accommodation requirements, please see the Guide to the Foreign Service Officer Selection Process (193kb, PDF).
For those who are invited to take the Oral Assessment, reasonable accommodations are also available for those who may need them.
4. Veterans' Preference
Candidates who can document creditable veteran’s service by submitting form DD 214 will be given additional points on the Register: 0.175 for a five point standing and 0.35 for a 10 point standing.
5. Commitment to Foreign Service Work
Anyone applying to be a Foreign Service Officer must be willing to accept the following three commitments of Foreign Service work:
- First: Flexibility. This means that the candidate is willing to perform duties outside his/her functional field should the need arise.
- Second: Public support of U.S. government policies regardless of the candidate's personal views.
- Third: Worldwide availability. Even though the Department attempts to work with each employee's individual and family needs, each employee must be willing to serve anywhere the Department determines is necessary. This can mean in extreme climates, in isolated, potentially unhealthful and unfriendly environments, and/or where the candidate may not have training in the local language. The Department also has unaccompanied tours, where the candidate would not be able to take his/her family. There may also be tours where local conditions may force the evacuation of families back to the United States while the candidate must remain at post.
Candidates who receive a Conditional Offer of employment must reaffirm orally their acceptance of these three commitments at the end of the oral assessment and in writing once a job offer has been accepted in order to continue the application process.
