There are several important eligibility requirements:
- All applicants must be U.S. citizens on the date they submit their registration package.
- On the day you submit your registration, you must be at least 20 years old and no older than 59 years of age.
- On the day you are appointed as a Foreign Service Officer, you must be at least 21 years old, and not yet 60.
- You must also be available for worldwide assignments, including Washington, D.C.
What qualities do we want to see in these candidates? The successful candidate will demonstrate the following dimensions which reflect the skills, abilities, and personal qualities deemed essential to the work of the Foreign Service:
- Composure. To stay calm, poised, and effective in stressful or difficult situations; to think on one's feet, adjusting quickly to changing situations; to maintain self-control.
- Cultural Adaptability. To work and communicate effectively and harmoniously with persons of other cultures, value systems, political beliefs, and economic circumstances; to recognize and respect differences in new and different cultural environments.
- Experience and Motivation. To demonstrate knowledge, skills or other attributes gained from previous experience of relevance to the Foreign Service; to articulate appropriate motivation for joining the Foreign Service.
- Information Integration and Analysis. To absorb and retain complex information drawn from a variety of sources; to draw reasoned conclusions from analysis and synthesis of available information; to evaluate the importance, reliability, and usefulness of information; to remember details of a meeting or event without the benefit of notes.
- Initiative and Leadership. To recognize and assume responsibility for work that needs to be done; to persist in the completion of a task; to influence significantly a group's activity, direction, or opinion; to motivate others to participate in the activity one is leading.
- Judgment. To discern what is appropriate, practical, and realistic in a given situation; to weigh relative merits of competing demands.
- Objectivity and Integrity. To be fair and honest; to avoid deceit, favoritism, and discrimination; to present issues frankly and fully, without injecting subjective bias; to work without letting personal bias prejudice actions.
- Oral Communication. To speak fluently in a concise, grammatically correct, organized, precise, and persuasive manner; to convey nuances of meaning accurately; to use appropriate styles of communication to fit the audience and purpose.
- Planning and Organizing. To prioritize and order tasks effectively, to employ a systematic approach to achieving objectives, to make appropriate use of limited resources.
- Quantitative Analysis. To identify, compile, analyze and draw correct conclusions from pertinent data; to recognize patterns or trends in numerical data; to perform simple mathematical operations.
- Resourcefulness. To formulate creative alternatives or solutions to resolve problems, to show flexibility in response to unanticipated circumstances.
- Working With Others. To interact in a constructive, cooperative, and harmonious manner; to work effectively as a team player; to establish positive relationships and gain the confidence of others; to use humor as appropriate.
- Written Communication. To write concise, well organized, grammatically correct, effective and persuasive English in a limited amount of time.
Please note that we require no specific education level, academic major or proficiency in a foreign language for appointment as a Foreign Service Officer. However, the U.S. Department of State welcomes applicants who have foreign language competence, especially in Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese and Urdu. Please click here to read more about Super Critical and Critical Needs Languages.
You are ineligible to submit a registration if you have:
- previously served as a Foreign Service Officer and were separated from the Foreign Service under sections 607, 608, 610, or 611 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended, or resigned or retired in lieu of separation under those provisions, or
- previously served as an Entry Level Foreign Service Officer and were separated for failure to receive a career appointment, or tenure, under section 306 of the Act, as amended, or if you resigned or retired in lieu thereof.
