1. Submit Your Application
2. Initial Review
3. Qualifications Evaluation Panel
4. Oral Assessment
5. Placement on a List
6. Foreign Languages
7. Medical Clearance
8. Background Investigation
9. Final Review
10. Register of Cleared Candidates
11. Candidates with Disabilities
12. Commitment to Foreign Service Work

1. Submit Your Application

To apply, you must first complete the Application for Federal Employment (DS-1950). In addition, depending upon which of the many different specialist job categories you are applying for, you must refer to the specific vacancy announcement and complete all additional required procedures. To be eligible, you must be a U.S. citizen between the ages of 21 and 59 (hired before 60th birthday), or between 21 and 37 for Diplomatic Security, and be available for worldwide assignment.

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2. Initial Review

A completed application package contains all of the material listed in the specific Vacancy Announcement. Materials submitted for inclusion in the package are reviewed as they are received and become the property of the Department of State. An application can be terminated whenever the materials do not support the basic eligibility requirements for employment in the Foreign Service.

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3. Qualifications Evaluation Panel

Candidates who are successful in the initial review stage by meeting the basic eligibility requirements for employment in the Foreign Service and the minimum qualifications established for the specific position will either have their professional experience, job history, and motivation evaluated by a panel of subject-matter experts - the Qualifications Evaluation Panel - or will be asked to meet equivalent requirements on-line, depending on the nature of the vacancy announcement. The panel or the on-line evaluation will forward the most competitive candidates for participation in an oral assessment.

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4. Oral Assessment

Candidates forwarded by the qualifications process are invited to participate in an oral assessment conducted by the Foreign Service Assessment Center in Washington, D.C. Travel to Washington, D.C. and lodging are at the candidate's expense. The letter or email message that advises candidates that they had passed the Qualifications Evaluation Panel also advises candidates what documents they need to bring to the Assessment Center. This list of documents can be downloaded at careers.state.gov/general/resources/forms.html. In addition to the listed documents, candidates are also asked to bring the Social Security numbers of family members who might be traveling with them overseas. This will help the medical clearance process. Provisions for candidates with disabilities will be made available at each Assessment Center but must be arranged with the U.S. Department of State's Board of Examiners in advance.

The Foreign Service specialist assessment consists of a written exercise and a structured interview. (Office Management Specialists candidates also have a proofreading exercise and a computer skills exercise if the latter is not done online.) Candidates are evaluated on the twelve dimensions listed below. These are based on a job analysis of the work of the Foreign Service and the skills and personal qualities deemed essential to the performance of that work.

• 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 group 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, and 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.

Candidates are evaluated solely against these criteria by examiners who have received training from industrial consultants on how to conduct assessments in an objective manner in which the candidate's performance is observed and where the score correlates to an established performance standard. Before the assessment begins, all candidates are required to sign a non-disclosure statement that requires the candidate not to divulge the contents of the examination.

The Written Exercise
For the first part of the assessment, each candidate has 45 minutes to write an essay on a choice of topics from a provided list. Candidates have a computer available to use, but the essay may be written also in long-hand. The exercise covers the dimension of written communication defined above. Candidates are assessed only on how well they express their views, not on the views themselves.

The Structured Interview
Following the written exercise, two examiners conduct an interview lasting about an hour covering the remaining eleven dimensions. One examiner is a Foreign Service Officer and the other is a Foreign Service Specialist in the field of the candidate's chosen specialty. There are two parts to the structured interview. In the first part, candidates are asked about their motivation for joining the Foreign Service and about their previous experiences that might be relevant to work as a Foreign Service Specialist. In the second part of the interview, the Foreign Service Specialist asks technical questions in the candidate's chosen field and provide hypothetical workplace problems for resolution.

Exit Interview
At the conclusion of the interview, the examiners consolidate their scores and inform each candidate whether or not he or she has reached the cut-off score. Successful candidates are briefed on the next steps in the pre-employment process.

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5. Placement on a List

List of Eligible Hires. Candidates who are successful in the oral assessment, but whose scores are not high enough to receive an immediate conditional offer of employment, will be placed on a List of Eligible Hires for a 24-month period in rank order by their overall assessment score with others in their specialty. Specialist candidates can increase their scores if they qualify for veteran's preference and/or if they can demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language (see #6). Candidates can remain on the list of eligible hires for 24 months.

If the list of candidates receiving immediate conditional offers is inadequate for the Department's hiring needs, we will draw from the list of eligible hires on an as-needed basis, starting from the top of the list. If a candidate's name comes up, the candidate will be contacted to begin medical and security clearances. However, even receiving a conditional offer of employment does not guarantee eventual employment.

List of Conditional Offers. Those candidates whose score is high enough will receive an immediate conditional offer of employment - that is we will continue to process his/her candidacy - but it does not guarantee that the candidate will eventually join the Foreign Service. That will depend on the Department's workforce needs and budget, as well as the candidate receiving medical, security, and final review clearances (see #9 ), which can take six months or longer. It is possible that, even if the candidate gets all his/her clearances, the period of eligibility could expire before the candidate's name is reached on the hiring register. Candidates can increase their scores if they qualify for veteran's preference and/or demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language.

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6. Foreign Languages

There is no foreign language requirement to join the Foreign Service. However, the U.S. Department of State welcomes candidates who are proficient in one or more foreign languages. Those who pass the Oral Assessment can raise their ranking on the List of Eligible Hires or the Hiring Register by passing a language test in any foreign language used by the U.S. Department of State. The Department of State, through its Foreign Service Institute, conducts its own language evaluations by telephone.

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7. Medical Clearance

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 an Immediate 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.

All potential candidates, especially those with current or chronic medical conditions, should be aware of the possibility that they may not qualify for a worldwide medical clearance. Medical Services may be unable to issue a worldwide clearance to a candidate based on its determination that an individual's medical condition requires specialist monitoring or follow-up care unavailable at some Foreign Service postings, that service in a particular geographic area or climate would pose a significant medical risk to the individual or that adequate emergency facilities for treating life-threatening complications of an individual's specific medical condition is not available at all posts.

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.

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8. Background Investigation

Candidates who are successful in the Oral Assessment will be asked to submit forms for a security clearance required for appointment to the Foreign Service. The clearance process considers such factors as: registration for the Selective Service; failure to repay a U.S. Government-guaranteed student loan; past problems with credit or bankruptcy; failure to meet tax obligations; unsatisfactory employment records; violations of the law; drug or alcohol abuse; a criminal record; extensive travel; residence and/or employment overseas; dual citizenship; foreign contacts; immediate family or relatives who are not citizens of the United States and/or a foreign born spouse; or a less than honorable discharge from the armed forces. The Department of State conducts background investigations on each candidate to determine eligibility for security clearance. Investigations include interviews with current and previous contacts, supervisors and coworkers. Candidates who do not receive security clearances are ineligible for appointment. Potential Candidates who have any serious issues which could prevent them from receiving their clearance should give some thought to the likelihood of their being found ineligible before starting this process. These investigations are conducted by the Department of State in cooperation with other federal, state and local agencies

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9. Final Review

Upon completion of the background investigation, a Final Review Panel will review the completed file to determine the candidate's suitability for employment with the Foreign Service.

The attainment of U.S. foreign policy objectives depends on the confidence of the public (both American and foreign)in the individuals in the Foreign Service. Given the representational nature of the Foreign Service, the Department of State requires the highest standards of integrity, reliability and prudence. 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 at this stage.

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
• 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
• 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. Potential candidates should give some thought to these suitability factors and the likelihood of obtaining a positive decision from the Final Review Panel before starting the application process.

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10. Register of Cleared Candidates

Names of candidates who have received a conditional offer of employment and who have successfully completed the security, medical and suitability stages will be placed on the register of cleared candidates, in their specialty, and rank ordered by their overall assessment scores. The register is dynamic, changing as candidates receive offers of employment, or withdraw, or new candidates with higher scores are added. Final offers of employment are made to candidates, starting from the top of the register, as openings become available. Candidates not appointed within the eighteen-month period are removed from the register as their eligibility expires.

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11. Candidates with Disabilities

The Department of State provides reasonable accommodation to Foreign Service candidates with disabilities throughout the pre-employment process. For qualified candidates who will require accommodation upon appointment, the Office of Employee Relations is responsible for determining reasonable accommodations. In order to be considered qualified, a candidate must meet all requirements for appointment to the Foreign Service. This includes having received an unlimited medical clearance from the Office of Medical Services or a waiver of the worldwide availability requirement from the Employment Review Committee.

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12. Commitment to Foreign Service Work

Anyone applying to be a Foreign Service Specialist 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 an Immediate 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.

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Equal Opportunity Employer.