U.S. Diplomacy

The Washington Post’s job section ran a story this Sunday on tips for getting a job with the US Foreign Service. The author dispelled a few common myths about the FS. Here is an excerpt:

“Myth: The Foreign Service — the nation’s diplomatic corps — is made up exclusively of State Department staff.

Fact: The biggest branch of the Foreign Service indeed consists of State Department staff, said Marianne Myles, director of the State Department’s Office of Recruitment, Examination and Employment. But the Foreign Service also has branches with employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the departments of Agriculture and Commerce.

Myth: You must have previous overseas experience to become a Foreign Service officer with the State Department. These workers advance U.S. interests abroad and manage embassies.

Fact: The State Department’s screening process for Foreign Service officers has long included a knowledge test called the Foreign Service Officer Test and a day-long Foreign Service Oral Assessment. But a third hurdle was recently added, Myles said: an in-depth review of professional, academic and extracurricular credentials.

This process considers all aspects of applicants’ backgrounds without requiring specific skills or types of experience, such as languages or overseas experience. Why? “Because someone with a totally different skill set can still make a successful diplomat,” Myles said. “The world is a complicated place; State needs multifaceted individuals with a wide range of skill sets.”

The process favors “generalists who are adaptable enough to go wide and deep,” and who represent all walks of life — including recent graduates and stay-at-home parents returning to work, Myles said.

Other agencies have their own processes.

Myth: All federal international jobs are filled by current feds — never by outsiders.

Fact: Federal recruiters say that outsiders regularly fill mid-level jobs as well as contract positions that may lead to permanent overseas work. In addition, outsiders fill recruitment programs for young professionals, including the Presidential Management Fellows Program, which places recent grads in two-year government assignments.

“A [fellow] may conduct a temporary duty assignment overseas at USAID as part of their training plans,” said Tom Davis, chief of outreach and marketing in USAID’s human resources office. “If they finish their fellowship satisfactorily, we will hire them into a permanent job.”

Myth: You must be a language virtuoso to work overseas.

Fact:Foreign language fluency is a plus but not a necessity. English is spoken in many countries, and many jobs provide language training, said James Ham, the country director for Cameroon. With 12 years of experience working in 11 French-speaking countries, Ham’s career has not been slowed by his accented French, despite his admitted tendency to elicit the response, “Votre Francais est tres American, monsieur.”"

Sold on a career in the foreign service? Click here to register for the exam.

This October, Georgetown University Press will publish a new “manual” on the Foreign Service titled Career Diplomacy. Authored by former Foreign Service Officer Harry Kopp and the recently-passed Charles “Tony” Gillespie, a former Ambassador to Colombia and Chile, the book serves as an A to Z guide on the Foreign Service and US diplomacy.

Here’s some acclaim for the book by Chester Crocker, a former diplomat and professor Georgetown University:

“This book is a gem, a one—stop shop for citizens, U.S. officials, foreign diplomats, and prospective American foreign service officers who want to understand how American diplomacy and foreign policy are organized and conducted. This carefully structured and well-written volume features rich and balanced insights into the foreign service, and sheds a clear light on its three core functions of representation, overseas operations, and policy. Essential reading on the culture and institutions of American diplomacy and on the ins and outs of working in a foreign service career.”

Full disclosure: I worked as a research assistant on the book, so I have a particular affection for it. It was actually modeled, in part, off of the Army Officer’s Guide, an unofficial publication now in its 49th edition. The authors sought to create a guide that could be useful to both the FS-curious–those who are thinking about joining the Foreign Service or preparing for the  foreign service exam, as well as and those already in the FS. 

The book is carefully researched and chocked full of interviews with FSOs past and present, a list of the many acronyms used by the FS, and much, much more. The narratives of life in the Green Zone in Iraq, or the window into the history of US diplomacy really makes you appreciate the State Department and its staff, past and present. It is, if I do say, a must-read for anyone seriously considering joining the FS.

Click here for a table of contents. For those interested in placing a pre-order for the book online, click here.

Diplomacy isn’t just an activity civil servants engage in. the average American (gasp!) can be a diplomat too. Whether it’s going th extra mile to be nice to foreigners you meet on the street, or trying your hardest to be a well-behaved international tourist, Americans themselves can together help to polish the US tarnished image abroad.

 One organization dedicated to this type of activity, called “citizen diplomacy,” is the Des Moines, Iowa-based-U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy. They have recently published a list of 10 things you and I can do to support the US’ public diplomacy efforts. Here they are:

1) Host a youth exchange student in your home - www.exchanges.state.gov/education/citizens/students

2) Urge your local school board to include foreign languages from grade school through high school- and encourage your children to study a foreign language, world history and international news - www.future.state.gov

3) Encourage your children to correspond with an electronic pen pal overseas (such as www.epals.com) and to participate in study abroad programs - www.exchanges.state.gov

4) Get actively involved with organizations that have international programs, such as a local World Affairs Council - www.worldaffairscouncil.org, or non-profit service organization with global outreach.

5) Welcome foreign visitors by supporting international visitor programs - www.exchanges.state.gov/education/ivp

6) Support international disaster relief programs and organizations that provide international medical assistance - www.interaction.org

7) Encourage people-to-people dialogue with other faiths through personal outreach or through your own church, synagogue, mosque or other faith-based institution.

Volunteer to serve on short-term assignments oversea with the USA Freedom Corps’ Volunteers for Prosperity program - www.volunteersforprosperity.gov or with the U.S. Peace Corps. - www.peacecorps.gov

9) Support cultural exchanges for artists, musicians and writers through your local arts institution and international cultural programs - www.exchanges.state.gov/education/citizens/culture; or others such as - www.meridian.org

10) Encourage your business or corporation to reach out in the countries where it has a presence, providing internships or supporting local schools and charities. To learn more about private sector outreach around the world or discuss potential partnerships email diplomacyupdate@state.gov.

To check out some more of the Center’s resources for citizen diplomats, click here.