How to Become a Diplomat
How to Become a Diplomat
The first step to being a diplomat is becoming one, and to become a diplomat you must pass some tests. They are not easy tests, but they are passable—even by someone without much life experience, overseas experience, or a deep understanding of diplomacy. I know this because I passed the tests when I was just twenty-four years old, living with my parents, and working as a seaweed harvester at a lake in Wisconsin. I had never lived abroad, I could not speak any foreign language fluently, and I did not know how an embassy functioned. Nonetheless, I made it through, and I have been on the adventure of a lifetime ever since.
If you have a broad base of general knowledge, sound judgment, follow the news, write well in English, and generally get along with a wide range of people, you have the chance to become a diplomat. If you try to become a diplomat several times and do not get through, it is possible that the career is not the right fit for you. However, you definitely should not give up after the first or second try. I know great people who did not pass the selection process, and I also work alongside some excellent colleagues who were ultimately selected on their fourth or fifth attempt.
The Technical Criteria
While there is no specific experience you need to have to join the Foreign Service, you do need to satisfy some very basic criteria to be eligible. You must be a U.S. citizen, be at least 20-59 years old when you apply, be at least 21 years old and not yet 60 on the day you are appointed as a Foreign Service Officer, and commit to being available for worldwide assignments. You do not need to have a bachelor’s degree or specific work experience, but almost every Foreign Service Officer I have met had at least a bachelor’s degree, and a majority also had a master’s degree.
Foreign Service Selection Process Overview
To become a Foreign Service Officer Generalist, you have to complete the following steps: 1. Fill out an application that includes your educational and professional experience, language proficiency, and six personal essays (called personal narratives). You also need to choose your career track at this stage; 2. Take a computer-based test called the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT); 3. Have your experience, skills, and essays reviewed by the Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP); 4. Go through an all-day interview, including a group assessment and a written portion. This is called the Foreign Service Officer Assessment (FSOA) 5. Take language tests if you have competency in a critical or supercritical language; 6. Complete a background check, medical check, and suitability review; 7. If you pass everything, you are put on a register of people who can be hired as an FSO. 8. If your score on the FSOA is high enough and the State Department has enough funding, you get invited to join the Foreign Service. If not, you can stay on the register for up to 18 months – after which, you are removed from the register and you have to start the process all over again.