How to become A Foreign Service Officer

Military missions worldwide depend on the prior success or failure of diplomatic missions. Diplomacy can mitigate and even eliminate threats that might otherwise cost humanity dearly. Foreign Service Officers play a vital role in peacefully furthering the interests and values of their government and people in foreign countries and international organizations.

• Diplomat
• Consul

What do Foreign Service Officers do?

A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) would typically need to:

• Protect and assist fellow citizens visiting or residing in the country of the FSO’s official posting by providing emergency and non-emergency support
• Strengthen border security; perform consulate duties as an entry clearance officer; assess passport and visa applications and conduct interviews;
• Help with international adoptions; handle the birth or death of their fellow citizens overseas; assist during natural disasters or evacuations
• Assist foreign nationals traveling to the FSO’s home country; update travel advice and information
• Promote diplomacy; organize and ensure the smooth running of ministerial and diplomatic visits
• Manage issues in the host country as related to trade, commerce, and economics; promote economic partnerships between the home and host countries; review foreign economic trends
• Help negotiate commercial and financial agreements that protect the shipping, economic, and legal interests of the home country; monitor environmental, scientific, and technological affairs in the interest of the home country
• Analyze political events, market conditions, and public opinion in the host country; draft and proofread written reports before presenting them periodically to the state department and supervisors
• Ensure they are in sync with the latest stance of their government on all fronts;
• Establish clear and amicable lines of communication between policymakers in the home and host countries
• Liaise between diverse governments, high commissions, embassies, other FSOs, leaders, and foreign citizens to promote mutual understanding on policies and values
• Interact appropriately with non-government organizations, human rights activists, opposition parties, and journalists in the host country
• Reach out to the public in the host country; initiate and implement cultural or educational programs that endearingly showcase their home country
• Safeguard the premises of their missions, embassies, or consulates; manage the staff, oversee their performance, and carry out annual appraisal
• Support and assist colleagues with their work; manage departmental budgets and the acquisition and maintenance of government property
• Respond to any general written correspondence through snail or e-mail; handle personal and telephonic queries from other departments, the public, and overseas contacts

You will be based in Foreign Service Offices in your country’s capital or embassies, consulates, or High Commissions all over the world. You may be temporarily detailed to other government departments and agencies in your home country. Your tasks would vary depending on whether you are based in a small or remote embassy or a large embassy in a cosmopolitan city. Typically, Foreign Service Officers spend about 60 percent of their time abroad and receive a transfer every two to four years.

Through tradition and usage, diplomats have come to wear certain kinds of clothes for certain occasions. Your "uniform" will depend on the function, be it casual or formal. For many posts, the overwhelming choice for a day-to-day business is a suit and tie for men and a business suit or conservative dress for women.

Keep in mind that local customs impose many modifications, so be sure to check at the post. Sometimes, wearing the country's ethnic or national dress instead of traditional dress is appropriate. Foreign Service Officers may not accept decorations from foreign governments. If you wish to wear war service decorations or civilian medals at formal day or evening events, check with the protocol officer.

You are likely to adhere to a standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday work schedule. However, some of the work may involve being on-call 24 hours a day. Hours and days of work may vary for overseas posts, depending on where you work.

In some locations, applicants who pass all the tests get a ranking and are placed on a list of eligible candidates for future posting. As positions become available, candidates are offered entry into a new class. The number of slots that open up each year may depend on your country’s foreign service office’s strength. In other countries, occasional recruitment freezes may stipulate entry via specialist programs. With the increase in globalization, the scope for postings is broad.

Foreign Service Officers are generally employed by:

• The Foreign Service Office of their Home Country

Foreign Service Officers can obtain useful resources and professional support from their foreign service association.

• Assignments to “hardship posts” may prove challenging and sometimes dangerous
• An irregular or extended work schedule built around a physically and mentally demanding agenda
• Lack of familiar amenities in remote locations
• Mediocre health and sanitation standards
• “Unaccompanied” assignments where family members may not travel to the post with the incumbent
• The need to stay calm in times of great stress or even dire situations, like a military coup or a major environmental disaster

Although not mandatory, any pre-entry experience that shows a candidate’s skills in project management, contract management, accountancy, economics, and managing change will help catch the eye of hiring managers who look for dedication to the chosen profession. Any international relocation would also help you gain experience in foreign affairs, multidisciplinary teams, and policy development. It would go a long way in setting you apart during the interview process.

Relevant experience could include studying abroad or doing an international internship or co-op during college to serving in the Peace Corps, or an overseas assignment with another branch of the government or the military.

While graduate programs in international relations usually offer internship opportunities, other programs may require them to seek out opportunities on their own or look for guidance from career offices. You can also seek advice from a diplomat-in-residence who would be open to guiding those interested in pursuing this career.

Leadership potential, initiative, and writing skills, among others, can all be honed in extracurricular activities. The choice of club or organization can vary, but producing a newsletter, organizing an event, or serving as an Officer could all be excellent skill-building activities. As a member of a foreign language club at your school, you may be able to visit other countries. In the absence of such programs, check with your school counselor about discounted foreign travel packages available to student groups.

Student exchange programs might be the answer if you are interested in studying abroad in a non-English-speaking country as a test of your cultural adaptability and language skills. Becoming a regular reader of quality general-interest newspapers, magazines and books is a good way to build the kind of general knowledge required to succeed in the foreign service.

Although there is no specific degree, experience, or language requirements for Foreign Service Officers, the intensely competitive selection process of exams and assessments makes education, fluency in a foreign language, and experience the vital ingredients to success. A solid, well-rounded college education is the best start to becoming qualified for the foreign service.

Prospective FSOs need to have a keen understanding of world history, current events, and international trade. While candidates need not be familiar with a foreign language, fluency can fetch bonus points in the rankings and accelerate a job offer. A bachelor’s degree in English, geography, political science, foreign languages, history, sociology, anthropology, literature, finance, commerce, economics, or international relations may be of use in that respect.

Most FSOs come with at least a master’s while some have professional degrees, law degrees, or business degrees as well. Graduate programs in foreign affairs provide training precisely geared to careers in international relations. These typically two-year-long programs may help offer internship opportunities and other career-related resources in foreign relations.

Students can also take a journalism course to follow up with current events and world news and develop their writing and editing skills. Foreign Service Offices worldwide are keen to recruit candidates from various backgrounds and encourage applications from diverse communities.

The main entry point for graduates into their country’s diplomatic or foreign service may also be through the civil service program. It may include online questionnaires on situational judgment and behavior, an e-tray exercise to test decision-making skills, and a video interview. Successful candidates will need to fill in an application. If your application is accepted, you will attend a leadership, group, and analysis exercise at an assessment center. There is a final selection process for those who are successful at the assessment center. Unsuccessful candidates may apply the following year again.

Note that in some countries, even if you are on the register of eligible candidates but do not receive a job offer within 18 months because of lack of open positions, you will have to begin the procedure again.

There are no certification or licensing requirements for Foreign Service Officers. Candidates need to prove that they are bonafide citizens of the country they wish to be employed by. Other requirements may vary by location.

However, generally those who pass the written and oral exams need to go through a comprehensive physical exam, a rigorous background security check leading to a Top Secret clearance, and a final review of the candidate’s entire file to ensure their suitability for the incredibly stressful and unusual conditions of a foreign service career.

Performance, experience, and acquisition of professional qualifications drive career progression. Recruits undergo a probationary period, lasting no longer than four to five years, comprising orientation and work overseas. Initial tours comprise consular work, and at least one of the first two tours is in a hardship post.

FSOs work abroad in both developed and developing countries, where they gain first-hand exposure to a variety of standard diplomatic practices and are encouraged to learn a foreign language. Then their performance is evaluated. Some Foreign Offices decide on tenure (once tenured, an officer cannot be separated from the service without written cause), and an appointment as a Foreign Service Officer will be made. If tenure is not granted, the candidate will be reviewed again approximately one year later.

Once tenured, FSOs will usually change roles every three to four years. Your career will be made up of a combination of overseas postings and work within the country. When planning overseas postings, you may settle into a niche area of foreign service and tailor your future placements to fit your unique interests and abilities.

As your career progresses, you could choose to focus your skills either on a particular region of the world or in a specific area of work. You may also develop an affinity for a type of placement and express a preference or disfavor of “hardship postings.” Although most jobs focus on consular, management, and immigration-focused responsibilities, there will be opportunities to work on information, political and commercial projects.

Annual ratings by supervisors based on the officer’s perceived potential for greater responsibility, their recommendations, and the availability of positions at higher levels would determine promotions and increased salary. FSOs with significant experience may choose to return to their home country for personal or career-related reasons.

Positions in foreign service are highly coveted, and the field is comparatively small. As a result, competition for an appointment is stiff, with applicants far outnumbering available posts.

Employers look for motivated applicants with sound judgment and leadership abilities who can retain their composure in times of great stress.

Continuing professional development (CPD) is the holistic commitment of Foreign Service Officers towards enhancing personal skills and proficiency throughout their active careers through work-based learning, a professional activity, or formal education.

Taking in new information and dealing with different situations is important for work both within the country and overseas. Most promising FSOs may begin their tenure with a standardized incubation period in the home country, while others begin in the field and are trained on the fly.

The training period may last two years or more, depending on the needs of the service and the officers’ qualifications. Ideally, this would also be when candidates must invest in learning the host country’s language or a priority foreign language. It is also helpful to regularly read about current global affairs and get training in IT skills.

Fresh recruits serve a probationary period before they become commissioned officers. Usually, after several overseas assignments, FSOs find themselves with expertise in a specific area and, if they wish, may return to school to expand their knowledge and skills.

Some countries may encourage their FSOs to gain significant experience in both operational and policy roles. They may work on financial and commercial issues in a minister’s office, the consular department, or the media office as part of their operational training. Training in policy may necessitate being a lead on critical issues such as climate change or counter-terrorism or working as a desk officer for a particular country.

Critical Abilities

Most Foreign Service Officers exhibit certain common traits that qualify them for success, such as patience, patriotism, a love for travel (even to less developed regions with low amenities), high intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm for multicultural diversity, and, most significantly, an intense passion for international affairs. Challenging though the work is, the satisfaction you receive from your impact on international relations is likely to keep you going.

Foreign Language Skills

A field that demands frequent relocation out of the home country is better tackled with speaking, reading, and even writing in one or more foreign languages. Besides showcasing your capacity to learn, language skills demonstrate your interest in and dedication to other cultures.

Flexibility

Changing placements require adaptation to diverse physical environments and team structures. The approach to work and people must sync with the situation and culture. As influential leaders, FSOs must also know when to take a step back and allow others to lead.

Communication

Wherever they are posted and in all their tasks, FSOs must communicate effectively with their government and their host country’s political leaders. Meeting with people and making them feel at ease are vital skills, especially early on in their careers. Aspiring FSOs should sharpen their ability to listen, speak, and write concisely and engagingly. Analytics FSOs must often analyze situations and write reports, which requires them to break down information and present it at a high level, often to a group without much prior context about the topic at hand.

Problem Solving

When confronted with ambiguity and dissonance, Foreign Service Officers must engage in independent problem solving by observing their circumstances and making decisions based on deduced information rather than directive instruction.

Key Areas of Operation

Depending on the home country’s protocol, FSOs may focus on or rotate among critical areas of operations, including consular affairs, human resource management, economic affairs, procurement, facility development, political affairs, public diplomacy, and office administration.

Reserve Officers & Staff Members

Foreign service reserve officers perform tasks similar to their more permanent counterparts but temporarily. They are deployed in places of maximum need. Reserve officers usually have specialized skills that the department needs, such as agriculture, labor, economics, and finance.

Under international law, the mission and residential premises of diplomats are exempt from the host country’s jurisdiction - they are considered a part of the home country.

Foreign Service Officers serve as beacons of hope around the world. They seek to make a real difference but what they do is not philanthropy; it's a form of national and international security.

If one is to confer successfully with foreigners, it is essential to know their ways of thinking and put oneself in their place.