{"id":28189,"date":"2024-02-01T15:59:04","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T15:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/02\/01\/state-dept-seeks-mid-career-applicants-for-foreign-service\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:08:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:08:31","slug":"state-dept-seeks-mid-career-applicants-for-foreign-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/career-management\/2024\/02\/01\/state-dept-seeks-mid-career-applicants-for-foreign-service\/","title":{"rendered":"State Dept. seeks mid-career applicants for Foreign Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In an effort to build opportunities for seasoned professionals looking to join the State Department\u2019s prestigious Foreign Service, officials unveiled an pilot program to recruit 35 future diplomats who may be looking to make a mid-career switch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Foreign Service is a unique cadre of diplomacy experts whose work spans several agencies, though this program applies only to those interested in working for the State Department, home to the largest population of these workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Lateral Entry Pilot Program is designed to help fulfill the department\u2019s commitment to close staffing gaps in areas critical to U.S. foreign policy by recruiting and hiring mid-career professionals with needed experience and expertise,\u201d said a department spokesperson to Federal Times. Officers can be appointed up to the age of 60.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After plans during the Trump administration to cut the State Department workforce through hiring freezes<\/a> and budget shortfalls, it has been the priority of the Biden administration under Secretary of State Antony Blinken to rebuild the agency\u2019s workforce, comprised of all roughly 70,000 civilians and Foreign Service officers. Recruiting initiatives at State, like many agencies, are often aimed at bringing in more young people and fresh graduates, but the department has also been trying to appeal to those already in the civil service, broader public sector, private sector or academic realm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though attrition rates for Foreign Service officers have been lower than the governmentwide average in recent years, the department said in its most recent human capital plan<\/a> that hiring has been below what was needed to replace retirements and and other departures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is extremely limited mid-career entry into the Foreign Service, mostly through civil service to Foreign Service conversion,\u201d wrote Sonnet Frisbie, a former officer, for the Foreign Service Journal <\/a>2023 summer edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, Congress came to a similar conclusion and mandated in the National Defense Authorization Act a program permitting mid-level entry into the Foreign Service. The fruit of that effort is being born with the first group of applicants being selected this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new program will not fundamentally change the rigorous application process or requirements, but it brings on qualified candidates as FP-03 or FP-02 officers<\/a> commensurate with their educational background or prior experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are nine \u201cgrades\u201d in the Foreign Service pay scale,<\/a> with lower numbers denoting higher seniority. In this case, job postings<\/a> advertise an annual salary range of $98,697 to $191,900.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applicants will apply as any other candidate would through USAJobs but won\u2019t be required to take the Foreign Service test. Instead, those selected will be invited to take the customary officer assessment, a combined exercise involving an interview and navigating mock situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After completing a tour of duty, program participants will be treated as mid-level officers and can compete for promotions and other job openings at that level. They\u2019ll be evaluated against similarly ranked officers who may have more years of embassy or overseas \u201clifestyle\u201d experience, a criticism brought by some weighing in on Reddit, a public forum where employees often discuss relevant topics under anonymous usernames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some opponents to the program expressed concerns about perceptions of \u201cskipping the line\u201d posing a morale issue for career officers. They said it could also put lateral-entry hires at a strategic disadvantage to those who have an established network within the department and an understanding of what a life at the department, or a remote outpost, is like.<\/p>\n\n\n\t