Footstep ane: Cull a Career Rail
Candidates should fully educate themselves virtually the five Foreign Service Officer careers tracks: Consular, Economic, Management, Political and Public Diplomacy. Review the five career tracks infographic or visit careers.state.gov. Candidates will Non have the opportunity to change career tracks later submitting the online FSOT awarding, and so careful thought should be given to making this decision. During the course of a career, notwithstanding, y'all can expect to serve in more than one career track and it is non unusual for FSOs to accept assignments in two or three different career tracks. Moreover, all new FSOs can wait to serve their start and/or second tour in a consular position.
Pace ii: Employ for the FSOT

The application to become an FSO opens for approximately 5 (5) weeks three times each year and immediately precedes the FSOT exam window. To begin your application, showtime, become to www.pearsonvue.com/fsot to create an account. You can create an account at whatsoever time but will non exist able to begin your application until the specific registration window opens.

Once the window opens, you will need to submit completed eligibility verification and application forms besides as your completed Personal Narratives. When applying, keep in heed that all the information yous submit to the Board of Examiners through Pearson VUE is field of study to verification. Whatsoever exaggeration of your experience and qualifications, including your language ability, will weaken your candidacy. Misrepresentations may be grounds for terminating your candidacy, or for dismissing y'all even after you have joined the Foreign Service and may be punishable by a fine or imprisonment.

Once an awarding is submitted it cannot be changed for that awarding window. You will receive an on-screen confirmation bulletin after you submit your completed eligibility verification and awarding package.

In your Personal Narratives (PN), yous will respond questions prompting you to describe the knowledge, skills, and abilities you lot would bring to the Foreign Service. The PNs offers the opportunity to highlight non just what yous have done, merely how you did information technology and what you learned. Y'all should provide examples from your experiences that show you have the skills to be a successful Foreign Service Officer (FSO). These are an important function of your application and each member of a Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP) reads them carefully. Different panels, made upward of trained FSOs including representatives from a particular career track, review candidate submissions for the corresponding career track. The panel assesses the candidate'due south file based on half-dozen precepts that are predictors of success in the Strange Service. These precepts are:
  • Leadership: innovation, decision making, teamwork, openness to dissent, community service and institution building
  • Interpersonal Skills: professional person standards, persuasion and negotiation, workplace perceptiveness, adjustability, representational skills
  • Communication Skills: written communication, oral communication, active listening, public outreach, foreign language skill
  • Management Skills: operational effectiveness, operation management and evaluation, direction resources, customer service
  • Intellectual Skills: information gathering and assay, critical thinking, agile learning, leadership and management training
  • Substantive Noesis: Understanding of U.S. history/ government/culture and application in dealing with other cultures. Cognition or application of career track information that is relevant data.
To assist write your PNs, focus on your ain experience and actions in answering the questions. Use these precepts every bit a guide to (i) give positive examples that demonstrate your abilities; (2) place learning experiences; and (3) bespeak how your learning experience will contribute to success in your chosen Foreign Service career track. Make sure you prove why y'all have skills or particular involvement in the career track you lot have selected. Please make sure you directly address the question as asked.

Registration for an FSOT seat can only be washed subsequently your FSO application, including your Personal Narratives, is complete and submitted. Information about the FSOT and upcoming dates and locations tin exist establish below in Step iii: Take the FSOT. You lot may register to accept the FSOT up until the registration deadline closes or until capacity is reached.

You will receive a confirmation message after you select a seat. You volition as well receive an electronic mail from Pearson VUE, which includes details well-nigh your testing date, ID requirements, and directions to the testing center.

Note: You lot may select a seat for the announced testing window only. Applications are valid for a specific test period only and will elapse when that testing window closes. The number of testing center seats for each window is limited and available on a outset-come, get-go-served basis. You may, however, reschedule your engagement for some other engagement during that same testing window up until the shut of the five-week registration procedure. In one case the five-week registration process closes you tin only abolish an appointment.

If you need to cancel your test yous must do so at to the lowest degree two business days (48 hours) earlier your scheduled date. Your due east-mailed confirmation letter will contain data on how to do so. If you fail to appear or cancel in a timely manner, you volition be assessed a $72 "no-show" fee. You will need to apply again, during another application window, if you cancel. You may utilize and take the FSOT during any of the three almanac testing windows simply may only do so one time in a 12-month period.

If you take technical problems/questions regarding the registration process, click on the contact Pearson VUE link for aid.

The Strange Service Officer Exam is administered by Pearson VUE, and offered three times each year in February, June, and October. The Foreign Service Officeholder Test measures your knowledge, skills, and abilities, including writing skills that are necessary to the work of a Foreign Service Officeholder. The FSOT is administered online at designated test centers in the U.S. and away and takes about three hours to complete. It includes three multiple-pick sections:
  • Job knowledge: Questions volition comprehend a broad range of topics including, but non limited to, the structure and workings of the U.South. Regime, U.South. and world history, U.S. civilization, psychology, technology, management theory, finance and economic science, and world affairs;
  • English expression; and
  • A situational judgement section that volition present scenarios (i.e., descriptions of situations) that a candidate might encounter on the job equally a Foreign Service Officer.
In add-on, you will exist given thirty minutes to write an essay on an assigned topic. Yous must complete the multiple-choice tests in society to take your essay graded.

The test is administered in both domestic Pearson Professional Centers(PPCs) and in some overseas locations. The Board of Examiners will offer the FSOT at sure overseas Pearson Professional Centers (PPCs). PPCs are wholly owned by Pearson VUE and may non be in the capital.

The FSOT will be delivered at Pearson Professional Centers in the following cities: Pago Pago (American Samoa); Melbourne and Sydney (Australia); Sao Paulo (Brazil); Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver (Canada); Paris (France); Frankfurt (Germany); Athens (Hellenic republic); Tamuning (Guam); Osaka and Tokyo (Japan); Seoul (Korea, South); Mexico City (Mexico); Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Manila (Philippines); Guaynabo (puerto Rico); Singapore Metropolis (Singapore); Johannesburg (Due south Africa); Madrid (Espana); Juba (South Sudan); Taipei (Taiwan); Bangkok (Thailand); Istanbul (Turkey); London (United Kingdom); and St. Thomas and St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands).

The FSOT volition also be offered at approximately 256 on base of operations test center (OBTC) locations on U.S. armed services installations in U.Due south states and territories, Europe, Asia and the Middle E. The OBTCs will add boosted appointment options during each testing window for those candidates with access to the included military bases and who contact the OBTC in advance nearly taking the test.

At that place are many resources available to assist familiarize you lot with the test. Below are some tips that may assist:
  • Contact a Diplomat in Residence virtually you lot if you have questions;
  • Check if there are whatever Test information sessions hosted past a DIR near you;
  • Download the DOSCareers mobile app from the App Store (Apple tree) or Google Play (Android) to test yourself with "retired" questions from the FSOT;
  • Focus your attending on those areas where you may be weak;
  • Review the Suggested Reading Listing (pdf);
  • View the Suggested Grade List (pdf);
  • Explore employee videos to empathize better the range of work that Department of State professionals perform abroad and at home;
  • Read Career Diplomacy: Life and Piece of work in the U.Southward. Foreign Service, by Harry Westward. Kopp and Charles A. Gillespie. This is an insider'southward guide that examines the Foreign Service every bit an establishment, a profession, and a career;
  • Read Inside a U.Due south. Embassy, published by the American Strange Service Association. The book takes readers inside embassies and consulates in over fifty countries, providing detailed descriptions of Foreign Service jobs and start-manus accounts of diplomacy in activeness;
  • Read Realities of Foreign Service Life, which contains essays that cover topics ranging from children's didactics overseas, to the Nairobi Embassy bombing; and
The night earlier the test, get a skillful night'southward sleep!
Footstep 4: Qualifications Evaluation Console
The examination administrator volition forward your FSOT scores, along with your application Package minus any proscribed data (age, ethnicity, etc.), to the QEP.
  • The QEP uses a Full Candidate approach to review your:
    • Educational and work background
    • Responses to the Personal Narrative questions
    • Self-evaluated language skill level
    • FSOT essay score
  • There is no pre-ready cut-off score. The QEP evaluates your file within your called career runway, looking at how well you demonstrate the precepts outlined above.
  • The best-qualified candidates are invited to oral assessments based on the QEP evaluations and Country'south predictable hiring needs in each career runway, inter alia.
Although the QEP is a total file review, with no one element dominating all the factors considered, you have the most control over your responses to the PN. Your responses tin be influential in determining your standing in your called career track. This is your run a risk to tell your story to the Strange Service assessors. Acquit in mind that your responses are subject to verification by the Lath of Examiners. Once the QEP is completed, Pearson VUE volition inform you lot of the results via an online letter that you lot can admission using the personal login ID and password you chose when applying. In contempo years, more than 20,000 candidates take taken the Foreign Service Officer Test annually. Only a few hundred are invited to the Oral Assessment. Please note that Foreign Service Officeholder hiring targets are adapted regularly. Many candidates with fantabulous qualifications who may have received an invitation to the Oral Assessment at a time of increased hiring dominance will not receive one when the Department's hiring targets are lower or if there is an increase in the number of candidates. The process is highly competitive, and many candidates echo the process.
Stride 5: Take the Oral Assessment

The Oral Assessment is conducted in Washington, D.C. throughout the year. Candidates who are invited to the Oral Assessment are only guaranteed an appointment during the dates associated with their Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT). Candidates who know that they volition be unavailable to take the Oral Assessment during the dates associated with their specific FSOT should select a dissimilar test window.

The day-long Oral Assessment measures your ability to demonstrate the 13 dimensions that are essential to the successful performance of Foreign Service work. It includes a group practise, a structured interview, and a case direction writing exercise. Oral Cess exercises:

  • Are based on a job analysis of the work of the Strange Service.
  • Reflect the skills, abilities and personal qualities deemed essential to the operation of that work.
  • Are not an adversarial process: you lot do not compete confronting other candidates but instead are judged on your capacity to demonstrate the skills and abilities necessary to exist an effective Foreign Service Officer.

Foreign Service Officer Testing Window General Guidelines:

Foreign Service Officer Exam Window Oral Assessment Window (Location)
October Early March – mid-June (Washington, D.C.)
February Mid-June – Late Oct (Washington, D.C.)
June Early November – Belatedly February (Washington, D.C.)

Please note that Oral Assessment windows are subject to change. Candidates should refer to the website for the latest Oral Cess information associated with the appointment and year in which they intend to take the FSOT.

Pace 6: Clearances – Medical & Security
Those who pass the Oral Cess will receive a conditional offer of employment and instructions near obtaining medical and security clearances in order to go along their candidacy. There is no guarantee of employment at this phase. The Office of Medical Services of the Section of State determines a candidate's medical fettle and ability to serve overseas. Many Foreign Service posts are located in remote areas with extremely limited medical support. Each candidate, therefore, must meet rigorous medical standards in order to authorize for the required worldwide medical clearance. Medical clearance determination past Medical Services is based on its thorough review of each candidate'southward medical history and a concrete exam, including an individual cess of his/her specific medical needs and the medical capabilities of Strange Service posts to meet those needs. Afterwards receiving a provisional offer of employment, each candidate is provided with the necessary examination forms (with instructions) to give to the examining health care practitioner (Medico, DO, NP, PA). Visit the Career Resource Download Eye for a list of forms intended for those who have received provisional offers of employment after the Oral Assessment. Candidates, who live within fifty miles of Washington, D.C. , must schedule their medical exams at the Country Department'southward Office of Medical Services. Those who alive more than fifty miles from Washington may have them washed by their own medico or at the State Section. Children nether the age of six must be seen past their own pediatrician, regardless of location. The Office of Medical Services will provide an potency for the Department of Country to pay for exterior examinations every bit a secondary insurer once a candidate's primary insurance provider has paid its share. Due to the extraordinary and unpredictable nature of the COVID-xix pandemic, the deadline for completion of concrete exam(due south) and submission of pre-employment medical clearance paperwork has been temporarily extended from 90 days to 180 days from the engagement of Conditional Offers of Employment. Regardless of who administers the medical clearance exam, the Department's Office of Medical Services determines whether a candidate is medically eligible for assignment to all Department of State posts worldwide. While a candidate may effectively manage a chronic health status or limitation within the United States or in specific areas exterior of the U.South., the Function of Medical Services might well determine that the same private is not eligible for a worldwide ("Grade I") medical clearance. Such clearances may only be issued to candidates whom the Function of Medical Services deems able to serve at the most isolated and restricted overseas posts. Some posts could confront extreme isolation due to limited air and other transportation service, and unreliable Internet, telecommunications, and postal and commitment systems. Any of these limitations tin can accept a astringent adverse impact on the availability of required medical services and supplies or delay timely medical evacuations. Some countries have inadequate infrastructure such as a poor or negligible public health care organization, poor sanitation, unreliable electricity and a lack of potable water. There may also exist infectious and infectious disease, such as malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, tuberculosis, rabies, encephalitis and gastrointestinal diseases. At that place may be no health unit at the mail service and next to no local medical facilities. The local emergency room, for example, might exist completely inadequate, without ventilators, defibrillators, x-ray capabilities, etc. There are often no claret banks or limited medical supplies and medications bachelor locally. Due to political instability, security could exist a concern. Candidates should be aware that these posts are neither few in number nor bars to a specific geographic region. At that place are numerous posts where conditions appear like to that of the U.S. just which as well suffer from some of these restrictive characteristics. As a result, stress levels among employees may be very high. Given these concerns, the Department of State only assigns employees with unrestricted medical clearances to such posts and is unable to hire new employees without such clearances. While the candidate must exist medically cleared for worldwide service as a condition for being offered employment, the Department of State does not consider the medical status of eligible family members for pre-employment purposes. The Section does, however, crave that each eligible family member have a medical clearance before they can travel overseas at U. Southward. Government expense when accompanying an employee on consignment. Delight note that employees with a family unit member who has been issued a limited rather than a worldwide medical clearance, nevertheless, may exist assigned to posts where that family fellow member cannot accompany them. We strongly advise candidates to consider this situation as they pursue employment with the Department of State. On request, the Managing 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 than information on medical clearances, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions page, or visit the Forums.
Candidates who laissez passer the Oral Assessment must utilise for the security clearance required for appointment to the Strange Service. A comprehensive background investigation, conducted by the U.Due south. Department of State in cooperation with other federal, land, and local agencies, will provide the information necessary to determine a candidate'southward suitability for appointment to the Foreign Service and for a Tiptop Hole-and-corner security clearance. The procedure considers such factors as: failure to repay a U.S. Government-guaranteed loan or meet tax obligations; failure to annals for the Selective Service; past bug with credit or defalcation; unsatisfactory employment records; a criminal record or other violations of the police force; drug or alcohol abuse; and less than honorable discharge from the military. Candidates who hold dual citizenship (pdf), take had extensive travel, education, residence and/or employment overseas, or who have foreign contacts, a strange-born spouse, immediate family members or relatives who are not citizens of the Usa, should exist aware that the clearance process will take longer to consummate. The groundwork investigation includes interviews with current and previous contacts, supervisors and coworkers. Candidates who do not receive a security clearance are ineligible for appointment. Potential candidates who have any serious problems that may prevent them from receiving a clearance should requite some idea to the likelihood of their being found ineligible earlier starting this procedure.
Step vii: Suitability Review Panel
Upon completion of the background investigation and medical exam, a Suitability Review Panel will examine your file (minus any privileged medical information) to determine your suitability for employment with the Foreign Service. The attainment of U.S. foreign policy objectives depends substantially on the confidence of the public (both American and foreign) in the individuals selected to serve in the Foreign Service. The Department of State, therefore, requires the highest standards of comport past employees of the Foreign Service, including an especially high degree of integrity, reliability, and prudence. Given the representational nature of employment in the Foreign Service, employees must observe proper standards at all times. The purpose of the suitability review is to make up one's mind, from the candidate's total record, whether the candidate is indeed suitable to correspond the The states. The Suitability Review Panel has the authority to terminate a candidacy. In evaluating suitability, the Suitability Review Console takes into consideration the post-obit factors:
  • Misconduct in prior employment, including marginal functioning or disability to interact finer with others
  • Criminal, quack, or disgraceful conduct
  • Misrepresentation, including charade or fraud, in the application procedure
  • Repeated or habitual use to backlog of intoxicating beverages affecting the ability to perform the duties and responsibilities of the employee'due south position
  • Trafficking in or abuse of narcotics or controlled substances
  • Reasonable doubt as to loyalty to the U.S. Government
  • Comport which conspicuously shows poor judgment and or lack of discretion which may reasonably affect an individual or the agency's power to deport out its responsibilities or mission
  • Financial irresponsibility, including a history of not meeting financial obligations or an disability to satisfy debts
If you lot successfully consummate the Foreign Service Officer Examination; Qualifications Evaluation Panel; Oral Cess; security and medical clearances; and a suitability review, yous are placed on a hiring register. You are rank ordered on the Annals based on the specific career runway you chose at the time you registered for the Foreign Service Officer Test and your Oral Cess score, plus any additional credit for linguistic communication ability or veterans' preference you receive. You should be aware that your placement on the Register does not guarantee an appointment as a Foreign Service Officer. Hiring depends on the needs of the Strange Service. Your position on the Register is dynamic. People with higher scores will exist placed to a higher place you lot regardless of when they are placed on the Register. Too, you lot will exist placed above candidates with lower scores, regardless of how long they accept been on the Register. Your name may stay in the Register for a maximum of 18 months. If yous do non receive an appointment offer within that menses, your proper name will exist removed. Veterans Preference points or credit for demonstrated strange language proficiency (see below) may raise your standing on the Register. Instructions on how to receive additional credit in these areas will exist provided on successful completion of the Oral Assessment. You may too seek to better your place on the Register past re-taking the Foreign Service Officer Test again after xi months. You will need to complete the FSOT, Oral Assessment, medical and security clearances and suitability review processes successfully again before your proper name will exist re-entered on the Register. You lot may choose a different career track through this process.
If yous rising to the summit of the Registrar in your chosen career runway, based on the hiring needs of the Foreign Service, y'all may receive an offer of employment. This oft entails locating to Washington, D.C. with but a few weeks' notice in club to begin grooming. Yous may reject the first offering of employment. If you decline a 2nd offer, however, your name volition be removed from the Register. In rare cases, such as a military deployment or other overseas obligation to the U.S. government, you may exist eligible to defer your date. These cases are not common. New Foreign Service Officers begin their careers with a half dozen-week orientation program (known equally the A-100 form). The focus of the orientation is on introducing new employees to the structure and function of the Department and its function in the development and implementation of U.S. foreign policy; developing an understanding of the terms of employment; and enhancing core skills needed by all Foreign Service Officers. The A-100 course, based at the National Strange Affairs Grooming Center in Arlington, Va. is primarily a classroom experience. It also includes trips to Capitol Hill and to other federal agencies, as well as a two-day offsite training practise at a nearby briefing middle. In addition to presentations by guest speakers and U.Due south. Department of State officials, A-100 also includes a series of applied exercises and case studies. At the end of orientation, Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) receive their first assignments, which will govern the type of specialized training that follows. For FSOs that may include training in consular affairs, political-economical tradecraft, public diplomacy, or resource management. Any required language training can terminal for an additional six to nine months. Overall, newly hired FSOs can wait to spend from three months to one year in training before departure for their starting time overseas assignment.
Another Things to Consider
Qualifying, active military duty candidates may asking unrestricted additional time to schedule the Oral Assessment after passing the QEP. Candidates must notify BEX when they are discharged from the war machine and reschedule an Oral Assessment within the adjacent half dozen months. Strange Service candidates who tin can document creditable veterans' service by submitting form DD 214 or other certification will exist eligible to receive additional points on the Hiring Register: 0.175 for a five-indicate standing and 0.35 for a 10-point continuing. In all cases points are awarded one time a candidate has passed the Oral Assessment. Instructions on how to claim these points are provided at that fourth dimension. Qualifying, preference-eligible veterans may be appointed from the rank-ordered Hiring Register at any time before they turn 65. If appointed between the ages of 60 to 65, a qualifying, preference-eligible veteran may serve five years prior to being mandatorily retired.
While knowing a foreign language is not a requirement to be considered for the Foreign Service, demonstrated proficiency in a language will enhance a candidate'south competitiveness on the Register past giving a slight increase in points. Beginning with the June 2012 FSOT cohort, generalist candidates can receive .17 bump-up points for any one language listed hither if they pass a phone language exam at a speaking level 3 after passing the Oral Cess. The following eight languages are currently eligible for higher bump-upwards points: Arabic; Chinese (Mandarin); Hindi; Persian (Dari); Persian (Farsi); Pashto; Urdu; and Korean. Candidates testing in the eight languages eligible for higher points demand only a level ii speaking ability (every bit measured on the telephone test) to obtain the .17 language bump up points. Generalist candidates, who pass the Oral Assessment, receive a link to the Career Candidate Handbook, which describes how to arrange a telephone linguistic communication test conducted past the Department of State's Foreign Service Plant (FSI). Candidates may test as soon as they laissez passer the Oral Assessment and do not need to expect until they are on the Hiring Register. To receive the college bump-upwards points, candidates who pass the telephone test will then need to laissez passer an in-person, two-hour speaking and reading exam conducted past the Foreign Service Constitute in Arlington, Virginia. Whatever costs associated with the in-person exam (travel, lodging in Washington, etc.) are at the candidate's expense. Those who achieve a minimum score of 3 speaking and 2 reading (S3/R2) will be eligible to receive a full of .38 bump-up points. Candidates who receive a rating of at least 2 speaking and 1 reading (S2/R1) just less than 3 speaking and 2 reading (S3/R2) volition be eligible to receive a full of .25 bump-up points. Generalist candidates who choose to take the in-person test and practice not encounter the minimum S2/R1 score volition forfeit ALL language bonus points in that tested language including any they may accept earned through the earlier telephone-administered examination. Language points volition be granted for one language just. Candidates may test in some other language just if they neglect the initial test or if the second language has a higher point value. They may phone retest in the same language later vi months. Candidates who practice not pass the in-person FSI exam may accept a first retest after six months; any further in-person retests are authorized only later a 1-year interval from the concluding full exam in that language. Telephone language scores are valid for 18 months or the length of any candidacy initiated during the 18-month language score validity menstruation. In-person tests are valid for 5 years or the length of a candidacy initiated during the five-year period. A candidacy begins on the date a candidate takes the Foreign Service Officer Exam (FSOT). Most candidates volition need a security clearance specific to the state where the language is spoken earlier existence granted the higher language bump-upwardly. Generalist candidates who seek a .38 language bump-up must agree to serve in a position where that linguistic communication is required once during their first two assignments and in one case after reaching mid-level grades of the Foreign Service. Candidates must complete their second service commitment prior to existence able to compete for the Senior Foreign Service. Generalist candidates who qualify for .25 bump-up points must agree to serve in one case during their start two assignments in a postal service where that linguistic communication is spoken. Candidates whose candidacies began prior to the June 2012 FSOT (June two, 2012) will be grandfathered nether the previous policy (outlined below). For information to aid you assess your own speaking level, visit http://www.govtilr.org and click on "Speaking" nether the skill-level descriptions for a general description of the expected proficiency. The speaking self-assessment tool, available on the same site, will also help you estimate your language proficiency. For candidates whose candidacies began prior to the June 2, 2012 FSOT For those Generalist candidates whose candidacies began prior to the June 2, 2012 Foreign Service Officer Test, demonstrated linguistic communication proficiency can also enhance your competitiveness on the register by giving you a slight increase in your overall score. Generalist candidates in this category, who take passed the Oral Assessment, tin receive .17 bump-up points for any one linguistic communication listed here if they meet the specific speaking-level threshold required in the tested language during a telephone-administered language test conducted by the Strange Service Institute in Arlington (FSI), Virginia. In order to receive the .17 bump-upwardly points, a speaking level of 3 or higher during the phone examination is required for the following languages: Danish, Dutch, French, German, Haitian Creole, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanaian, Spanish and Swedish. All other listed languages crave a minimum level 2 speaking proficiency in order to receive bump-upwardly points. Those Generalist candidates in this category who can demonstrate a speaking proficiency of level 2 or higher in the following recruitment languages – Azerbaijani cluster, Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Kazakh, Korean, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Pashto, Farsi, Panjabi, Russian, Singhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Turkish, Turkmen, Urdu, and Uzbek – and brand the required service commitment – may earn a full of .xl points. Those with a speaking score of at to the lowest degree ii in Arabic tin earn a total of .50 points. To qualify for these additional points, Generalist candidates must agree in writing to serve in a country where that language is spoken at least twice in their careers: once during the start two tours and over again after being promoted to the mid-levels of the Foreign Service. Pre-employment language tests for candidates under this category are conducted by telephone only, not in person. Upon entry on duty with the Department, those claiming competence in a given language must take a formal speaking and reading examination in person at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in Arlington, Va. in order to be judged competent in that language.

For qualified candidates who will require accommodation upon date, the Role of Accessibility and Accommodations, Disability and Reasonable Accommodations Partitioning determines reasonable accommodations. To qualify, a candidate must encounter all requirements for appointment to the Foreign Service.

Reasonable accommodation for candidates with disabilities during the FSOT or Oral Assessments

We encourage candidates who take disabilities to employ to the Foreign Service Officer Examination. The Section is committed to provide reasonable accommodations to enable qualified applicants with disabilities to take the test. We will provide similar accommodation to candidates who are invited to the Oral Assessment. In addition to preparing and administering the FSOT, Pearson VUE is responsible for all reasonable accommodation requests for candidates with disabilities. Candidates who need accommodations to take the test must apply for reasonable accommodations at least thirty days before the next testing window. The accommodation blessing process can be lengthy. To allow sufficient time for approval and the necessary arrangements, submit an accommodations asking in writing with accompanying documentation to Pearson VUE at least 30 days before the requested examination engagement.

Follow the detailed instructions for accommodations requests provided at: http://www.pearsonvue.com/accommodations/ Requests that are incomplete or are not supported by appropriate documentation by the registration borderline may non be canonical. We cannot guarantee that the accommodation tin be in identify if requests are non received at least iii weeks prior to the test date. In that instance, Pearson VUE will enquire you to schedule for the following window.

Those receiving an accommodation will receive a letter from Pearson VUE confirming the accommodation to be provided. If your request is incomplete or does non support the adaptation request, Pearson VUE will notify you in writing. Yous may and so provide complete or updated documents prior to the deadline. Every endeavor will be made to provide an accommodation at your called test heart. All the same, exist aware that some examination centers may be unable to provide certain types of accommodations. For a comprehensive description of accommodation requirements, please download the Guide to the Foreign Service Officer Option Process (pdf). For those who are invited to take the Oral Assessment, reasonable accommodations are also bachelor for those who may need them. Contact OAA@state.gov at least iii weeks before your scheduled Oral Assessment.

Accommodations available through the Section may include, just are not express to: -A Reasonable Accommodation Analyst informs the assessors in advance of the Oral Assessment about the applicant'southward reasonable accommodation, such every bit a Deafened applicant using an American Sign Linguistic communication (ASL) interpreter, a blind applicant using a reader, etc., so BEX can ensure all accommodations are in place on the day of the cess. -Additional time for the Case Direction Exercise; -Written materials in Braille or large blazon, screen magnifiers; -Training time before taking the oral assessment, for example, to practice with designated (ASL) interpreters – subject to availability – to get familiar with signing style, do terminology and jargon, etc.; -Assistive engineering to use during the assessment.

Anyone applying to be in the Strange Service must be willing to accept the post-obit three commitments of Strange Service work: flexibility in assignments, public support of U.S. Government policies and worldwide availability.
Suitability Review Panels consider candidate involvement with controlled substances, including marijuana, in connection with suitability determinations for Strange Service positions. Drug involvement raises questions about an individual'southward reliability, judgment, and trustworthiness or ability or willingness to comply with laws, rules, and regulations, thus indicating his or her employment might not promote the efficiency or protect the integrity of the service. Each candidate's carry volition be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
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