ACT’s Professional Development Services Plays Role in Foreign Service Officer Selection

ACT is playing a significant role in helping a federal agency select top candidates for one of the most prestigious jobs in America.

U.S. Department of State Assessor Frank Coulter briefs Foreign Service Officer candidates at the beginning of the Oral Assessment.

The company has enjoyed a longstanding contractual relationship driven by high performance and customer satisfaction standards with the U.S. Department of State (DoS) to develop, administer, and score the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT). Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) advocate American foreign policy, protect American citizens, and promote American business interests throughout the world. They staff U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic missions devoted to strengthening peace, stability, and prosperity.

The Foreign Service’s reputation for selectivity makes it one of the federal government’s most desired career paths. Thousands of people apply each year to become FSOs, but only a few hundred are offered these positions. Last year, the DoS received 10,500 applicants and hired 350. The DoS expected to hire about 450 FSOs this year, but anticipates that the new administration may authorize even more.

About 7,000 FSOs work worldwide in five specialty areas or career tracks: consular, economic, management, political, and public diplomacy. FSOs generally serve three-year tours, in more than 265 posts around the globe.

ACT’s Professional Development Services (PDS) started working with the DoS in 1998. Originally called the Foreign Service Written Exam, the pencil-and-paper test took seven hours and was offered only once a year. Approximately 18,000 people took it annually.

In 2007, the DoS switched to a “total candidate” approach to make the department more competitive in targeting and recruiting smart, highly skilled Americans. “We are fortunate that we continue to have a highly qualified and talented candidate pool,” said Rekha Arness, deputy staff director of the Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service. “With the new process, we seek to attract candidates from an even wider pool and, by now offering the test online several times a year, we expect to compete more effectively with the private sector by hiring new personnel more quickly.”

The new approach adopted an expanded registration procedure that includes a new Personal Narrative section. It also added a Qualifications Evaluation Panel that reviews the complete files of candidates who pass the test, taking into consideration the “total candidate”—education, work and overseas experience, public service, and foreign language proficiency.

The test was shortened, renamed, and made more accessible. It takes about three hours and is offered online a number of times a year through the ACT Center^® network in the United States and at diplomatic posts overseas. The new approach is designed to cut hiring times in half, from an average of 14 months to seven months. “The new test is much more efficient, delivers data about candidates more quickly, and has streamlined the entire process,” said Richard Kramer, staff director of the Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service.

The DoS has been “very happy” with ACT’s work, he said. “We need people with specific skills and knowledge, and ACT helps us identify those people.

“ACT worked hard to ensure that the quality delivered remains high, even though the test is shorter. ACT has always provided exceptional service by being responsive to our shifting needs and working with us to address issues.”

Professional Development Services staff provide a wide range of test development, registration, administration, scoring, and reporting services, such as:

• Recruiting test item writers and developing test items and operational forms
• Preparing the FSOT Study Guide
• Hosting the online registration and online appointment scheduling systems
• Reviewing candidate registrations to verify age, citizenship, and prior test history
• Inviting eligible candidates to schedule a test date
• Proctoring online testing at ACT Center facilities and assisting the DoS in establishing overseas test sites
• Scoring multiple-choice and essay components
• Making online score reports available and notifying candidates

Staff also assist with two other key steps in the hiring process—the Qualifications Evaluation Panel and the Oral Assessment.

Other than age and citizenship requirements, there are no eligibility qualifications to become a foreign service officer. So why is the Foreign Service so selective?

“We want only the best people,” said Kramer. “Do you want your foreign policy to be implemented by less than the best? We are talking issues of national interest and well-being—economically, politically, environmentally, and scientifically.

“We need people who can protect our citizens, who can deal with the breadth and depth of vital issues and persuade other nations and international institutions to support our efforts, and who can manage the resources and infrastructure the United States requires for success.”