Rethinking the Foreign Service Exam

The old civl service hiring exam is a thing of the past, a victim of lawsuits and the mainstreaming of what had once been alternative hiring techniques. But the rigorous Foreign Service exam lives on as the leading example of merit-based competitive federal hiring. Not for long, though. The Washington Post reports that the State Department has proposed to shorten the test and eliminate its status as the make-or-break first step in a Foreign Service career. The department is seeking to use a new approach, known as "Total Candidate," that would include resume submissions, reference checks and an evaluation of things like team-building skills. The impetus for the switch? That bugaboo all federal agencies are struggling with: The need to replace aging baby boomers.