SOAP BOX TIME

During the Foreign Service onboarding process, we attest, multiple times, that we are worldwide available. It isn’t fine print, and it isn’t a theoretical requirement. It means accepting the reality that the needs of the Service may send you somewhere difficult. In MED this is almost a guarantee.

Yet every Flag Day, there are people who receive an assignment they don’t want and immediately begin looking for a way out or straight up quit. This has happened multiple times since I have joined the department both in and outside my specialty. While everyone has personal circumstances and there are legitimate reasons plans change, I think prospective Foreign Service members need to be brutally realistic with themselves before accepting the job.

Worldwide availability does not mean “worldwide, except for the places I don’t like.” It doesn’t mean Europe, Japan, or a handful of desirable posts. It means being willing to serve where the Department needs you.

The hiring and onboarding process is long, expensive, and competitive. When someone repeatedly attests that they are worldwide available while knowing they will resign if assigned to certain regions or posts, they are wasting everyone’s time, including their own, and potentially taking an opportunity from someone who genuinely understood the commitment.

If you’re serious about joining the Foreign Service, ask yourself the hard question before you accept the offer: If my flag is somewhere I don’t want to go, am I still willing to serve?

If the answer is no, the Foreign Service may not be the right career for you. And that’s okay. You’ll attest to it multiple times as you go along, so be truthful with yourself. But be honest about it before Flag Day—not after. -Nick