Mid-level Hiring and the War for Talent

After reading various statements and letters regarding mid-level hiring for the Foreign Service generalist corps, dating back at least to the July 2007 issue of the Foreign Service Journal, I would like to fire a longer salvo into this discussion.

As numerous reports and a May AFSA statement note, since the 2003 invasion of Iraq staffing demands on the Foreign Service have soared: some 300 positions in Iraq, 150 positions in Afghanistan, 40 positions in the State Department’s new office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, more than 100 training positions to increase the number of Arabic-speakers, and 280 new positions in areas of emerging importance such as China and India. Despite these urgent staffing needs, Congress has not provided the necessary funding. As a result, hundreds of Foreign Service positions are vacant. In addition, the State Department calculates that the Foreign Service is short 1,015 positions for overseas and domestic assignments and another 1,079 positions for training and temporary needs — this out of total staffing of just 11,500. FSO Mark Johnsen’s December 2007 Journal article, “One Hand Clapping: The Sound of Staffing the Foreign Service,” notes that the actual cumulative deficit may be as high as 3,500 personnel. This gap has an enormous impact on U.S. diplomacy and the ability of the Department of State to execute the transformational measures advocated by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice[…]

As an organization operating in a globalized labor market, the State Department has begun to shift gears to meet the challenge of attracting, developing and retaining the best people — those with high potential, or scarce knowledge and skills, who can successfully lead transformation and change within an organization, adding direct value to a business’s position. But the department will not be able to address its massive personnel shortfall and need for skills unless it begins offering opportunities for top performers to bypass the entry level and join the Foreign Service as middle managers.