The Foreign Service Journal, May 2022

30 MAY 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Network, Network, Network Because the REA program is decentralized, there is no departmentwide list of job openings. This disappoints many retiring employees because it puts the onus on them to proac- tively contact one or more bureaus to ask about employment opportunities. This need to network is like lobbying for a highly bid job during your active-duty career—a task that many of us were looking forward to never having to do again in retirement. Another hurdle facing job seekers stems from shortcomings in the departmentwide registry of retirees seeking positions. While retiring employees can and should submit their contact information to the REA Central Registry run by State’s Bureau of Global Talent Management, that registry has two limitations. First, it does not include a searchable database of past assign- ments, skills and languages spoken. Thus, the registry is of little use to a bureau looking for someone with specific experience or abilities. Second, many bureaus simply never consult the registry. Instead, they add names to their REA rolls only after people proactively apply to them. A final hurdle is that the number of REA applicants exceeds the number of positions available. Thus, employees near- ing retirement who are interested in REA employment must expend effort to find opportunities and convince the hiring official that they meet their needs. For a retired consular officer applying to interview visa applicants during staffing gaps, that probably means not saying that you are unavailable to work in the summer. For someone applying to join an Office of Inspec- tor General inspection team, that means being available to work continuously during a nearly four-month-long inspection cycle. The best time to investigate potential REA jobs is in the year before retirement. That is when you still have access to the Global Address List and intranet staffing rosters to help you reach out to offices who hire REAs or contact past supervi- sors who might serve as a reference. While still on active duty, your security clearance remains valid, making post-retirement revalidation potentially quicker. And, as you go through your pre-separation medical exam, a few additional tests can be done to renew your medical clearance for REA work. Some people ask if taking a six- to 12-month break at retire- ment to decompress before returning to work will harm their chances of finding a REA job. While the answer is probably yes, any disadvantage can be mitigated by keeping in touch with contacts in your bureau(s) of interest. But you will probably get a multimonth break even if you do not want it because it is rarely possible to start REA work immediately after retirement. Some bureaus have a long hiring process, and your security clearance may need a time-consuming update. For those who have been retired for more than a year before seeking an REA job, finding one may be very difficult. Whether true or not, bureau hiring officials may assume that you have not kept up with current technology and office pro- cedures. Also, eligibility for noncompetitive appointments to Civil Service positions, including REA jobs, expires three years after retirement. For More Information A limited amount of information on the REA program can be found on the State Department’s Retirement Network internet site at https:// RNet.state.gov. It helpfully includes a list of bureau REA coordinators with telephone numbers and email addresses. A 30-minute briefing on post-retirement federal employ- ment opportunities is included in FSI’s four-day RV101 Retirement Planning Seminar. Those seminars are currently being presented virtually and are thus available to employees anywhere in the world. The next sessions are June 20-23, July 25-28 and September 26-29. For details, visit www.state.gov/ career-transition-center-ctc. For employees retiring via the RV102 Job Search/Transition Program, that presentation is followed by a panel discussion by representatives of offices that employ many REAs. In recent years, that panel has included the bureaus of Administration (declassification offices), African Affairs and Consular Affairs along with the Office of Inspector General (Office of Inspec- tions) and USAID. n Because the REA program is decentralized, there is no departmentwide list of job openings.