The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2005

employment policy” as well, but many do not. Many embassy jobs require a security clearance, and the acquisi- tion of a clearance can take a long time and delay hiring by months. In late 2003, the Diplomatic Security Bureau implemented an interim clearance process, which allows posts to give temporary clearance to a spouse based on the Foreign Service employee’s clearance. Posts must request the interim clearance from DS, and if all goes well, DS can grant an interim clearance within a few weeks that allows the EFM to begin work while the full clearance process continues. The FMA hiring mechanism has helped many posts speed up the hir- ing process for EFMs, though more than a few family members respond- ing to our survey had complaints about delays. One of the key benefits of the FMA hiring mechanism is that it allows the EFM to carry a security clearance from post to post, thus avoiding the time-consuming and costly process of redoing a security check. A security clearance granted for an FMA position can be revalidat- ed for up to two years after the employee leaves the job. Before the FMA mechanism, a new clearance was required by each new post. A number of EFMs told us that they have successfully reactivated a securi- ty clearance at a new post, and were able to save time in the hiring process for a new job. Marlene Nice — an EFM who joined the Foreign Service in May — says she went into inter- mittent-no-work-scheduled status when recently transferring from Montevideo to Zagreb, and “it took just a matter of days to renew my top- secret clearance.” Others told of having trouble reinstating a clearance at a new post. The success seems to depend largely on whether the man- agement section at post tries to make it work. Training Many family members receive training outside the mission for embassy jobs. Some, especially con- sular associates, receive training at FSI before going to post. FLO’s Katie Hokenson explains that training for family members prior to arrival at post (usually in connection with con- sular associate positions) is on a space-available basis. It has been somewhat more difficult for EFMs to get into consular courses during the past several years due to the increased hiring of Foreign Service employees under the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative. EFMs who work as community liaison office coordinators usually receive training away from post. Others who often receive training out of country are APO postal employees, consular associates, voucher examin- ers, and those in other management positions in human resources and finance. Several EFMs working in Web-site management positions reported being extremely pleased with training opportunities. There are good positions for EFM nurses at many posts. Several nurses responded to the survey, none of whom had received training for the job. Obviously, to be hired as an RN, you have to already be a trained nurse. However, the Foreign Service nurse does have unique responsibili- ties based on country-specific health- care availability. EFM nurse Alison Rowles recalls landing in Niamey without much information about her job: “I was handed a radio upon land- ing and told I had a deathly ill patient to deal with at the local hospital. I didn’t even know where my home was let alone the hospital! It didn’t stop from there.” Of respondents who had worked for USAID, some received outside training, and others did not. Training for USAID posi- tions varies widely from post to post and job to job. Attitudes: Just Because We’re Here Many family members in embassy jobs complain that they feel underuti- lized, unappreciated and underpaid. “All the talk in the State Department about the importance of spousal employment does not amount to a hill of beans for anyone that has more than a high-school education,” says a male EFM at an African post. “I have been told and have read a million times that if I’m flexible enough and try hard enough that I will be able to have a rewarding career as the spouse of a Foreign Service officer, and it is really just not true. I have tried every category possible, and most positions have either required I get paid a ridiculously low salary or that I work at a level well below my experience. … EFM positions are usually low- level, administrative positions. Most spouses these days show up with uni- versity and graduate degrees and salary histories that just do not make [the] available EFM employment opportu- nities appropriate or interesting.” EFM Adrianne Treiber in Warsaw says that embassy management should “recognize that we have a lot of skills …pay us as you would anyone else. … Do not take advantage of our desire to work, but give us real jobs, a profes- sional attitude and a realistic remuner- ation.” A first-tour EFM in an African J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 71 Many family members complain that in competition for embassy jobs with locals, they usually lose.