The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2006

A Generational Shift But under the surface, big ques- tions remain, at least among the rank-and-file, about whether the recent recruits will pursue careers at State, or whether they will ultimately opt for greener pastures in the pri- vate sector. A 2004 Foreign Service Journal report on officers hired under the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative confirmed what many older officers have observed: the new generation is eager to be judged on its merits, rather than time in grade, but hesitates when it comes to committing to the Foreign Service for an entire career. (See “Great Expectations: New Hires and the Foreign Service,” June 2004 FSJ .) Many new entrants complain that it took years sometimes for State to put to use the skills for which they were hired. In some cases, says one recently-retired, 24-year vet- eran of the Foreign Service, the new recruits have proven more reluctant to embrace State’s culture, and more willing to question their superiors. That’s not to say these young officers aren’t up to the task — most, she acknowledged, have proven their mettle just by surviving the highly competitive entrance process — but at the same time, given their willingness to consider Foreign Service just a short- term job, they don’t have nearly as much at stake as their elders. “Of course, you want these people, but the question is how do we keep them?” she asks. “How do we bring them into the culture? The attitude now is: ‘We really aren’t losing that many people’” to attrition. “But will that last? You have this big bulge at the bottom because of the DRI. Are those people feeling challenged? Are they happy? Is the department thinking about that?” “I think there’s been a generational shift,” she says. C O V E R S T O R Y J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 25 State has taken some steps in the right direction to help spouses find rewarding work.