Buying Into the State Dept. Lifestyle

A career as a civil servant is much more than just another job, says recruitment director Diane Castiglione

Related Items

• Peace Corps Slots in High Demand
• Are You Fit for the FBI?
• Hiring on a Case-by-Case Basis

Diane Castiglione
U.S. State Dept.

Story Tools

• post a comment
• e-mail this story
• print this story
• order a reprint
• digg this
• save to del.icio.us

A career in the Foreign Service may not be what most business majors anticipate upon graduation, but the U.S. State Dept.—which placed sixth in BusinessWeek's 2006 rankings of the Best Places to Start a Career—offers plenty of opportunity (and excitement) for college grads of any stripe (see BusinessWeek.com, 9/17/06, "State Dept: The Evolution of a Diplomat").

"A lot of times when people think of the State Dept., they think, 'Oh, that's for the Poli Sci majors," says Director of Recruitment Diane Castiglione. "And they couldn't be more wrong." But while a background in political science or international relations isn't a requirement, potential hires do have to go through a somewhat grueling hiring process that begins with the famously hard-to-study-for Foreign Service Exam. And when you accept a position in the Foreign Service, says Castiglione, you're not just accepting a job: "You're accepting a lifestyle."

Castiglione spoke to BusinessWeek.com reporter Kerry Miller about the State Dept.'s programs for students and the hiring process for new grads. Following is an edited excerpt of their conversation:

What is it that attracts people to careers at the State Dept.?

The opportunity to do interesting and meaningful work. The opportunity to make a difference. The opportunity to travel: in other words, to live and work overseas. Those are the main things we hear. We've done market research and focus groups for years, and those are the things that come up every time.

When you talk about Foreign Service or even public service generally, you're not just serving the Secretary of State or the President or the elected officials, you're serving the public interest. You're serving the interests of the people of the United States. And whether that means helping an American citizen who has lost his passport or who has been arrested, or whether it means trying to figure out a way to help a U.S. business engage in business in another country and overcome some of the obstacles or difficulties, make sure they get the information they need to do business in that country, whether it means trying to work on issues involving human rights on any number of levels—these are all things that are in the interests of the United States and help to make our country what it is and to improve our lifestyles in many ways.

What types of opportunities for students do you have available?

We have a number of internship programs, fellowship programs, and other student employment programs, a total of about 10. The largest program we have is our internship program, which we run three times a year, in the fall, spring, and summer. We place interns both in Washington and overseas at our embassies and our consulates.

It gives students an opportunity to work in the foreign-affairs environment, to test the waters as far as a career is concerned. The work they do is professional—it's definitely not a clerical position. Do they make photocopies? Yes, but so do I. It's an opportunity to get professional experience in a foreign-affairs environment. This past year, we had over 1,000 students participate in the program, about half of them overseas.

How do you determine where students are placed for their internships?

The students get to express an interest in up to two bureaus. We provide the students with information about the different bureaus that are participating in the program, and they can select up to two to receive their application, and then the bureaus make their selections based on the pool that they receive.