U.S. seeks to shorten Foreign Service test

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department is proposing changing its more than 70-year-old process for selecting its foreign service diplomats, The Washington Post reported.

As the process stands, applicants must answer hundreds of questions in 12 subject areas ranging from democratic philosophy, international law, world history and geography to math and English skills. For those who pass the test, applicants then go through a half-day oral question period.

However, the department is poised to announce plans for an overhaul next year that shortens the tough written exam and places more emphasis on the "weight" of resumes, references and intangibles such as "team-building skills," the Post reported. The oral exam would remain the final test for entry.

In a draft to employees worldwide seen by the newspaper, State Department Director General George Staples said the goal of the "Total Candidate" approach ... is to "improve our ability to find the best ... compete more effectively with the private sector to attract the best, and ... make our process faster in hiring the best."

About 20,000 people take the test each year but only a few hundred make it past the written and oral tests, the report said.