HIRING PROCESS
 
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DIA is committed to hiring exceptional talent for a variety of career opportunities around the world to help support our mission. The majority of our hiring is done at the entry-level through invitation-only hiring events; however, vacancies may be posted for mid- and senior-level positions as mission dictates.

Once you are invited to interview and receive a conditional job offer, you must be granted a security clearance before the hiring process can be finalized. The Government considers many factors when granting security clearances, including citizenship, drug use, integrity and personal conduct.

Applying for Employment at DIA

The following instructions outline DIA's submission process. You must complete all sections of an application and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date of the job posting/vacancy announcement.

Unless specified within the vacancy announcement, you must complete and submit your job application electronically using DIA's online job tool.

1.  Hover your mouse over "Careers and Opportunities", then click Search Vacancies.

2.  On your first visit, you will need to click "Register Now" to create your account.

3.  Click "Search" to view vacancy announcements for opportunities that interest you.

4. Click the checkbox in front of jobs that interest you, then click "Save Selected Jobs" to store the announcements in "My Saved Jobs."

5. At the top of the "Careers Home" page, click "My Saved Jobs" to view each announcement. Start the application process by clicking the "Apply Now" at the bottom of the announcement.

6. While working on the application, save frequently. When you save the document prior to final submission, you can exit the application and return later to continue by logging in and going to Careers Home > My Career Tools > Submitted/Saved Applications.

7. If you are finished, click "Submit".

You must complete and submit the application prior to the closing date listed on the Vacancy Announcement.

* Final applications are not available for revision. If you need to revise your application, complete and submit another application.

All positions at DIA are in the excepted service under 10 USC 1601 appointment authority and covered by the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System, a General Grade pay system divided into grades and steps similar to OPM’s General Schedule compensation system. All candidates must be U.S. citizens and are subject to a thorough background inquiry and any required medical examinations.

NEXT STEPS

Your application for employment must be prepared and submitted online at www.dia.mil. If you have been selected or are invited to a hiring event, you will receive correspondence from DIA's Talent Acquisition Division.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY PAY

DIA officers have the expertise to serve their country in a demanding role. As an incentive, officers can supplement their salary if they qualify for Foreign Language Proficiency Pay (FLPP).

In general, DIA does not employ individuals due to foreign language skills alone. There are only a very small number of translator or interpreter positions. However, foreign language proficiency is considered in hiring decisions for intelligence officers. Intelligence officers use language skills to read foreign textual material, listen to foreign audio or spoken content, or to converse with individuals in another language. There are virtually no requirements to write in a foreign language.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

FLPP is a discretionary payment designed to enhance mission requirement capabilities; it is not an entitlement. FLPP eligibility criteria and rates align FLPP resources with mission-related language use requirements. Under DIA's current policy, FLPP eligibility for all DIA employees require a minimum proficiency level 2+/2+/2 (listening/reading/ speaking) as measured by the Defense Language Proficiency Tests (DLPT) and Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI).

WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?

You can find more information at the following locations:

ILR Scale: http://www.govtilr.org/Skills/ILRscale1.htm

DLPT: http://www.dliflc.edu/resources/dlpt-guides/

OPI: http://vimeo.com/album/139578

TESTING REQUIREMENTS

The U.S. Government uses the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) standardized descriptors of foreign language proficiency for listing comprehension, reading comprehension, and speaking ability. Please review these standards at www.dia.mil/careers to familiarize yourself with these standards prior to providing a response concerning your foreign language proficiency.

DIA uses the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) to test listening and reading proficiency. In cases when a DLPT does not exist, DIA will specify an alternate test.

DIA uses a certified Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) to test speaking proficiency. This is conducted through a proctored telephone interview.

You will be required to validate/revalidate your proficiency through a DLPT and OPI prior to a final hiring determination.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STRATEGIC LANGUAGE LIST

The Strategic Language List informs the DoD's Foreign Language planning resourcing for training, testing, incentivizing, recruiting, and manning for languages that present the greatest utility toward achieving U.S. national security interests.

The SLL retains the three groups of languages: “Immediate,” which identifies languages immediately needed to meet urgent current demands; “Emerging,” which identifies languages for anticipated expanding future requirements; and “Enduring,” which identifies languages the DoD sees as a continuing need during the next 10 to 15 years.
 

IMMEDIATE

Arabic - Levantine
Arabic - Yemeni
Balochi
Pushtu - Afghan
Persian - Iranian (Farsi)
Somali
Urdu

EMERGING

Acholi
Amharic
Azerbaijani
Bengali
Burmese
Hindi
Kirghiz
Punjabi
Tadjik
Uzbek

ENDURING

Arabic
Chinese Mandarin
French
German
Hausa
Hebrew
Indonesian
Japanese
Korean
Kurdish
Malay
Persian - Afghan (Dari)

Portuguese
Romanian
Russian
Serbo - Croatian
Spanish
Swahili
Tagalog
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese