Federal agencies miss opportunities to recruit top talent when they fail to debunk myths that steer new graduates into the private sector and rely on archaic hiring processes that today’s top professionals bypass for easier and quicker private-sector job offers.
Dale F. Weeks
Young government employees face a number of acknowledged obstacles in choosing a path of public service: complex application processes that often drag on for months, lower salaries than those for comparable private-sector jobs, bureaucratic hierarchies and promotion caps that limit opportunities even for highly skilled workers, and an inflexible environment. Those entering the private sector face a different set of problems: limited benefits, longer work hours and fewer vacation days, and an environment lacking camaraderie as new employees compete for recognition and promotion. Public-sector organizations must recognize the common desires of new graduates if they want to attract the kind of professionals who can develop into future managers and leaders.
Young professionals make tradeoffs according to their personal preferences, priorities, and short- and long-term goals. Some sacrifice higher-paying jobs in the private sector for the longer-term security of government. Some choose government because of their passion for an issue or dedication to a government agency mission. Those who enter the private sector may have a poor perception of government or prioritize earning potential, particularly if they face student loan repayments and the high cost of living, especially in metropolitan areas.
The Differences Are Blurring
Public servants have days when they sit at their desks after comparing jobs with their private-sector colleagues and wonder, “Should I have gone the private-sector route to avoid all this bureaucracy?” Recently, however, I’ve heard complaints from private-sector employees more typical of those you hear from public servants. They cite management structures and decision-making procedures that are far from the fast-paced environment that public- sector employees perceive as the mode du jour. One colleague, who works for a large consulting firm, spoke of the bureaucracy he has encountered in his daily job because a project on which he is working requires multilayered contract approvals that often delay negotiation and progress for weeks.
Large consulting firms that contract with government may also find their organizations start to function at the government pace, particularly when bound to the regulations and requirements for procurement and other operations and when relying on approval processes from government officials to perform their work. This was the case I observed in reviewing disaster recovery and reconstruction funded by the federal government and implemented through the private sector.
The private sector is performing government functions through contracts, helping re build the Nation and other countries in a year of multiple natural disasters and a continuing war on terrorism.This collaboration blurs the differences between government and private- sector organization and behavior, and new graduates can have a hard time deciding on the best working environment.
The Government Is Missing Opportunities
The federal government is missing opportunities to recruit top talent because it has failed to debunk the myths that steer new graduates into the private sector and turned away candidates early in the process by maintaining archaic application and hiring processes that today’s top professionals bypass for the private-sector jobs that come more easily and quickly.
The mounting federal challenges—fighting global terrorism and restoring livelihoods and infrastructure after disasters in the United States and abroad— are not enough to draw new graduates into public- service careers.The Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group that seeks to revitalize the federal civil service, surveyed 805 college seniors in early May 2005. It found that only about 21 percent said 9/11 made them more interested in working for the U. S. government. According to the organization’s president and chief executive officer, Max Stier, “Students don’t hold government jobs in very high esteem and some students worry they won’t be able to repay their college loans on government salaries.They also see the government as an unwieldy bureaucracy in which promotions will come too slowly. What’s more, they think government red tape will prevent them from having much of an impact.”
Another highly qualified young respondent said that the long application process, with its months of waiting, was frustrating and a deterrent. A recent article in The Washington Post, “Questionnaire Can Shut Out Entry-Level Applicants,” highlighted the frustration felt by new college graduates who want public-sector jobs but can’t get through the application process to even get an interview. On the bright side, many agencies are creating a more entrepreneurial environment that appeals to the savvy young professionals who are also drawn to the missions of particular agencies and a public-service career. However, if the talented and dedicated can’t get through the front door, then the agencies’ efforts only serve the current population of workers—largely made up of senior officials who entered federal service for different reasons and have different expectations of their agency at this point in their careers.
The federal government needs to emphasize the characteristics that distinguish it from the private sector, correcting the misperceptions that deter the young from public service. Organizations like the Partnership for Public Service are working to “rebrand” government, but many of the solutions need to come from government itself. Federal agency strategic planning needs to focus on streamlining the application process and improving recruitment while accomplishing the mission. Part of that strategy should be the engagement of young professionals in the federal government who can contribute to improving the perception of the public sector and serve as recruiters, particularly by sharing their own experience in entering and selecting careers in public service.
The Young Government Leaders (YGL) organization plans to take on some of these issues using a bottom- up, cross-government approach. With over 450 young federal employees in many different agencies, YGL has created a forum for addressing not only issues that young workers face after they have entered the public-sector workforce, but also a longer-term strategy for growing that workforce and preparing them to be tomorrow’s government leaders. By finding ways to change the perception of public service, YGL hopes to catalyze a government recruitment campaign and take part in safeguarding the federal workforce.
Adrienne Spahr, a member of the Young Government Leaders organization, is an analyst with the international affairs and trade team at the U. S. Government Accountability Office. She can be reached at spahra@ gao. gov.