Campaign to recruit feds kicks off this spring on college campuses

Uncle Sam and a nonprofit group are heading to college campuses this spring to promote public service. Students at participating schools will be able to learn more about job opportunities in the civil service from current and former federal employees, as part of a new initiative led by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS), a nonprofit group dedicated to improving the government's recruitment and retention record. The group hopes to launch the recruitment effort this spring, according to Max Stier, president and CEO of the group. "We want to reintroduce the different actors to each other and kick-start the process of building new connections between the government and colleges," Stier said. The group will work with the Office of Personnel Management and certain colleges and universities across the country. Stier would not say which schools were expected to participate in the project, but noted that many schools were interested in showcasing public service as a career option. "There is a lot of untapped potential out there, and many career counselors and university presidents who think government service is a great thing to be doing," he said. The recruitment initiative hopes to raise the profile of the federal workforce by holding workshops on federal job opportunities, encouraging college alumni and career employees to speak about their experiences in government and highlighting public service at commencement ceremonies and similar events, according to Stier. "The first barrier that government faces is ignorance," Stier said. "People don't know about the job opportunities in the federal government, or they don't know how to obtain a government job." Stier said the initiative would promote public service to young people as a career builder, not necessarily as a life-long vocation. "We want people to see that public service is an experience to build intellectual capital in themselves, and at the same time do something worthwhile for the country," he said. The partnership with PPS will enhance OPM's efforts to hire more college graduates and reach out to young people, according to OPM spokesman Edmund Byrnes. The agency has already started reaching out to elementary students by participating in the job shadow project, sponsored by the National Job Shadow Coalition. Earlier this month, OPM welcomed 20 students from across the country and paired them with agency employees who introduced them to the workings of government. The Partnership for Public Service is also devising a strategy to attract more mid-career professionals to government to replace retiring senior managers, Stier said. The group is studying current initiatives as models, including the White House Fellows program and the Presidential Management Intern program. Diversity is key when crafting a talented workforce, Stier said. "The broader reach you have, the better off you are going to be in meeting your talent needs," he said. "It's important to bring in entry-level people, but it's equally important to draw experienced workers from the labor market." On Friday, the partnership was slated to discuss its proposal to attract more experienced professionals to government in Boston during a conference on the federal workforce hosted by Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.