New Web site helps DoD, other agencies find recruits

Federal managers who need to quickly find recruits for hard-to-fill national security positions can find potential employees through a new online resume-posting system.

Looking for a recent college graduate who knows Hungarian and has computer programming experience? Need a fluent Chinese speaker with a background in environmental policy? The National Security Education Program posts the resumes of hundreds of college graduates, who are obligated to serve in the federal government, on the program's new Web site, www.nsep-net.opm.gov. Federal managers can search through the resumes to find candidates who match their agencies' needs.

The National Security Education Program awards about 300 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students for study abroad. Some graduate students are also awarded money for domestic programs with an international focus. The scholarships are given for up to a year. In return for the scholarships, students are required to work in the federal government for a time equal to the time they received government grants. Positions can be paid or unpaid, full or part time, or internships.

National Security Education Program graduates can be hired under Schedule A excepted hiring authority, without regard to competitive civil service rules such as veterans' preference and the Defense Department's Priority Placement Program.

The graduates are a "centralized talent pool who have pre-selected themselves," said Robert Slater, director of the National Security Education Program. "The students are incredible." Program participants study all over the world and have backgrounds in more than 50 languages.

Slater said program participants are required to apply to receive scholarships. Of about 500 undergraduate applicants, 150 were awarded scholarships this year. About 100 of the 300 graduate applicants were selected for the program.

The new Web site's resume bank can only be accessed by managers who receive passwords from the Office of Personnel Management. Once the managers receive passwords, they can search through resumes by typing in language requirements, academic disciplines, regional expertise, date of availability, or by any combination of those criteria. A list of students who match some or all of the criteria comes up. Managers can then contact the applicants to set up interviews.

The Web site was jointly designed by OPM and the Defense Department, which oversees the National Security Education Program. Any federal agency with national security positions can use the Web site. Managers can contact OPM at 1-888-749-NSEP or via e-mail at nsepnetinfo@opm.gov to get passwords for the system.

The scholarship program is paid for out of a trust fund Congress authorized in 1991.