Federal Hiring Officers Call for Better Ways to Hire Recent Grads
The Office of Personnel Management hosted a public hearing last week, according to this helpful article from Government Executive, where many top agency hiring officers talked about how the competitive hiring system is not an effective way to hire recent college or graduate school grads. One speaker discussed the particular disadvantage recent grads have going up against applicants with more experience but perhaps less education:
Officials also agreed that hiring based on past work experience also puts college graduates at a disadvantage when they are compared with applicants who have been in the workforce for many years. Instead, they should be evaluated based on “foundational competencies that we believe are lifetime skills and underpin every job,” said [Marilee] Fitzgerald [of the Department of Defense], such as optimism and intellectual curiosity.
Changes in the federal hiring mechanism that make it easier for recent grads to find a way into the system, whether through structured internships, honors programs, or other options, all spell good news for recent law graduates looking to get into the federal market.