Federal government intensifies college recruiting

By Steve Giegerich
Associated Press

Before getting her bachelor's degree in business and accounting last June from the College of Charleston, Alecia Valentino took a look at the private-sector job market — and opted for graduate school.

With federal agencies stepping up campus recruiting, Alecia Valentino is considering getting a job with the government while pursuing her graduate degree at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Associated Press

"The pay is not that bad with the federal government, and with the private sector being what it is, I think I'd rather have a stable job, especially in accounting, where you could wind up working for a WorldCom or Enron," said Valentino, who interviewed with four federal agencies at a recent job fair.

Despite complaints about the length of the application process, many students are giving government employment a serious look.

The Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group that promotes civil service careers, said that with at least 50 percent of the existing federal work force eligible for retirement by 2007, there should be more than enough positions to go around. The partnership estimates the government needs to fill 250,000 jobs.

Students and career counselors — hurting from consecutive years of sub-par hiring — are happy to see the government on campus.

"The poor students in college this year, everything changed during their college education. They came in at a high, economically, and they're leaving with all the rules changed," said Nancy Cathcart, a career counselor with Champlain College in Burlington, Vt.

Recruiters from federal law enforcement agencies showed up at Champlain to interview criminal justice majors at an October job fair. Other schools that have held career fairs this fall, including Charleston and Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, report government interest in students with an array of majors.

The State Department has intensified its recruiting since the Bush administration took over, said Diane Castiglione, director of recruiting.

"In the Foreign Service we change our positions every couple of years, so it gives you the best of both worlds: You can get a new job without losing a job," Castiglione said. "You have that stimulus of change, excitement and new challenges and interesting work with the stability of not having to go out and find a new employer every couple of years."

The government is getting help in its recruiting effort from the Partnership for Public Service, seeded last year with a $25 million contribution from a private lawyer grateful for past work with the Justice Department.

So far, the partnership has brought 380 colleges and universities together with 60 agencies.

The group's president, Max Stier, said that in addition to providing long-term stability, government jobs — 85 percent of which are outside of Washington — also appeal to a mindset created by the terrorist attacks.

"Young people today are looking for an opportunity to make a difference rather than to make a dollar," he said.

But for the government to appeal to more young people, it must shorten the application process and the time from the hiring date to the start of work, said Brenda Davis, director of career development at Alabama A&M University in Normal, Ala. Civil service examinations and security checks slow down the process, she said.

Shirley Lecque, a senior at Charleston interested in an accounting career with the Air Force Auditing Agency, agreed with Davis.

"The application is so long, it's like reading a book," said Lecque, drawn to a government job by tales of classmates with accounting degrees now working as bank tellers.

Acknowledging that gaps of up to six months between a job offer and the start of employment pose a "tremendous problem," Stier said the partnership is working with the government to accelerate the process.