Government boosts recruitment efforts

Despite a multi-year economic downturn and a decline in private
sector hiring, the federal government is stepping up its recruiting
efforts on college campuses.

The government has been much more aggressive in its job
recruiting this year, said Kathy Sims, director of the UCLA Career
Center.

Federal recruiting on campus has been facilitated by a
non-partisan organization that informs the university about
upcoming recruiting events and job opportunities.

According to a report released by the Partnership for Public
Service, the federal government will need to hire over 250,000
employees in the next two years to replace retiring workers and
carry out the responsibilities associated with the newly created
Department of Homeland Security.

But Sims, a 25-year veteran of career counseling, doesn’t
foresee an immediate burgeoning of job opportunities.

“As of now, we don’t know the exact plan for how
many entry-level jobs the new department will need to fill, and
when they will fill them.”

Instead, a gradual increase in federal recruiting, as a result
of the passage of the Homeland Security Act, is expected to start
winter quarter.

The upswing in federal recruiting coincides with a downturn in
private sector hiring.

“When the economy and job market slowed down, the
government saw this as their window of opportunity to obtain highly
qualified recruits,” Sims said.

The federal agencies recruiting at UCLA include the State
Department, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Central Intelligence
Agency and the National Security Administration.

As Sims explains, in the job market, everything is relative.

“If you’re in the job market when salaries are high,
then you want that too, but now nobody in the private sector is
offering those incentives; there are no signing bonuses this
year.”

While last year jobs in the public sector were mostly
student’s second choices, this year more students are
considering government placement a good option.

UCLA students are more receptive to and prepared for government
careers because of their internships experience, Sims said.

Even before graduation, there are several programs on campus
that help students obtain government internships as a means of
gaining valuable work experience and sometimes course credit.

But some students are deterred by a long applications process
and low salaries.

Many federal departments dealing with security and intelligence
require a lengthy security screening and application process.

Pay is also a consideration. According to a Partnership for
Public Service report, law school debt prevented two-thirds of law
students surveyed from considering employment in public
service.

First-year law student Dave Abbott echoes this concern.

“Levels of debt and the long hours expected to work are
among the factors why I wouldn’t put a career in the public
sector as my top choice,” Abbott said.

While Sims said government jobs are open to all majors, some
students still express doubts that a government career would fit
their skills.

“I don’t really see a government job as the ideal
fit for my skills,” fourth-year applied mathematics student
Jennifer Cooke said.