A report recommended that federal agencies emphasize skills needed in job announcements as well as factors contributing to work-life balance. Image: Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffOnly 44 percent of college students and recent graduates in a survey said they would consider federal employment for reasons ranging from lack of knowledge of the opportunities to being daunted by the hiring process for those who are aware.
The survey of more than 1,100 by the Qualtrics management consulting firm found that “20% of graduate respondents said they were not aware of federal jobs and 30% said the hiring process is too complicated . . . more than one third (36%) of recent graduates and (38%) of students report they would not apply to federal jobs because they feel under-qualified.”
“When asked about the reasons they felt unqualified, graduates cited years of required experience (32%), required skills (32%) and credential and degree requirements (24%) as the top barriers,” said an announcement of the results.
It suggested that agencies emphasize skills needed, rather than years of experience, in job vacancy announcements and emphasize what they offer in areas those candidates rank as highly desirable in a job, with work-life balance ranking the highest among both current students and recent graduates.
The former group’s next most desirable aspects were pay/compensation and the opportunity to do meaningful work, while for the latter group they were flexible working arrangements and job security. Other looked-for traits in an employer included a track record of social responsibility, a strong reputation, and a diverse leadership team.
“This study makes clear that targeted improvements to federal agency recruiting – even simple fixes like promoting flexible work and career progression, emphasizing the mission-oriented nature of the work and rewriting job announcements to replace required years of experience with required skills – can have meaningful impact on who is aware of open positions and who decides to apply,” it said.
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