EPA intern program attracts diverse recruits

Five years after its creation, the Environmental Protection Agency's intern program is helping the agency recruit a younger, more diverse workforce.

In 1997, EPA officials conducted a workforce assessment and got a wake-up call, according to David O'Connor, EPA's deputy assistant administrator for administration and resources management. Less than 5 percent of EPA's workforce was younger than 30, the bulk of the agency's employees would be eligible to retire in the next few years and diversity numbers were pretty grim.

"We had to look ahead to what that was going to mean," O'Connor told Government Executive last month. "And take a hard look at diversity."

Agency officials decided to focus on recruiting well-qualified employees with diverse backgrounds for entry-level positions and grow them into future agency leaders. In past years agency officials had used the Presidential Management Intern program, but found that few PMIs stayed with the agency once their two-year stint ended. So, the agency decided to create its own in-house program and the EPA intern program (EIP) was born.

"We were looking to create a model for how to do some creative, aggressive recruiting, particularly for minority and other groups we hadn't done so well in recruiting," O'Connor said.

The two-year career development program allows qualified candidates to join EPA as permanent, entry-level employees. Recruitment isn't limited to scientists, either. Agency officials look for people with varied educational backgrounds such as 2001 intern Amanda Babcock, a graduate of the University of Texas who specialized in deaf education. Babcock is in her second year of the program, which includes four rotations to different offices and programs within EPA.

"You get to really know an agency inside and out," said Babcock, who was one of thousands of students recruited by program officials, who were aggressive in their efforts to attract applicants to the program. "I can pick and choose and decide what I want to do."

Every October, EIP Program Manager Jamie Langlie and her national recruiting staff attend job fairs and hold workshops to meet students and promote the benefits of working for the federal government. EIP's recruiting season runs from October to April every year.

The workshops support the process by focusing on how applicants can navigate the federal application process and how to create a federal resume. This year, Langlie sent out 3,500 application packets. They were returned by 1,500 applicants, about 80 of whom eventually came to the agency's four-day interview session. EIP hires about 25 interns a year and 151 have been hired since the program's inception. About half of the 151 hires come from minority groups or are people with disabilities.

Bruce Franklin, a North Carolina A&T State University graduate who began the program in August, said he chose the EIP program over two other job offers.

"They didn't compare to what EPA offered," said Franklin, who said he found the opportunity to work closely with upper management particularly attractive. Franklin also appreciated the hands-on treatment he got from program officials.

"Being a little bit older than a lot of the students, I really had researched and researched and researched, but you still have questions," Franklin said. "Their phone lines were always open and I figured if they treated me this way before I came, they would be this good to me after I joined."

Interns also said the opportunity to try out new careers, the stability of the federal government and the attraction of public service drew them to the program.

"I had my sights set on the private sector," said Chris Burgess, a 2000 EIP intern. "I decided to go with this because of the rotational possibilities, and found a new respect for the federal government."

Only 13 of the 151 people brought in by the program are no longer with the agency, according to Langlie. But according to a recent study by the Partnership for Public Service, only 5,520 of 46,000 federal interns across government took jobs with the government during the past five years.

Treda Smith stayed on when she finished the program last year and now recruits other EIP interns.

"I had a chance to craft my own career," said Smith, who has a technical background and works for EPA's Office of Water. But what really convinced her to stay was the enthusiasm she saw in her co-workers.

"People are doing work they are really passionate about," Smith said. "They really came here to make a difference."