Youth Movement

The latest effort to reach out to the young folks who represent the future of the civil service is off the ground. Today the Council for Excellence in Government launched YoungFeds.org, "the place for young government professionals to meet, network and advance." The site features news (thanks for the links, guys!), downloads, a blog, a message board, commentary and other features. But if one of the site's goals is to make government seem more attractive to the job-hopping go-getters that are said to characterize the generation coming into the workforce, it may face some challenges. In early returns this morning on the site's online poll question -- "What enticed you to work for the federal government?" -- 40 percent of respondents answered, "job security." UPDATE 4:36 p.m.: With many more votes in, "job security" is now down to 27 percent. But if you add the category together with "benefits and/or pay" and "hours/flexibility," that trio of responses handily beats the highest single category, "the work itself."