Black Holes?

It doesn't happen often, but two extremely hot sectors of government are hiring at the same time right now: the White House, and the Treasury Department office tasked with overseeing the bailout of the finanancial system. It's a rare moment when lots of Americans who might never have considered federal service before may be considering it for the first time. And yet, rather than having transparent applications systems, both Treasury and Obama's transition team are using email addresses and web forms to solicit applications, a surefire way for applications to get sent off into the ether and never heard from again.

Sure, these systems make it easier for folks to send off an application without having to surmount some of the major hurdles of the federal hiring system. But it also makes it easier for serious applications to get lost under a flood of resumes that get sent in because, why not? With new tools available to make it easier for agencies to track applications and make sure they are responsive to applicants, the use of these black holes to accept resumes seems like a decided step backwards. It's great if the Obama administration wants to be more open and accessible to people who want to serve in government, but they'll get a lot further by seriously reforming the hiring process than by throwing up a form on a website.