Agencies pitch vacancies to the college crowd

The government needs an infusion of young employees to fill slots that will be created by a wave of federal retirements in the coming years, according to Office of Personnel Management Director Linda Springer.

Speaking Tuesday at an OPM-sponsored federal career fair at the campus of George Mason University, Springer and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va. encouraged students to look into job opportunities in the civil service.

Federal careers bring "a sense of purpose and public service you don't find in the private sector," Springer said.

One job seeker said he liked what he heard.

"It made me feel good to hear the news that there are a lot of positions open," said Kevin Voltz, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan. Voltz moved to the Washington area to look for employment, and is especially interested in federal jobs.

Voltz said he found OPM's USAJOBS Web site by searching on Google, and is using it to look for policy and analyst jobs. He said he hoped the career fair would open up more opportunities.

Twenty-three agencies hosted booths at the fair, including the Labor and Energy departments, the office of the secretary of Defense, the Government Accountability Office and the General Services Administration.

Six additional agencies were put on a waiting list due to a lack of space, said OPM program manager Vance Wilkerson, who coordinated the event.

OPM sponsored 12 career fairs like this one last year. This year, it will do four. Wilkerson said he could not explain the reason for the drop in the number of events. In addition to the fair at George Mason, events have been planned at the University of Pittsburgh and Clark Atlanta University. The fourth location has not yet been decided.

The George Mason fair featured a computer station with tutorials on how to navigate USAJOBS. Willie Harrison, OPM's team leader for the online employment site, said there are about 18,000 vacancies listed on USAJOBS right now, some of which are harder to fill than others.

Tuesday's job fair focused on engineering and information technology positions, two areas OPM officials said are among the hardest to fill. Harrison said attendees learned about agencies at the booths, but that applying for jobs online is much more effective.

While OPM officials pushed the USAJOBS Web site, not every agency at the event uses the database.

Navy human resources specialist Leon Brayboy said a few of the service's jobs are listed on USAJOBS, but more can be found at the Navy's own job site. Brayboy said the Navy is especially looking for medical personnel and IT workers.

Alfredia Brooks, a representative of the Federal Aviation Administration, said FAA jobs also are better found on the FAA's own site. She said coming to the job fair may not be all that fruitful for job seekers, because hard-copy resumes often sit untouched in a room with thousands of other resumes. Instead, job seekers need to apply for specific vacancies, which can be found on the agency's Web site.

Another problem, Brooks said, is that students usually format their resumes for the private sector, not the government. They don't know to include vital information such as veteran status, citizenship, salary at last employment, and so on, which can render their applications unacceptable.

Nevertheless, Wilkerson said agencies hire some new employees directly at job fairs. GMU career services counselor Catherine McCormick said students at her school are eager to learn about federal jobs, and about the process of applying for them.

Students see the civil service as "a great opportunity for growth, development, opportunity, some innovation," McCormick said. She added that many students are drawn toward certain agencies, such as the State Department for its international opportunities and the CIA for intelligence jobs, which are seen as exciting.

The long line at the National Security Agency's booth testified to McCormick's observation. Agencies such as the Labor Department often get overlooked, which is one reason this job fair might be very productive, she said.

In a speech to attendees, Rep. Davis focused on recent reforms that have streamlined the hiring system and boosted benefits for new employees. He cited direct-hire authority, recruitment and retention bonuses, and student-loan repayments as examples.

"We'd love to find some matches today," Davis said.