A new poll released today revealed that 70% of those 18-29 years old and 53% of those over 30 years old considered a job in public service very or fairly appealing.  Both age groups reported that the top motivators for considering a job in public service are opportunities for growth and advancement based on performance and having a flexible schedule and the opportunity to telecommute. 

The poll was designed by the Council for Excellence in Government - a nonpartisan, nonprofit group dedicated to improving government - and conducted by Gallup to celebrate Public Service Recognition Week.  The joint venture attracted responses from 895 participants via an online survey which were compiled into a report by the Council that we've attached to the end of this article.

The survey revealed that 60% of those under the age of thirty have never been asked to consider a job in government.  The statistic reveals much room for improvement in the marketing of federal jobs - a critical effort as the "brain drain" in government heads closer to reality.   Sure, everyone has seen a Marine recruitment commercial and many could reiterate the "few, the proud, the Marines" recruitment slogan, but when was the last time anyone saw an advertisement for a job at say, the Environmental Protection Agency?

Those jobs just aren't advertised, especially since 80% of new hires come from inside the government.  This leaves little incentive to push an agenda for federal recruitment, or more broadly, for public service.   But the times are a changing and the federal government - the nation's largest employer - is starting to come around. 

This week on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., dozens of federal agencies have set up booths to showcase their programs for the purposes of public education and as a means of attracting new workers.  One such agency is the dreaded IRS, whose exhibit showcases the agency's tax statistics website, complete with live tech support, and attempts to garner interest in the 100,000-person strong organization.  

The General Services Administration (GSA) is also manning a booth on the Mall today in order to promote its e-commerce portal for repossessed and surplus government property called GovSales.   Other agencies promoting their programs and recruitment efforts included the US Customs and Border Protection, Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs Career Transition Service, Department of Agriculture distance learning programs, The National Archives, and many more. 

But the reality is these types of federal job recruitment fairs are fairly rare, leaving many people unaware of the incredible opportunities and benefits afforded to public servants.  The good news is interest in public service seems influentiable.   The Council for Excellence in Government poll showed that 33% of survey respondents under 30 would deeply consider a career in public service if asked by their parents to join the federal employ.  Likewise, 29% of respondents under 30 stated they would give a great deal of consideration to a public service career if asked to do so by the next President. 

Despite what appears to be a lack of awareness of government jobs by the general public, survey respondents expressed interest in certain government jobs, often over interest in similar private sector work.  For example, more respondents stated a preference for being a Secret Service Agent for a Presidential candidate (57%) than a security guard for a rock star (43%); a public relations representative from the State Department (54%) than a public relations representative from Toyota (46%); and Director of the National Institutes of Health (54%) than the Director of the Mayo Clinic (46%). 

In two situations, private sector employment was preferred.  Participants would rather be the President of a major university (55%) than the Secretary of the US Department of Education (45%), and would take a job as a graphic designer for Hallmark (55%) over a post as a stamp designer with the US Postal Service (45%), but the latter may simply stem from the "dorky" stigma attached to stamp collectors.