With more college students having trouble entering the job market than ever, and the federal government having more trouble hiring than ever, the Partnership for Public Service decided to solve the problem for both parties.  The remedy?  An old-school career fair.

On July 16, the Partnership held the sixth annual Public Service Career Fair in the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.  The fair was geared towards D.C.'s summer interns, and almost 3,000 registered for the event on the Partnership's website-twice the number from 2007.

"It [the fair] really evolved over the past six years, " said Tim McManus, the Vice President of Education and Outreach at the Partnership.  "It was initially planned around inspiring young people who are already in DC, like federal interns.  They would get to listen to an inspirational speaker talk about the value of federal service, and the career fair was just an add-on."

Now, the career fair is the main event.  After listening to just a quick question-and-answer session with some young federal workers about why they love their jobs, the guests, decked out in suits and carrying folders filled with resumes, were let loose.

Tables set up by each of the organizations surrounded the perimeter of the room.  If the young men and women could beat their way through the huge crowds surrounding each display, they could get informative pamphlets, job applications, talk to the federal workers running the tables, and even hand in a resume.  The center of the room contained tables covered in water bottles and bags of pretzels for people to munch on while they scoured the displays.  It was like a job hunting marathon.

Drew Tidwell, a senior at Georgetown University, was one of the few men at the event without a tie around his neck. He stood out from the crowd in comfortable shorts and loafers, but like the rest of the people there, he came with resumes in hand.  Fifty-five resumes to be exact.  

"Yeah, I went kind of crazy at work," Tidwell said.  "But I figured why not."

Tidwell's attitude towards the career fair seemed to reflect many students' pessimistic outlook towards the job market.

"Where would I want a job?  I would just like to get a job.  I want to work before I go to law school," he said.

Six years ago only 25 organizations showed up to the job fair held in the Air and Space Museum.  On Wednesday, 65 different agencies and organizations were in attendance, including the Peace Corps, Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Library of Congress, and the ornery staff from the Department of Homeland Security who refused to let those hired from previous job fairs tell their story. (Apparently, providing an interview about a hiring success is a threat to national security.)

But that's a story for another day.

The Partnership's career fair is the only fair solely for federal jobs, and because of that, it's popular among the agencies.

"It's hard for individual agencies to do something like this," McManus said.  "Bigger ones can do events, but usually on campuses or more targeted audiences.  Our Public Service Fair has a much broader approach...You really need to show them what it's like to work in your federal agency. Unlike USAJOBS, the fair offers personal interaction."

Attracting and recruiting new talent to the federal fray is essential with the impending wave of federal retirees on the horizon.  But it will take more than a local job fair to fill the anticipated 58,000 jobs per year.  The Partnership for Public Service is doing their part to help the human capital crises, but more job fairs in areas where people are less familiar with government work will likely have more bang for the buck.  Some of the best places to target are college towns like Boston, Austin, Athens, Triangle Park, and San Francisco, where the federal government isn't such an obvious choice for a career path and the competitive job market propels students to look outside their comfort zones for work. 

BY Briana Kerensky

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