Entry-level government employees not as young as you might think

From the Washington Post's Federal Diary:

People who take entry-level jobs are supposed to be young, inexperienced and just out of college.

But not in the government. The average age of new federal hires is 33.

That finding is in a report released by the Merit Systems Protection Board, which conducts studies of the civil service for the White House and Congress. The report, "Attracting the Next Generation," was prompted by concerns that Uncle Sam may not be able to compete for talent as baby boomers retire from government.

A spate of studies and polls have suggested that younger Americans are wary of working for the government and are turned off by its cumbersome hiring procedures, which can include filling out numerous employment forms and undergoing lengthy background investigations. Younger Americans often see nonprofit organizations and state and local governments as places where they can "make a difference," according to the studies.

The board's research found that the typical entry-level hire is surprisingly older than generally assumed, is highly motivated to land a federal job, and is interested in the same things that prior generations have valued: job stability, annual pay raises, vacation time and health insurance.

"The government is actually better at attracting new hires than some might think," the report concludes.

National workforce projections show that skilled employees, especially in the sciences and engineering, will be in high demand and short supply in coming years, and the Bush administration has urged agencies to prepare for a "war for talent," as it is called, with corporations, think tanks and other employers.

The merit board's findings should be encouraging to agencies, especially those that are ramping up recruitment efforts to fill the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will open in the next few years because of baby boomers' retirements.

Agencies can step up to the challenge, the report suggests, if they tout their job benefits while marketing themselves to the next generation of workers, if they make their hiring procedures as speedy as possible, and if they "avoid stereotyping applicants based on generational assumptions."

Part of the board's report is based on survey responses from 1,115 federal employees who were hired into full-time professional and administrative occupations in entry-level jobs, at General Schedule grades 5, 7 and 9. The survey was conducted from February to May 2006. Some of the findings were released by the board last year in agency newsletters.

In the survey, the board asked new hires, who earn from $26,000 to $52,000 in base pay, why they decided to work for the government.

The most important reason was job security. It was the top answer of 28 percent of the respondents, regardless of age.

That suggests that "the old employment contract is not yet dead," the report said, and runs counter to some research that shows that the young generation is no longer motivated by job security and the prospect of promotions up an organizational hierarchy.

Contrary to popular perceptions, many of the new employees had full-time work experience before joining the government. In the survey, 32 percent reported working for one to five years before accepting a federal job, and a surprising proportion -- 20 percent -- said they had more than 20 years of work experience beforehand.

That report said many new federal hires are starting a second career with the government, hoping to supplement their private-sector retirement with federal benefits.

The new federal employees signaled strong interest in the benefits that come with a government job. The majority said yearly salary increases, vacation time, health insurance, 401(k)-type retirement savings plans and fixed pensions were important when considering job offers.

When comparing responses of those under 30 to those of workers older than 30, the board found that there was little difference between the two groups and that some traditional benefits, such as annual pay raises and health insurance, were more important to the younger new hires.

The merit board's report also noted that if federal employees do not resign in their first year or two of employment, they usually stick with the government.

"So once federal employees get in the door -- regardless of generation -- the government may likely retain them through their career," the report said.