U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

Numerous Federal agencies need engineers to work on challenging projects and tasks facing the nation. Among those agencies are the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, State, and the U.S. Department of Transportation. A panel of Federal agency engineers discusses their experiences in working in this field, with emphasis on the cutting edge research they perform and how the results of their research are used by their agencies.

This exciting field includes many different types of jobs from clinical and hands on to policy making and research. Regardless of the job type however, they often present quite an opportunity to make a difference. Federal employees participate in research and analysis that has the potential to cure, eradicate, or ameliorate diseases. Others are involved in policy-setting, such as how to implement new health policies or regulate existing components of the health care industry. A panel of Federal employees discusses their rewarding and challenging careers in this field.

Five "pilot schools" have spent the last 2 school years trying out ways to cost-effectively promote Federal jobs, internships, and careers on campuses. Representatives from Clark Atlanta University and The George Washington University will share best practices and advice about how you can successfully conduct such a campaign on your campus. In addition, representatives of two Federal agencies will give their perspective on how to build excellent relationships between Federal agencies and universities to increase the effectiveness of agency on-campus recruiting.

Career fairs are a building block of recruiting - for students and for employers. But the results can vary, leading to questions from whether they are worth the effort to how to make the most of them. After studying the planning, operations, and results of several Federal Career Days in Fall 2006, the Partnership for Public Service developed a toolkit (available at www.CalltoServe.org) to help university career professionals decide whether and how to conduct a Federal career day. Representatives of Louisiana State University and the University of Georgia discuss what it takes and provide some helpful hints.