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College Students' Perceptions of the Federal Government as an Employer

T-GGD-89-32 Published: Jun 19, 1989. Publicly Released: Jun 19, 1989.
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Highlights

GAO discussed how college students perceive the federal government as an employer. GAO found that: (1) although the federal government would require employees with increased skill levels, it was not in a competitive position and had difficulty in recruiting and retaining quality personnel; (2) many students did not know that federal jobs were available, believed that applying for federal employment was confusing, time-consuming, and difficult, and believed that government work could not provide excitement, satisfaction or adequate pay; (3) many federal agencies did not actively recruit on college campuses or used less-than-effective recruitment techniques; and (4) starting salaries in the private sector were as much as 41 percent higher than those in the federal government.

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CompensationEmployee incentivesEmployment assistance programsFederal employeesGovernment job appointmentsGS grade classificationHiring policiesPersonnel recruitingPublic service employmentStudents