Summary: GAO discussed the federal government's image and competitive posture among new graduates with placement officials at 13 colleges and universities. GAO also surveyed students who had graduated during the 1991-92 academic year from four other universities. As a rule, the placement officials GAO interviewed said that graduates of their schools had little interest in working for the federal government. The reasons mentioned most often were (1) low, noncompetitive starting salaries; (2) burdensome and lengthy hiring process; (3) inadequate and ineffective federal recruiting; (4) poor image of government work and employees; and (5) lack of information on federal job availability. The graduates responding to GAO's survey tended to confirm the placement officials' views. Overall, more than 75 percent of the 884 respondents who had sought employment or remained in the jobs they had before graduation said that they did not apply for federal jobs. Of the 884 graduates, 224 said that they had not landed suitable jobs at the time they completed their questionnaires. Yet, about 70 percent of these respondents said that they did not seek federal job opportunities. In general, the respondents' views of federal employment were not based on firsthand information. The sources most often cited as the basis for their opinions were "general observations" and "common knowledge." Office of Personnel Management (OPM) officials said that the findings underscored the need to make the government a more attractive employer. OPM officials described several changes in federal recruiting, hiring, and job information dissemination. The officials stressed, however, that the government is downsizing and there will be fewer opportunities for new college graduate to find federal jobs in the next several years.
