The potential staffing crisis in the federal government is so widely reported that it almost does not bear repeating. At the risk of information exhaustion, we will cite some data from the US Merit Systems Protection Board reports: “As of September 2003, 22 percent of the Federal workforce was already at or above the minimum retirement age of 55, but only 6 percent was below the age of 30.” (US Merit Systems Protection Board. Managing Federal Recruitment: Issues, Insights, and Illustrations. September 2004.) At the same time, the labor force is growing more slowly than in previous times. The result of these two demographic shifts is dramatically increased competition—both between the private sector and the public sector, and within the public sector itself—for qualified applicants.

Adding to the burden, the generally negative view of government employment by potential workers puts public sector hiring and HR managers at an even greater disadvantage. Studies consistently demonstrate a low interest in federal government employment, particularly at the entry and mid-career levels. The general belief is that, although public sector work may be more personally rewarding, private sector jobs offer better compensation, developmental opportunities, and challenging work.

The need to establish effective ongoing recruiting programs has never been greater. Recruiting is a three-legged stool: inbound sourcing, outreach sourcing, and outside sourcing. In order to recruit effectively, especially in the face of the public sector’s particular challenges, government hiring and HR managers need to understand and rely on all three legs.

Inbound sourcing: Candidates approach the hiring organization essentially on their own. Although some of the sources of candidates we classify as inbound require the agency to call for candidates through the placement of an ad, the candidates must come to the agency; in other words, we classify these candidates as inbound because they carry virtually all of the burden of seeking opportunities.

Inbound candidates are generated by:

• Agency websites, whether through a specific job section the general website
• USAJOBS
• Employee referrals
• Social networks
• Direct, unsolicited applications from another source

Inbound sourcing generally places the lowest requirement on the hiring and/or HR manager. To be effective, it does require: an aesthetically pleasing, easy-to-use web site (ideally with a section dedicated to available jobs in the organization); clear, well-defined job descriptions, including benefits of employment with the organization; and, up-to-date information. For employee referrals and social networks to be effective, current employees must be well aware of available positions.

The biggest advantage to the agency of inbound sourcing is that it is very low cost; other than the cost of maintaining a jobs section on the main web site, there is virtually no expense. Furthermore, as candidates are essentially unsolicited, it is likely that they have done more research than solicited candidates and actively wish to work for the organization. Finally, drawing candidates to the agency’s general web site (assuming it is well organized) helps to improve the overall image of the agency.

The greatest disadvantages of inbound sourcing are that it can neither generate enough qualified candidates for the organization, nor is it certain to generate the type of candidates needed. Over-reliance on inbound sourcing can lead hiring managers to be less aggressive than they need to be to achieve hiring goals. At the same time, inbound sourcing can create a flood of candidates that do not fit the agency’s need, requiring the expending of resources to respond at no benefit to the organization. Finally, inbound sourcing can further hurt the organization’s image if candidates find web sites confusing or disorganized, or if they feel ill-treated for their efforts.

Outreach sourcing: Most traditional and most used, candidates come to the organization in response to specific efforts by the hiring organization to generate a pool of candidates.

Outreach candidates are generated by:

• Online job boards, both general and niche
• Job fairs
• Campus recruiting
• .jobs URL (future possibility)

Outreach sourcing requires dedicated funding for classified placement (both print and job board), booth development, and travel. Additionally, effective outreach requires extensive research to ensure appropriate message targeting and placement.

The greatest benefit of outreach sourcing is the size of the audience. Virtually all job seekers, whether active or passive, use online job boards and many still review print job advertisements. Job fairs and campus recruiting provide the rare opportunity for one-on-one interaction early in the process, which offers the added benefit of dispelling the perceptions candidates may have about government employment.

The drawback to outreach sourcing is that it can be costly and wasteful, particularly if careful research is not completed prior to placement. Audience size, generally a benefit, can be a drawback if the organization is deluged by applications from candidates who are not appropriate for the position. Additionally, job fairs and campus recruiting can be either geographically limited, or very expensive if the organization chooses not to limit its geographic scope.

Outside sourcing: An outside recruiter, contracted by the hiring organization, researches, identifies, and vets hard-to-hire candidates.

Effective outside sourcing requires extensive research into the recruiter by the hiring organization. To be cost effective, the recruiter must offer experience and services not otherwise available in the hiring agency.

The advantage of outside sourcing is the recruiter’s expertise and contact base. It allows for a very targeted approach to identifying the right talent and convincing that talent to join the organization.

The disadvantage to outside sourcing is that it is extremely expensive; it offers the lowest direct return on each dollar spent to recruit. For that reason, outside sourcing can be used only when very specific circumstances require it.

A complete recruiting program must rely on all three legs of the recruiting stool in order to be successful; government agencies carry a greater burden to recognize, appreciate, research and understand each option given their perceived disadvantages. Employing the right tool in the right circumstances, with a full understanding of advantages and disadvantages, will help agencies to compete in a highly competitive environment.