Government Interns

The recruitment of able college graduates for government service is one of the most important long-term problems facing the Administration. The increasing scope of political activity requires a large and expanding body of professionals to carry out policy decisions energetically and efficiently. A large number of capable men and women, however, fail to enter government service because little is done to interest them in a civil service career.

To attract these high calibre college students, federal agencies could well duplicate the recruiting techniques of private industry. One such program is the "summer internship," a two-month period of orientation and responsible work for a select number of potential civil servants. Now offered in a handful of departments, the training program uses students as researchers and assistants to personnel and other administrative officers. The student is encouraged, but not expected, to return to the agency after graduation as a regular employee.

At present, the history or government concentrator has few opportunities for worthwhile summer employment directly related to his interests or any firsthand knowledge of the anxieties and satisfactions of government service. While temporary positions for would-be journalists, businessmen, scientists, and doctors are fairly common, budetary restrictions and inflexible hiring procedures generally prevent government agencies from offering any more responsible positions than filing or typing. Such work can give little of the encouragement that the college student must have before he can commit himself to a professional career.

For the student intern--chosen on the basis of recommendation by professors and academic record--the experience of being on the periphery of policy-making would be an invaluable opportunity to sample actual conditions and discover the advantages of public service. In addition, by doing interesting and constructive work in his field, he can make his academic education more valid through practical application. More important, the summer intern program, as a valuable learning experience for the student, would provide the most realistic--and therefore the most convincing--kind of publicity for a career in government.