Federal Employment: How Government Jobs Are Viewed on Some College
Campuses (Letter Report, 09/09/94, GAO/GGD-94-181).

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.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  GGD-94-181
     TITLE:  Federal Employment: How Government Jobs Are Viewed on Some 
             College Campuses
      DATE:  09/09/94
   SUBJECT:  Hiring policies
             Personnel management
             Personnel recruiting
             Surveys
             Fair employment programs
             Federal agencies
             Public service employment
             Public relations
             Colleges/universities
             Career planning
IDENTIFIER:  Outstanding Scholar Program
             Administrative Careers with America Program
             Federal Occupation and Career Information Program
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Report to Congressional Committees

September 1994

FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT - HOW
GOVERNMENT JOBS ARE VIEWED ON SOME
COLLEGE CAMPUSES

GAO/GGD-94-181

Federal Employment:  How Government Jobs Are Viewed


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  ACWA - Administrative Careers With America
  OPM - Office of Personnel Management

Letter
=============================================================== LETTER


B-258083

September 9, 1994

The Honorable John Glenn
Chairman
The Honorable William V.  Roth, Jr.
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Governmental Affairs
United States Senate

The Honorable William L.  Clay
Chairman
The Honorable John T.  Myers
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Post Office
 and Civil Service
House of Representatives

During the past several years, studies by our office have shown that
federal agencies were at a disadvantage in recruiting and retaining
employees.\1 We believe this situation is cause for concern, since
attracting bright people to public service is an important step in
building and maintaining a quality federal workforce for the future. 
To shed additional light on this issue, we prepared this report under
our statutory authority and not at the request of the Committees.  We
are addressing the report to you since the matters fall under your
Committees' jurisdictions.  The report is intended to provide
information and analysis on new college graduates' attitudes and
perceptions about the federal service. 

We used two approaches to obtain information on how new college
graduates view federal service as a career choice.  First, we
discussed the federal government's image and competitive posture
among new graduates with placement officials at 13 colleges and
universities.  (See app.  II for a listing of the schools.) We
selected these 13 schools to obtain a mix of geographic locations,
enrollment sizes, levels of minority enrollment, and public or
private funding.  Second, we administered a questionnaire survey to
individuals who graduated during the 1991-1992 academic year from
four other universities.  These four schools were selected using the
same criteria as that used for the placement official interviews. 
The individuals surveyed were those who had received bachelor's
degrees in the areas of engineering, business and management, social
sciences, agriculture and natural resources, mathematics, and health
professions.  According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM),
these were the areas of study for about 80 percent of new federal
hires with college degrees. 

The four schools whose graduates we surveyed included a private
university located in the East, a predominantly minority public
university located in the South, and two public universities located
in the Midwest and West.  We do not identify these schools because of
privacy and confidentiality concerns for the graduates and
institutions.  Rather, we refer to them as School 1, School 2, School
3, and School 4 for reporting purposes.  General descriptive
information about the schools is in appendix III. 

Between December 1992 and April 1993, 985 graduates returned usable
questionnaires.\2 Of these 985 graduates, 884 said they had sought
employment as of the time they responded to the questionnaire or
remained in the jobs they had before graduation.  The remaining 101
graduates said they either had not sought employment or had decided
to pursue graduate degrees immediately upon completion of their
undergraduate studies.  Although limited in its coverage, this survey
was the first effort of which we are aware in which firsthand
information has been obtained from new college graduates on how they
view the federal government as a potential employer. 

The interviews with placement officials and the graduate survey
provided insights into the thoughts and considerations of recent
college graduates as they went through the job search process. 
However, because the colleges and universities included in our study
were not statistically valid random samples of all colleges and
universities in the United States, it cannot be presumed that the
study results represented the views of all college graduates.  More
information about the objective, scope, and methodology for this
report is included in appendix I.  Appendix IV contains all questions
asked of the graduates and their responses by school. 


--------------------
\1 See, for example, Recruitment and Retention:  Inadequate Federal
Pay Cited as Primary Problem by Agency Officials (GAO/GGD-90-117,
Sept.  11, 1990), Federal Recruiting:  College Placement Officials'
Views of the Government's Campus Outreach Efforts (GAO/GGD-92-48BR,
Jan.  31, 1992), and Federal Recruiting:  Comparison of Applicants
Who Accepted or Declined Federal Job Offers (GAO/GGD-92-61BR, Mar. 
20, 1992). 

\2 A usable questionnaire was one received from a respondent who
received a bachelor's degree between September 1, 1991, and August
31, 1992; received a degree in one of the selected fields of study;
and completed the questionnaire. 


   RESULTS IN BRIEF
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1

As a rule, the placement officials we interviewed said graduates of
their schools had little interest in working for the federal
government.  The officials identified several reasons for the
graduates' attitudes.  The reasons mentioned most frequently were (1)
low, noncompetitive starting salary; (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 our survey tended to confirm the
placement officials' views.  Although the results varied somewhat by
school, the respondents generally believed the factors important to
them in selecting an employer were more often present in nonfederal
employment than in federal employment.  For example, only 13 percent
of the 884 respondents who had sought employment or remained in the
jobs they had before graduation thought federal employment was
superior in the factor most commonly cited as being important in
graduates' employment decisions:  opportunities for career growth. 

Overall, more than 75 percent of the 884 respondents who had sought
employment or remained in the jobs they had before graduation said
they did not apply for federal jobs.  They gave reasons similar to
those mentioned by the placement officials:  lack of information, low
starting salaries, burdensome application process, and inadequate
federal recruiting.  Of the 884 graduates, 249 said they had not yet
located suitable employment at the time they completed their
questionnaires.  Yet, about 70 percent of these respondents said 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." "Job recruiters" were cited as a source of information by
only 12 percent of all respondents who had sought employment or
remained in the jobs they had before graduation. 

In commenting on our review results, OPM officials said the findings
confirmed the need for the actions OPM was taking to make the
government a more attractive employer.  The officials described a
number of changes in federal recruiting, hiring, and job information
dissemination practices that had been made, or were in process or
planned, to improve the government's competitive posture.  They said
they believed our findings would be more positive if the review were
repeated today.  The officials stressed, however, that the government
is downsizing and there will be reduced opportunities in the next
several years for new college graduates to find federal jobs.  While
we did not examine the actions the OPM officials described, the
actions appear to be worthwhile steps to make it easier for
prospective employees to learn about and obtain information about
federal jobs. 


   MOST COLLEGE PLACEMENT
   OFFICIALS SAID NEW GRADUATES
   DID NOT VIEW THE GOVERNMENT AS
   AN ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYER
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2

Of the 13 schools we visited, a placement official at only 1 school
said the school's graduates had considerable interest in federal
employment.  At six schools, the placement officials said graduates
had little to some interest in federal employment, and officials at
four schools said graduates' interest in federal jobs varied
depending on their majors and the federal agency where the job
openings existed.  At another school, officials said graduates were
not interested in federal jobs.  In the remaining case, belief that
the federal government was not an attractive employer, as well as low
student interest, led the school to discontinue its federal career
fairs. 

The factor most often mentioned by the placement officials as a
reason why graduates did not consider working for the federal
government was starting salaries.  Placement officials at 12 of the
13 schools said graduates did not think federal salaries were
competitive with those of nonfederal employers.  For example, one
official said pay was a "big problem" and students usually asked
about it first.  Another official said, "Students and graduates
always complain about federal salaries.  The amount of money that
federal agencies offer will not attract an Outstanding Scholar."\3
Three of the 12 officials linked the problems with salary levels to
graduates in certain fields of study.  One official, while talking
about graduates in engineering, said, "Often the federal government
is considered the employer of last resort because the salaries are
not competitive."

At 11 schools, placement officials cited the hiring process as a
reason why graduates did not seek federal jobs.  The officials
characterized the entire process from completing the SF-171
application form to receiving a job offer as burdensome, complicated,
and time-consuming.  Among the comments the officials made were "the
federal hiring process contains bodacious hurdles," "the SF-171 is
overwhelming for recent graduates," and "the entire federal hiring
process has a bad reputation." One hiring process, the Administrative
Careers With America (ACWA) program, was of concern to four
officials.\4

Individuals can take an ACWA examination and, if they score high
enough, their names are entered on registers of job candidates
maintained by OPM.  These individuals are considered for job openings
when agencies request certificates of eligible candidates from OPM if
they are among the highest ranked candidates.  The placement
officials said graduates were generally unwilling to take an
examination.  Two officials also added that the length of time from
the examination to when one would be considered for federal
employment was too long.\5

Placement officials at 10 of the 13 schools mentioned inadequate
on-campus recruiting by federal agencies as a factor contributing to
graduates' lack of interest in federal employment.  In general, the
officials felt federal recruiting efforts were lacking.  For example,
placement officials at one school felt federal recruiters were not as
effective as nonfederal recruiters and were not aggressive in
explaining the attributes of federal employment.  An official at
another school said federal recruiters did not discuss specific job
opportunities during interviews.  Officials at two other schools
stated that federal recruiters did not make jobs at their agencies
sound very interesting to graduates.  They added that federal
agencies, unlike many nonfederal employers, seldom paid for
prospective employees to visit their agencies and become familiar
with their work. 

Placement officials at three schools said federal agencies sometimes
sent recruiters to their schools when the agencies knew they would
not be hiring any new employees.  The officials said this practice
created a bad reputation for the agencies since graduates expected
recruiters to be seeking candidates for job vacancies.  As one
placement director said, "Federal agencies should not attend college
job fairs when they are experiencing hiring freezes and can't offer
employment." Officials at three schools also mentioned instances in
which agencies had withdrawn employment offers previously made to
graduates.  They said this was apparently done because of hiring
freezes, but such withdrawals were very detrimental to the federal
government's image on college campuses. 

Of the placement officials at the 10 schools who said federal
recruiting efforts were lacking, officials at 4 schools expressed
concern about the federal government's hiring practices under the
Outstanding Scholar Program.  Under this program, agencies can make
employment offers to job candidates with superior academic records
(grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4-point scale or upper 10
percent of their graduating class) without following the government's
central examination and ranking procedures.  The officials said the
program causes graduates with lesser academic records to be excluded
from employment consideration.  One official explained that he felt
this was a mistake since many graduates who have less than a 3.5
grade point average are very talented and have excellent leadership
and work experiences. 

Placement officials at seven schools stressed that the federal
government suffered from a poor image on their campuses which, in
turn, influenced graduates' interest in federal employment.  Some of
the comments the officials made illustrating the situation were
"graduates view government work as uninteresting and unimportant,"
"the image of the federal worker is not great," and "the phrase `good
enough for government work' is often heard among recent graduates."

Six schools' placement officials believed the federal government did
not make sufficient information on employment opportunities available
to graduates.  They said information was hard to get or confusing. 
As one official said, "There is no one handout that can explain how
to look for a federal job.  What few materials I have found have
exception after exception to the instructions, making it difficult
even for me to comprehend, and I'm in the business." Among these six
schools was the school at which a placement official perceived a high
level of interest in federal employment.  The official at this school
said the students and graduates were frustrated by how hard it is to
get accurate information on federal job opportunities. 


--------------------
\3 Under the Outstanding Scholar Program, graduates can qualify for a
federal job on the basis of superior academic achievement.  According
to OPM, 45.5 percent of the new hires into entry level professional
and administrative jobs were from the Outstanding Scholar Program and
other direct hire methods between July 1992 and June 1993.  See page
6 for more information on the Outstanding Scholar Program. 

\4 Applicants for jobs covered by ACWA may take one of six written
examinations administered by OPM depending on the occupational
category in which the applicant is seeking employment.  The six
occupational categories for which written tests are used include (1)
health, safety, and environmental; (2) writing and public
information; (3) business, finance, and management; (4) personnel,
administration, and computer; (5) benefits review, tax, and legal;
and (6) law enforcement and investigations.  For a seventh category,
largely social science, written examinations are not used.  Instead,
OPM rates and ranks applicants on the basis of a review of their
education and experience. 

\5 Use of the ACWA program by federal agencies has been low. 
Agencies have filled jobs primarily through other mechanisms.  See
Federal Hiring:  Testing for Entry-Level Administrative Positions
Falls Short of Expectations (GAO/GGD-94-103, Mar.  30, 1994). 


   GRADUATES GENERALLY CONFIRMED
   PLACEMENT OFFICIALS' VIEWS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3

Although the questionnaire respondents' views about federal
employment varied somewhat among the four schools in our survey, most
of the graduates did not view the federal government as an employer
of choice.  They generally thought nonfederal employers were better
than federal employers in meeting factors important to them in
choosing an employer for whom they would like to work. 

In the questionnaire, we listed 22 factors that could influence job
seekers in selecting an employer for whom they would like to work. 
Of the 22 factors, at least 75 percent of the respondents from each
school identified 4 factors as being of very great or great
importance to them.  These four factors were (1) opportunities for
career growth, (2) promotion opportunities, (3) opportunities to
apply education and skills, and (4) opportunities for challenging
assignments.  Another six factors were considered to be of very great
or great importance by 75 percent or more of the respondents from at
least one school.  Table 1 shows the level of importance attached to
each of the 22 factors by respondents who said they sought employment
or remained in the jobs they had before graduation. 



                                     Table 1
                     
                         Factors of Very Great and Great
                     Importance to Graduates in Selecting an
                                     Employer

                               (Numbers in percent)

                                                  School          School  School
                                                       1  School       3       4
                                                  (N=143       2  (N=498  (N=144
Employment factor                                      )  (N=99)       )       )
------------------------------------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Opportunities for career growth                     91.6    97.0    93.0    93.8
Promotion opportunities                             82.5    96.0    83.9    87.5
Opportunities to apply education and skills         80.4    97.0    80.9    89.6
Opportunities for challenging assignments           86.7    87.9    83.1    82.6
Job security                                        58.7    96.0    77.1    95.1
Opportunities to "make a difference"                70.6    91.9    73.1    77.1
Health insurance                                    54.6    93.9    74.5    84.7
Retirement program                                  15.4    85.9    48.6    64.6
Cost of living where the job is located             27.3    75.8    46.0    56.9
Life insurance                                      14.0    79.8    31.7    53.5
Salary amount                                       51.1    72.7    54.4    74.3
Ability to balance work and personal life           48.3    69.7    60.6    70.1
Public image and reputation of the employer         60.8    69.7    47.6    60.4
Assistance/Cooperation provided to prospective      50.4    74.8    48.6    62.5
 employees by the organization's employees
Location of the job                                 56.6    55.6    53.0    60.4
Physical working environment                        37.1    65.7    52.6    61.8
Amount of paid time off (holidays, vacations,       24.5    59.6    40.6    60.4
 personal days, sick days)
Savings plan                                        14.7    70.7    40.4    54.2
Flexibility of work schedule                        17.5    45.5    29.1    41.7
Opportunity to work at home or other locations       4.9    30.3    12.1    12.5
 outside the office
Childcare assistance the employer provides           6.3    29.3     7.6    16.7
Eldercare assistance the employer provides           1.4    27.3     5.4     5.6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  N is the number of respondents who said they had sought
employment or remained in the jobs they had before graduation.  The
percentages are based on N. 

Source:  GAO survey (see app.  IV, question 14). 

The questionnaire then asked respondents to compare, on the basis of
their personal knowledge and/or experience, their perceptions of
these employment factors in the federal and nonfederal sectors. 
Somewhat different views were expressed by respondents from each of
the four schools, but overall, the respondents felt the factors they
identified as most important to them were superior in the nonfederal
sector.  For example, only about 13 percent of the respondents
thought the federal government was better in the category of
opportunities for career growth compared to about 36 percent who
thought nonfederal opportunities were better.  The other respondents
thought opportunities for career growth were about the same in both
employment sectors or said they had no basis to judge.  Table 2 shows
how the respondents, as a whole, viewed the four employment factors
considered most important. 



                                     Table 2
                     
                         Graduates' Views of Federal and
                      Nonfederal Employment for the Factors
                      Considered Most Important to Graduates
                             in Selecting an Employer

                               (Numbers in percent)

                                                           About the
                                  Nonfederal     Federal    same for
                                      better      better     federal
                                        than        than         and    No basis
Important factors                    federal  nonfederal  nonfederal    to judge
--------------------------------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
Opportunities for career growth         35.8        12.8        27.8        21.2
Promotion opportunities                 31.1        16.9        25.0        24.6
Opportunities to apply education        22.7        12.3        39.7        23.0
 and skills
Opportunities for challenging           31.5        11.1        30.5        24.8
 assignments
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  These percentages are based on the 884 respondents who said
they had sought employment or remained in the jobs they had before
graduation.  The percentages do not add to 100 percent because those
respondents who did not answer are not shown in this table. 

Source:  GAO survey (see app.  IV, question 15). 

The respondents were also asked to compare federal agencies' and
nonfederal employers' recruiting and hiring practices.  As shown in
table 3, respondents from each school rated nonfederal employers to
be better for each of the five recruiting and hiring practices listed
in the questionnaire. 



                                     Table 3
                     
                         Graduates' Views of Federal and
                       Nonfederal Employers' Recruiting and
                                 Hiring Practices

                               (Numbers in percent)


                  Nonfed  Federa  Nonfed  Federa  Nonfed  Federa  Nonfed  Federa
Recruiting and      eral       l    eral       l    eral       l    eral       l
hiring practices  better  better  better  better  better  better  better  better
----------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Availability of     60.8     9.8    51.5    15.2    61.2     9.8    68.8     9.7
 information
 about job
 opportunities
Recruiting          76.2     0.7    56.6     7.1    67.3     4.6    66.0     5.6
 presence on
 campus
Ease of job         67.1     0.0    57.6     7.1    63.3     1.2    59.7     0.7
 application
 procedures
Speed of job        45.5     0.0    51.5     7.1    42.4     1.0    40.3     0.7
 offers
Examination         37.1     4.9    42.4    13.1    33.3     6.0    34.0     5.6
 requirement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  N is the number of respondents who said they had sought
employment or remained in the jobs they had before graduation.  The
percentages are based on N and do not add to 100 percent because
those respondents who answered (1) federal and nonfederal employers
the same and (2) no basis to judge, or did not answer are not shown
in the table. 

Source:  GAO survey (see app.  IV, question 15). 

Figure 1 shows that of the four schools, graduates of the
predominantly minority university (School 2) expressed the greatest
interest in possible federal employment with 43 percent saying they
applied for federal jobs.\6 At the other three schools, the
percentages of graduates who said the federal government was among
the employers to which they applied ranged from 13 to 23 percent. 
Overall, about 76 percent of all graduates who had sought jobs or
remained in the jobs they had before graduation said they did not
apply for federal employment. 

   Figure 1:  Most Graduates Said
   They Did Not Apply for Federal
   Jobs

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  N is the number of respondents who said they had sought
employment or remained in the jobs they had before graduation.  The
percentages are based on N. 

Source:  GAO survey (see app.  IV, question 6). 

The lack of interest in federal employment was not because all of the
graduates had found jobs they wanted elsewhere.  In fact, 249 (28
percent) of the 884 respondents who had sought jobs or remained in
the jobs they had before graduation said they had not yet located
suitable employment at the time they completed their questionnaires. 
These graduates were still unemployed, in temporary jobs, or had
begun graduate work after unsuccessful job searches.  Even though
they had not found suitable employment, about 70 percent of these
respondents said they did not apply for federal jobs (see fig.  2). 
About half said they had given some consideration to seeking federal
employment but did not apply, and about 20 percent said they had no
interest whatsoever in working for the federal government. 

   Figure 2:  Most Graduates Who
   Did Not Find Suitable
   Employment Did Not Apply for
   Federal Jobs

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  N is the number of respondents who said they had not yet
located suitable employment at the time they completed their
questionnaires.  The percentages are based on N. 

Source:  GAO survey (see app.  IV, questions 2 and 6). 

The graduates gave many reasons why they did not pursue federal
careers.  Table 4 shows that among the reasons they mentioned most
often were a lack of information about federal jobs, the inability to
identify specific job openings, low starting salaries, the federal
job application process, and no federal recruiting on campus.  The
graduates' views about federal employment were consistent with the
findings in other reports we have issued.\7



                                     Table 4
                     
                     Graduates' Reasons for Not Applying for
                                   Federal Jobs

                               (Numbers in percent)

                                                  School          School  School
                                                       1  School       3       4
                                                  (N=116       2  (N=376  (N=123
Reasons                                                )  (N=55)       )       )
------------------------------------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Did not have information about federal jobs         37.1    60.0    61.7    61.8
Unable to identify specific job openings            48.3    49.1    51.6    39.0
Starting salary too low                             40.5    18.2    16.0    18.7
Application process too burdensome                  37.9    21.8    20.5    17.1
No federal recruiters visited my campus             21.6    18.2    22.9    35.8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  N is the number of respondents who said they did not apply for
or had no interest in a federal job.  The percentages are based on N. 

Source:  GAO survey (see app.  IV, question 7). 

The respondents often elaborated on their reasons for not seeking
federal employment in comments attached to their questionnaires.  The
reason most frequently mentioned in the written comments concerned
the lack of information about federal job opportunities.  For
example, one graduate thought that "Most people have no idea how to
apply for a federal job, including myself.  The government should
make this information readily available to graduates." Another
graduate said

     "I was very interested in working for the federal government.  I
     could not find how to get information about job openings in my
     field.  Do I look in the yellow pages?  At the library, what do
     I look under?  It was very confusing to the point where I gave
     up.  This is where you are losing a lot of people.  They don't
     know what route to take."

Yet another said, "It has been virtually impossible for me to apply. 
I called
.  .  .  and mailed .  .  .  for information and still cannot get the
proper information about job opportunities."

Some of the written comments concerning the other reasons given by
graduates for not pursuing federal employment were as follows: 

     "The salaries are miserably low.  I was offered about
     $19,500/year with [the government].  About $31,200/year with [a
     private sector employer].  It makes me question the government's
     ability to hire qualified and `bright' personnel with salaries
     like that."\8

     "Three observations on why the federal government isn't
     attractive:  (1) .  .  .  the public's attitude has been that
     government is the problem, not the solution.  Why be part of the
     problem?; (2) if you're coming out of college $50,000 in debt,
     you need a job that pays enough .  .  .  .  Federal jobs are not
     perceived to offer sufficient salaries; [and] (3) public
     perception is that the more glamorous jobs always go to
     political appointees, not those who work their way up through
     the organization.  More opportunities for advancement exist in
     private sector jobs."

     "In today's job market people must apply to many different
     employers.  I couldn't justify the time necessary to go through
     the federal application process."

     "The application process for getting a federal job needs help. 
     I signed up to take a civil service exam for business last
     November.  I wasn't notified of the test date until sometime in
     the spring.  By the time I received my test results in May, I
     already had a job lined up .  .  .  .  The entire process .  . 
     .  took way too long."

     "It actually never occurred to me to seek employment through the
     government.  While going through the job search process, I do
     not recall talking to government recruiters, seeing any
     literature or knowing anyone who had considered the government
     as a job."

     "I know federal jobs exist, but most college students are
     influenced most by recruiters coming to campus.  Federal
     recruiters did not come to [my] campus.  This hinders the
     gathering of information about the good and bad points of
     federal jobs."

The questionnaire revealed that the respondents had little firsthand
information to use in making their comparisons between federal and
nonfederal employment.  Many of the graduates said their views were
based on general observations and/or common knowledge.  As shown in
figure 3, information sources that should provide more factual
information, such as employment literature and job recruiters, were
cited very infrequently by the respondents. 

   Figure 3:  Graduates' Sources
   for Comparing Federal and
   Nonfederal Employment

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note 1:  Respondents were asked to check each information source that
they used.  Therefore, the bars total more than 100 percent. 

Note 2:  These percentages are based on the 884 respondents who said
they had sought employment or remained in the jobs they had before
graduation. 

Source:  GAO survey (see app.  IV, question 16). 


--------------------
\6 Includes respondents who said they applied for a federal job or
already had a federal job before graduation. 

\7 In Federal Recruiting:  College Placement Officials' Views of the
Governments' Campus Outreach Efforts (GAO/GGD-92-48BR, Jan.  31,
1992), we found a lack of employment information, limited recruiting
visits, and complaints about the complexity of the application
process among the 40 schools we surveyed.  In Federal Recruiting: 
Comparison of Applicants Who Accepted or Declined Federal Job Offers
(GAO/GGD-92-61BR, Mar.  20, 1992), we found most applicants for
federal entry-level administrative and professional positions during
the time period studied were not new college graduates.  The most
prevalent reason applicants gave for declining federal job offers was
uncompetitive salaries.  In Federal Employment:  Poor Service Found
at Federal Job Information Centers (GAO/GGD-92-116, July 28, 1992),
we found obtaining federal job information was frequently a
time-consuming and arduous task. 

\8 This graduate's field of study was engineering. 


   OPM'S OBSERVATIONS ON REVIEW
   RESULTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4

We provided the results of our review to OPM, and on June 6, 1994,
and again on July 15, 1994, we met with OPM's Associate Director for
Career Entry and other OPM officials to discuss their reactions and
observations. 

The OPM officials said they found the information to be valuable as
it confirmed the need for actions that OPM was taking to make the
federal government an attractive employer of persons who aspire to be
public servants.  However, the officials felt the government is a
more competitive employer than the review results indicate.  They
said a number of changes in federal recruiting, hiring, and job
information dissemination practices had been made, and others were in
process or planned, to improve the government's competitive posture. 
The officials also said they believed the results would be more
positive if our review were repeated today.  They noted, for example,
that 45.5 percent of the new hires into federal entry-level
professional and administrative positions between July 1992 and June
1993 qualified as Outstanding Scholars. 

The OPM officials provided the following paragraph to summarize the
actions OPM was taking to enhance federal hiring: 

     "Major changes are under way to improve the Federal hiring
     process.  (1) Federal employment information is now more
     comprehensive and more accessible - job opportunity listings now
     include excepted service positions, temporary positions, etc.,
     and listings are accessible 7 days a week, 24 hours a day by
     telephone or computer.  (2) OPM is eliminating the SF 171, the
     standard application form that imposed significant burdens on
     applicants to complete.  (3) OPM is now using automated
     application techniques where applicants respond to
     questionnaires by telephone or on optically scanned forms.  If
     asked to submit a written summary of their relevant
     qualifications, applicants have the option of using resumes,
     curricula vitae, or whatever other format they choose.  (4) OPM
     is eliminating its central registers and examining for specific
     positions on a job-by-job basis so that applicants know the
     actual job openings for which they are applying.  (5) OPM
     expects to give agencies the option to use written tests later
     in the screening process, so that unqualified applicants need
     not take tests.  In general, jobseekers will soon find that the
     best way to get considered for Federal employment is to access
     the Federal employment information system, find job openings
     that match their interests and qualifications, and follow the
     simple instructions on how to apply.  Their application will be
     rated and referred to agencies in record time."

The OPM officials emphasized that federal employment information is
available to prospective employees through nationwide data systems
that are accessible 24 hours a day, every day, by telephone or
computer.  The officials described these systems as follows: 

(1) Career America Connection - a telephone-based system that
identifies current federal job opportunities throughout the country. 
Users may request information/application packages for jobs of
interest.  The packages are mailed within 24 hours. 

(2) Federal Job Opportunities Board - a computer-based bulletin board
system with information about federal job openings, pay rates, job
fairs and career days, and general employment information. 

In addition, the OPM officials described the Federal Occupation and
Career Information System, a computer-based system that provides an
overview of 600 federal occupations, qualification information,
salary amounts, job locations, and advice on completing application
forms.  It contains work interest tests and sample practice
examinations to help users identify occupations of interest and
explore federal career opportunities. 

While the officials felt there was no lack of available employment
information, they said the real issue was how to make the existence
of this information known to new graduates and other intended users. 
The officials said OPM had placed touch-screen computers in over 100
OPM and agency offices and building lobbies to make the information
in these systems accessible to the public and plans further
enhancements and increased marketing of the three systems.  According
to these officials, one possible enhancement was adding the
capability to apply electronically through any of the systems. 
Additionally, the officials said they plan to (1) expand OPM's
outreach efforts to the National Association of Schools of Public
Affairs and Administration and the College Placement Council and (2)
directly communicate to students through press releases to college
and university newspapers and a series of articles in placement
community publications. 

The officials said OPM had made particular efforts in the past 2
years to disseminate federal career information to minority students
through in-depth work with Historically Black Colleges and
Universities, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities,
and the College Placement Council.  The officials felt our survey
results indicated this effort had some success because graduates of
the predominantly minority school in our survey showed a more
positive view of federal employment than the graduates from the three
other schools. 

The OPM officials acknowledged that agency performance in recruiting
on college campuses has been and continues to be a problem.  They
said OPM has developed a new training course, "Recruiting Foundations
for Program Managers," in an attempt to improve the professionalism
of federal recruiters.  The officials said the course provides line
managers and human resource specialists with tools to plan, build,
upgrade, and manage their recruiting programs.  The officials
stressed, however, that the federal government is downsizing and
there will be reduced opportunities in the next several years for new
college graduates to find federal jobs.  They said care must be taken
to ensure that federal recruiting and outreach programs are realistic
in emphasizing the limited prospects for employment. 

As an overall observation on our findings, the OPM officials said
they have become convinced that the government's employment image
suffers because students and graduates tend not to clearly understand
that federal employment represents the opportunity to serve the
public.  They said much of the information students receive about
government comes from newspapers or television.  According to the
officials, social, political, and economic issues are often cast as
"problems" or "crises," leaving a negative spin on the government's
competence or efficiency, while little attention is given by the
media to the actual work performed by public servants in resolving
the problems of the nation.  They believed academia was also partly
responsible for the void of positive information.  The officials also
believed that most students attending colleges, universities, and
high schools have little understanding of the government, its
relationship to them, or its positive impact on their lives.  The
officials said it will take a relentless effort among the public and
private sectors, academia, constituency groups, and effective
employment information services to restore the luster to public
service. 


   CONCLUSIONS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :5

Because our work was limited to placement officials in 13 schools and
graduates from 4 universities, these findings may not be
representative of how federal employment was viewed by all graduates
across the country.  However, we believe it is meaningful that most
placement officials and graduates we surveyed independently agreed
that the federal government was not an employer of choice on college
campuses and had quite similar views on why this situation existed. 
Moreover, in explaining why some graduates did not seek careers with
the federal government, the review results, while limited, suggest
obstacles that need to be addressed if federal agencies are to be
able to hire quality employees in the future.  Clearly, if the views
we found were widely held, efforts to improve the image and
attractiveness of federal employment by emphasizing to prospective
employees the challenges and opportunities it affords, better
disseminating information on job openings, enhancing recruiting
efforts, and developing more competitive employment policies would be
in order. 

We have not reviewed the actions OPM said it had taken and plans to
take to improve federal recruiting, hiring, and job information
dissemination processes.  However, as OPM described them, the actions
appear to be the kinds of efforts that are needed to make federal
employment opportunities more accessible to new graduates and other
potential employees.  To the extent that these actions will improve
the image of federal employment, they should help make public service
a more attractive career choice to talented graduates in the future. 


---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :5.1

We are sending copies of this report to other congressional
committees, the Director of OPM, and other interested parties. 
Copies will also be made available to others upon request. 

The major contributors to this report are listed in appendix V.  If
you have any questions, please contact me on (202) 512-5074. 

Nancy Kingsbury
Director
Federal Human Resources
 Management Issues


OBJECTIVE, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY
=========================================================== Appendix I

The objective of this study was to gather information on how college
graduates view the federal government as a potential employer.  To
accomplish this, in part, we visited placement officials at 13
colleges and universities to discuss their perceptions of recent
graduates' views of the government's attractiveness as an employer. 
(See app.  II for a listing of the colleges and universities.) We
judgmentally selected the 13 schools on the basis of their geographic
locations, enrollment sizes, levels of minority enrollment, and
public or private funding. 

We also sent questionnaires to graduates of four other universities. 
We selected these universities using the same criteria as that used
for the placement official interviews.  For privacy and
confidentiality reasons, we do not identify the schools whose
graduates we surveyed.  The schools included a private university
located in the East, a predominately minority public university
located in the South, and two public universities located in the
Midwest and West.  Appendix III includes general descriptive
information about each university. 

We surveyed graduates whom the universities indicated had received
bachelor's degrees between September 1, 1991, and August 31, 1992. 
The survey was limited to graduates with academic majors in fields of
study identified by OPM as the fields of study for more than 80
percent of all employees with college degrees hired by federal
agencies in fiscal year 1989, which was the latest information
available when we began our work.\1 The fields of study included were
engineering, business and management, social sciences, agriculture
and natural resources, mathematics, and health professions.  We did
not verify the accuracy and completeness of the lists of graduates
and their majors provided by the universities. 

We pretested the questionnaire to assure ourselves that respondents
would interpret the questions correctly and could provide the
information requested.  We did pretests with 6 recent graduates, and
the placement officials at the 13 schools we visited also reviewed
the questionnaire.  During our visits with the placement officials,
some expressed concerns about the success of the survey, stating that
the graduates' addresses maintained by the schools were likely to be
out of date because of moves since graduation and, on the basis of
their experiences, recent graduates were often unwilling to respond
to questionnaires.  Thus, we knew the possibility of a low response
rate existed.  To lessen that possibility, we (1) did the initial
mailing in December 1992 because we suspected that many addresses
were the addresses of graduates' parents and hoped the questionnaires
would arrive when the graduates were home for the holidays, (2) did
follow-up mailings in January and February 1993, and (3) planned to
do additional follow-ups if the response rate was under 50 percent. 

We sent questionnaires to 1,533 graduates and received 985 usable
responses, for an overall response rate of 64.3 percent.  While this
rate was lower than we normally prefer, it was much higher than
anticipated by many of the placement officials.  We considered this
rate to be very good given the circumstances of the survey.  Also,
when ineligible respondents and undeliverable questionnaires were
excluded, the completion rate was 73.1 percent.  Table I.1 shows the
disposition of the questionnaires mailed and the response and
completion rates for each school. 



                          Table I.1
           
              Analysis of Questionnaire Returns

                      School  School  School  School
Category                   1       2       3       4   Total
--------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
============================================================
Total mailed             320     195     806     212   1,533
Undeliverable             19       5      83       7     114
Ineligibles\a             27      10      34       0      71
Incomplete responses       0       0       2       2       4
Overt refusals             0       1       3       1       5
Questionnaires not        91      71     146      46     354
 returned
============================================================
Total usable returns     183     108     538     156     985
Response rate          57.2%   55.4%   66.7%   73.6%   64.3%
 percentage\b
Completion rate        66.8%   60.0%   78.1%   76.1%   73.1%
 percentage\c
------------------------------------------------------------
\a Ineligibles were those respondents who said they did not receive a
bachelor's degree between September 1, 1991, and August 31, 1992,
were not in the majors we selected at that particular school, or were
not U.S.  citizens and hence not eligible for federal employment. 

\b Response rate is the number of usable returns as a percentage of
the total number mailed. 

\c Completion rate is the number of usable returns as a percentage of
the total number mailed less those not delivered and ineligible. 

We were particularly interested in the views of recent graduates who
said they had sought employment since graduation or remained in the
jobs they had before graduation.  Accordingly, the questions in the
questionnaire were directed to these graduates.  Of the 985 usable
responses, 884 were from graduates who said they had looked for jobs
or remained in the jobs they had before graduation. 

Because the colleges and universities included in our study were not
statistically valid random samples of all colleges and universities
in the United States, it cannot be presumed that the study results
represented the views of all college graduates. 

We discussed this report with OPM's Associate Director for Career
Entry and other OPM officials in June and July 1994.  Their comments
are summarized on pages 15 to 18.  Our audit work was done from May
1992 through September 1993 in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards. 


--------------------
\1 The information was based on questionnaire responses to an OPM
survey from 12,194 of 25,646 federal employees hired in fiscal year
1989. 


THIRTEEN COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY
PLACEMENT OFFICES VISITED
========================================================== Appendix II

College/University                              Location
----------------------------------------------  ------------
California State University, Long Beach         Long Beach,
                                                CA

Emory University                                Atlanta, GA

Georgia Institute of Technology                 Atlanta, GA

Georgia State University                        Atlanta, GA

Macalester College                              St. Paul, MN

Marquette University                            Milwaukee,
                                                WI

Spelman College                                 Atlanta, GA

University of Minnesota                         Minneapolis,
                                                MN

Institute of Technology

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs

Carlson School of Management

University of Richmond                          Richmond, VA

University of Southern California               Los Angeles,
                                                CA

University of Virginia                          Charlottesvi
                                                lle, VA

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences

McIntire School of Commerce

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee               Milwaukee,
                                                WI

Virginia Commonwealth University                Richmond, VA
------------------------------------------------------------

PROFILES OF THE FOUR SCHOOLS IN
THE COLLEGE GRADUATE SURVEY
========================================================= Appendix III


      SCHOOL 1
----------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:0.1

School 1 is located in a large city in the East.  The school is a
private institution awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral
degrees.  Seventy-two percent of its undergraduates in the 1990-1991
academic year were white, and 10 percent were foreign nationals.  The
school awarded about 1,500 bachelor's degrees in the 1990-1991
academic year. 


--------------------
\1 This information is from Profiles of American Colleges, 19th
edition (Hauppauge, NY:  Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1992). 


      SCHOOL 2
----------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:0.2

School 2 is located in the South.  It is a public institution
awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.  Ninety-four
percent of its undergraduates in the 1990-1991 academic year were
black.  The school awarded about 800 bachelor's degrees in the
1990-1991 academic year. 


      SCHOOL 3
----------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:0.3

School 3 is located in the West.  It is a public land grant
institution awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. 
Eighty-four percent of its undergraduates in the 1990-1991 academic
year were white.  The school awarded about 3,000 bachelor's degrees
in the 1990-1991 academic year. 


      SCHOOL 4
----------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:0.4

School 4 is located in the Midwest.  The school is a public
institution awarding associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. 
Ninety-three percent of its undergraduates in the 1990-1991 academic
year were white.  The school awarded about 1,500 bachelor's degrees
in the 1990-1991 academic year. 


QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES
========================================================== Appendix IV

The questionnaire was 11 pages long and included 21 questions.  We
estimate respondents took about 15 minutes to complete the
questionnaire.  We promised respondents that their responses would be
confidential, combined with others, and reported only in summary
form.  In the questionnaire, we asked about the reasons for the
employment decisions graduates made upon graduation from college,
their experiences, if any, with the federal recruiting and hiring
processes, and the extent to which they considered the federal
government as an employment possibility. 

The question wording and the response categories shown in this
appendix are the same as in the questionnaire itself, except in
questions 14, 15, and 17.  For questions 14 and 15 we combined
response categories for ease of presentation.  The original response
categories for these questions were: 

  Question 14 - (1) of little or no importance, (2) of some
     importance, (3) of moderate importance, (4) of great importance,
     (5) of very great importance, and (6) no basis to judge; and

  Question 15 - (1) federal much better than nonfederal, (2) federal
     generally better than nonfederal, (3) about the same for federal
     and nonfederal, (4) nonfederal generally better than federal,
     (5) nonfederal much better than federal, and (6) no basis to
     judge. 

We combined categories (1) and (2) and categories (4) and (5) for
both questions.  In question 17, we created categories on the basis
of the frequency and distribution of the graduates' years of birth. 
The percentages in the columns many not add to 100 percent because we
rounded the percentages to the nearest tenth. 


   A.  DEGREE INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:1

Question 1.  According to our information, you received a bachelor's
degree between September 1, 1991, and August 31, 1992.  Is this
correct?  (1,033 respondents.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Yes        183   97.3    108   91.5    538   94.2    156  100.0    985   95.4
2. No\a         5    2.7     10    8.5     33    5.8      0    0.0     48    4.6
No answer       0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0
================================================================================
Total         188  100.0    118  100.0    571  100.0    156  100.0  1,033  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Respondents who did not receive a bachelor's degree in the time
period were asked to stop and return the questionnaire to GAO. 


   B.  JOB STATUS
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:2

For the purpose of this section, if a respondent had more than one
job since graduation, we asked the respondent to consider the first
job held in responding to questions 2, 3, 4, and 5.  If the
respondent continued with the same job as before graduation, we asked
the respondent to consider that job to be the first job. 

Question 2.  Which of the following best describes your work status
since graduation?  (985 respondents.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1.             13    7.1     15   13.9     74   13.8     36   23.1    138   14.0
 Continued
 with same
 employer
 as before
 graduatio
 n
2. Could       18    9.8     37   34.3    132   24.5     31   19.9    218   22.1
 not find
 suitable
 permanent
 employmen
 t; worked
 in a
 temporary
 job or
 was
 unemploye
 d\a
3. Began       35   19.1      9    8.3     35    6.5      9    5.8     88    8.9
 work on a
 graduate/
 professio
 nal
 degree
 without
 seeking
 employmen
 t\b
4. Began        6    3.3     11   10.2     13    2.4      1    0.6     31    3.1
 work on a
 graduate/
 professio
 nal
 degree
 after
 unsuccess
 fully
 seeking
 employmen
 t\a
5. Self-        2    1.1      0    0.0     10    1.9      1    0.6     13    1.3
 employed\c
6. Did not      5    2.7      0    0.0      5    0.9      3    1.9     13    1.3
 seek
 employmen
 t\b
7. Entered     88   48.1     32   29.6    233   43.3     68   43.6    421   42.7
 a
 permanent
 job
8. Other       16    8.7      4    3.7     36    6.7      7    4.5     63    6.4
================================================================================
Total         183  100.0    108  100.0    538  100.0    156  100.0    985  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Respondents who answered with this category were asked to go to
question 6. 

\b Respondents who answered with this category were asked to stop and
return the questionnaire to GAO. 

\c Respondents who answered with this category were asked to go to
question 5. 


   C.  EMPLOYER INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:3

Question 3.  Which of the following categories best describes your
first employer?  (622 respondents, the number of respondents who
answered categories 1, 7, or 8 for question 2.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Private     81   69.2     22   43.1    226   65.9     67   60.4    396   63.7
 company
2. State/       3    2.6      7   13.7     21    6.1      5    4.5     36    5.8
 Local
 governmen
 t
3. Federal      4    3.4      2    3.9     14    4.1      3    2.7     23    3.7
 government
 (as a
 civilian
 employee)
4. Private      7    6.0      3    5.9      4    1.2      5    4.5     19    3.1
 college,
 universit
 y, or
 other
 education
 al
 instituti
 on
5.             11    9.4      6   11.8     22    6.4     13   11.7     52    8.4
 Nonprofit
 organizat
 ion
6.              2    1.7      0    0.0     19    5.5      5    4.5     26    4.2
 Military
 service
7. Other        7    6.0      9   17.7     33    9.6     11    9.9     60    9.7
No answer       2    1.7      2    3.9      4    1.2      2    1.8     10    1.6
================================================================================
Total         117  100.0     51  100.0    343  100.0    111  100.0    622  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 4.  About how long after applying for your first job did you
receive the job offer?  (622 respondents, the number of respondents
who answered categories 1, 7, or 8 for question 2.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. No          20   17.1      8   15.7     65   19.0     29   26.1    122   19.6
 wait. I
 was hired
 on the
 spot
2. Less        35   29.9     17   33.3    120   35.0     32   28.8    204   32.8
 than 1
 month
3. At          23   19.7      7   13.7     40   11.7     12   10.8     82   13.2
 least 1
 month,
 but less
 than 2
 months
4. At          10    8.6      5    9.8     26    7.6     10    9.0     51    8.2
 least 2
 months,
 but less
 than 3
 months
5. At           6    5.1      1    2.0     13    3.8      9    8.1     29    4.7
 least 3
 months,
 but less
 than 4
 months
6. At           5    4.3      2    3.9     14    4.1      3    2.7     24    3.9
 least 4
 months,
 but less
 than 6
 months
7. 6            5    4.3      3    5.9     14    4.1      3    2.7     25    4.0
 months or
 more
8. Don't        0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0
 remember
9. Not         11    9.4      6   11.8     42   12.2     13   11.7     72   11.6
 applicable
 (did not
 apply for
 a new job
 after
 graduatio
 n)
No answer       2    1.7      2    3.9      9    2.6      0    0.0     13    2.1
================================================================================
Total         117  100.0     51  100.0    343  100.0    111  100.0    622  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 5.  Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied were/are you with
your first job?  (635 respondents, the number of respondents who
answered categories 1, 5, 7, or 8 for question 2.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Very        49   41.2     12   23.5     93   26.4     37   33.0    191   30.1
 satisfied
2.             41   34.5     17   33.3    150   42.5     47   42.0    255   40.2
 Generally
 satisfied
3. As          18   15.1     14   27.5     53   15.0     18   16.1    103   16.2
 satisfied
 as
 dissatisf
 ied
4.              5    4.2      3    5.9     40   11.3      8    7.1     56    8.8
 Generally
 dissatisf
 ied
5. Very         4    3.4      4    7.8     10    2.8      1    0.9     19    3.0
 dissatisf
 ied
No answer       2    1.7      1    2.0      7    2.0      1    0.9     11    1.7
================================================================================
Total         119  100.0     51  100.0    353  100.0    112  100.0    635  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   D.  THE JOB SEARCH PROCESS
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:4

Question 6.  Which of the following best describes the extent to
which you sought federal employment since graduation?  (884
respondents, the number of respondents who answered categories 1, 2,
4, 5, 7, or 8 for question 2.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Already      5    3.5      1    1.0     14    2.8      4    2.8     24    2.7
 had a
 federal
 job and
 did not
 consider
 another
 one\a
2. No          56   39.2      9    9.1    165   33.1     54   37.5    284   32.1
 interest
 in a
 federal
 job and
 made no
 efforts
 to
 identify
 vacancies
 or
 applicati
 on
 procedure
 s
3.             60   42.0     46   46.5    211   42.4     69   47.9    386   43.7
 Considered
 a federal
 job, but
 did not
 apply
4. Applied     16   11.2     36   36.4     78   15.7     11    7.6    141   16.0
 for a
 federal
 job, but
 did not
 receive a
 job
 offer\b
5. Applied      0    0.0      2    2.0      5    1.0      0    0.0      7    0.8
 for a
 federal
 job, but
 did not
 accept a
 job
 offer\c
6.              4    2.8      4    4.0     16    3.2      4    2.8     28    3.2
 Accepted
 a federal
 job\b
No answer       2    1.4      1    1.0      9    1.8      2    1.4     14    1.6
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Respondents who answered with this category were asked to go to
question 14. 

\b Respondents who answered with this category were asked to go to
question 11. 

\c Respondents who answered with this category were asked to go to
question 9. 

Question 7.  Which of the following reasons, if any, best describe
the main reasons you did not apply for or had no interest in a
federal job?  (670 respondents, the number of respondents who
answered categories 2 or 3 for question 6.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Never       21   18.1      5    9.1    113   30.1     35   28.5    174   26.0
 occurred
 to me to
 consider
 federal
 employmen
 t
2. Did not     43   37.1     33   60.0    232   61.7     76   61.8    384   57.3
 have
 informati
 on about
 federal
 jobs
3. No          25   21.6     10   18.2     86   22.9     44   35.8    165   24.6
 federal
 recruiter
 s visited
 my campus
4. My           5    4.3      8   14.6     89   23.7     23   18.7    125   18.7
 field of
 study was
 not
 related
 to
 federal
 employmen
 t as I
 perceived
 it
5.             25   21.6      4    7.3     52   13.8      9    7.3     90   13.4
 Nonfederal
 recruiter
 s were
 more
 effective
 in
 explainin
 g
 employmen
 t
 opportuni
 ties
6.             47   40.5     10   18.2     60   16.0     23   18.7    140   20.9
 Starting
 salary
 too low
7.             44   37.9     12   21.8     77   20.5     21   17.1    154   23.0
 Applicati
 on
 process
 too
 burdensom
 e
8. Unable      56   48.3     27   49.1    194   51.6     48   39.0    325   48.5
 to
 identify
 specific
 job
 openings
9. Not         18   15.5      1    1.8     39   10.4     10    8.1     68   10.2
 interested
 in
 available
 job
 openings
10. Poor       34   29.3      6   10.9     77   20.5     11    8.9    128   19.1
 image and
 reputatio
 n of the
 governmen
 t
11. Did         5    4.3      2    3.6     14    3.7      4    3.3     25    3.7
 not want
 to take
 the
 required
 test
12. Did         4    3.5      8   14.6     18    4.8      2    1.6     32    4.8
 not
 qualify
 for the
 Outstandi
 ng
 Scholar
 Program
13.             3    2.6      2    3.6     15    4.0      9    7.3     29    4.3
 Discourag
 ed by
 family,
 friends,
 or others
14. No          8    6.9      7   12.7     50   13.3     15   12.2     80   11.9
 jobs
 available
 in
 geographi
 c
 location(
 s)
 desired
15.             2    1.7      0    0.0      2    0.5      2    1.6      6    0.9
 Inadequate
 benefits
16. Other      32   27.6      7   12.7     66   17.6     15   12.2    120   17.9
No answer       0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0
================================================================================
Total         116  100.0     55  100.0    376  100.0    123  100.0    670  100.0
 responden
 ts\a
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a This total represents the number of respondents who should have
answered this question.  The columns do not add to the totals because
respondents were to check all categories that applied, i.e.,
respondents could select multiple reasons. 

Question 8.  Please review your responses to question 7 and indicate
which, if any, was the most important reason you did not seek a
federal job.  (670 respondents, the number of respondents who
answered categories 2 or 3 for question 6.) Note:  Respondents
answering question 8 were asked to skip to question 14. 


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Never        6    5.2      3    5.5     38   10.1     14   11.4     61    9.1
 occurred
 to me to
 consider
 federal
 employmen
 t
2. Did not     15   12.9     17   30.9    114   30.3     39   31.7    185   27.6
 have
 informati
 on about
 federal
 jobs
3. No           2    1.7      0    0.0      3    0.8      2    1.6      7    1.0
 federal
 recruiter
 s visited
 my campus
4. My           3    2.6      3    5.5     18    4.8      8    6.5     32    4.8
 field of
 study was
 not
 related
 to
 federal
 employmen
 t as I
 perceived
 it
5.              3    2.6      0    0.0      6    1.6      1    0.8     10    1.5
 Nonfederal
 recruiter
 s were
 more
 effective
 in
 explainin
 g
 employmen
 t
 opportuni
 ties
6.             13   11.2      7   12.7     10    2.7      6    4.9     36    5.4
 Starting
 salary
 too low
7.             12   10.3      0    0.0     17    4.5      6    4.9     35    5.2
 Applicati
 on
 process
 too
 burdensom
 e
8. Unable      15   12.9      9   16.4     41   10.9     19   15.5     84   12.5
 to
 identify
 specific
 job
 openings
9. Not          4    3.5      0    0.0     14    3.7      4    3.3     22    3.3
 interested
 in
 available
 job
 openings
10. Poor       15   12.9      3    5.5     27    7.2      3    2.4     48    7.2
 image and
 reputatio
 n of the
 governmen
 t
11. Did         1    0.9      0    0.0      0    0.0      1    0.8      2    0.3
 not want
 to take
 the
 required
 test
12. Did         0    0.0      0    0.0      4    1.1      1    0.8      5    0.8
 not
 qualify
 for the
 Outstandi
 ng
 Scholar
 Program
13.             1    0.9      0    0.0      2    0.5      2    1.6      5    0.8
 Discourag
 ed by
 family,
 friends,
 or others
14. No          0    0.0      4    7.3     15    4.0      4    3.3     23    3.4
 jobs
 available
 in
 geographi
 c
 location(
 s)
 desired
15.             0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0
 Inadequate
 benefits
16. Other      22   19.0      3    5.5     40   10.6     10    8.1     75   11.2
No answer       4    3.5      6   10.9     27    7.2      3    2.4     40    6.0
================================================================================
Total         116  100.0     55  100.0    376  100.0    123  100.0    670  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 9.  Which of the following reasons, if any, best describe
the main reasons you applied for but did not accept a federal job
offer?  (7 respondents, the number of respondents who answered
category 5 for question 6.) Note:  The percentages are not shown in
this table because the number of respondents is small. 

                                                         All
                      School  School  School  School  school
Category                   1       2       3       4       s
--------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
1. Accepted a              0       1       2       0       3
 nonfederal job
 before receiving a
 federal job offer
2. Salary too low          0       1       3       0       4
3. Not in geographic       0       1       0       0       1
 location desired
4. Inadequate              0       0       1       0       1
 benefits
5. Advised not to          0       0       2       0       2
 accept by family,
 friends, or others
6. Did not have            0       0       0       0       0
 enough information
 about the job
7. Not interested in       0       0       2       0       2
 doing type of work
 required by the job
8. Not related to          0       0       0       0       0
 field of study
9. Cost of living in       0       1       0       0       1
 area too high
10. Did not want to        0       0       0       0       0
 work for federal
 agency offering job
11. Other                  0       1       1       0       2
No answer                  0       0       0       0       0
============================================================
Total respondents\a        0       2       5       0       7
------------------------------------------------------------
\a This total represents the number of respondents who should have
answered this question.  The columns will not add to the totals
because respondents were to check all categories that applied, i.e.,
respondents could select multiple reasons. 

Question 10.  Of the reasons checked in question 9, which, if any,
was the most important reason you declined a federal job offer?  (7
respondents, the number of respondents who answered category 5 for
question 6.) Note:  The percentages are not shown in this table
because the number of respondents is small. 

                                                         All
                      School  School  School  School  school
Category                   1       2       3       4       s
--------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
1. Accepted a              0       1       0       0       1
 nonfederal job
 before receiving a
 federal job offer
2. Salary too low          0       0       1       0       1
3. Not in geographic       0       1       0       0       1
 location desired
4. Inadequate              0       0       0       0       0
 benefits
5. Advised not to          0       0       2       0       2
 accept by family,
 friends, or others
6. Did not have            0       0       0       0       0
 enough information
 about the job
7. Not interested in       0       0       2       0       2
 doing type of work
 required by the job
8. Not related to          0       0       0       0       0
 field of study
9. Cost of living in       0       0       0       0       0
 area too high
10. Did not want to        0       0       0       0       0
 work for federal
 agency offering job
11. Other                  0       0       0       0       0
No answer                  0       0       0       0       0
============================================================
Total                      0       2       5       0       7
------------------------------------------------------------
Question 11.  Applicants for most entry-level federal professional
and administrative positions must take Administrative Careers With
America (ACWA) exams unless they qualify under the Outstanding
Scholar Program (i.e., upper 10 percent of graduating class or grade
point average of 3.50 or better).  Did you take any ACWA exams?  (176
respondents, the number of respondents who answered categories 4, 5,
or 6 for question 6.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Yes          2     10      6   14.3     10   10.1      1    6.7     19   10.8
2. No          18     90     31   73.8     81   81.8     13   86.7    143   81.3
3. Not          0    0.0      2    4.8      3    3.0      0    0.0      5    2.8
 sure
No answer       0    0.0      3    7.1      5    5.1      1    6.7      9    5.1
================================================================================
Total          20  100.0     42  100.0     99  100.0     15  100.0    176  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 12.  Which of the following reasons, if any, best describe
why you did not take an ACWA exam?  (143 respondents, the number of
respondents who answered category 2 for question 11.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Since I      1    5.6      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      1    0.7
 had no
 interest
 in
 federal
 employmen
 t, there
 was no
 reason to
 take the
 exam
2. I had       10   55.6     16   51.6     54   66.7      5   38.5     85   59.4
 no
 informati
 on on the
 ACWA exam
 requireme
 nt
3. I            4   22.2      5   16.1     10   12.4      3   23.1     22   15.4
 qualified
 as an
 Outstandi
 ng
 Scholar
 and knew
 I did not
 have to
 take an
 exam to
 be
 considere
 d for
 federal
 employmen
 t
4. ACWA         7   39.0      7   22.6     27   33.3      6   46.2     47   32.9
 exams
 were not
 required
 for the
 federal
 job(s) of
 interest
 to me
5. The          0    0.0      2    6.5      1    1.2      0    0.0      3    2.1
 exam
 location
 was too
 inconveni
 ent for
 me
6. The          0    0.0      3    9.7      1    1.2      1    7.7      5    3.5
 times
 and/or
 dates the
 exam(s)
 were
 scheduled
 were too
 inconveni
 ent for
 me
7. I had        1    5.6      0    0.0      0    0.0      1    7.7      2    1.4
 no
 interest
 in taking
 another
 exam
 after
 taking so
 many
 exams in
 college
8. Others       0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      1    7.7      1    0.7
 who had
 taken an
 ACWA exam
 recommend
 ed I not
 take it
9. I was        1    5.6      2    6.5      2    2.5      1    7.7      6    4.2
 not
 convinced
 a written
 exam
 would
 adequatel
 y measure
 my
 abilities
 to do a
 job
10. The         3   16.7      2    6.5      5    6.2      1    7.7     11    7.7
 nonfederal
 employer(
 s) I was
 consideri
 ng did
 not
 require
 an exam
 to
 qualify
 for
 employmen
 t
11. I am        0    0.0      2    6.5      2    2.5      0    0.0      4    2.8
 not a
 good exam
 taker
12. Other       3   16.7      4   12.9      7    8.6      1    7.7     15   10.5
No answer       0    0.0      0    0.0      1    1.2      0    0.0      1    0.7
================================================================================
Total          18  100.0     31  100.0     81  100.0     13  100.0    143  100.0
 responden
 ts \a
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a This total represents the number of respondents who should have
answered this question.  The columns do not add to the totals because
respondents were to check all categories that applied, i.e.,
respondents could select multiple reasons. 

Question 13.  Of the reasons checked in question 12, which, if any,
was the most important reason you did not take an ACWA exam?  (143
respondents, the number of respondents who answered category 2 for
question 11.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Since I      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0
 had no
 interest
 in
 federal
 employmen
 t, there
 was no
 reason to
 take the
 exam
2. I had        6   33.3     12   38.7     38   46.9      5   38.5     61   42.7
 no
 informati
 on on the
 ACWA exam
 requireme
 nt
3. I            1    5.6      4   12.9      4    4.9      3   23.1     12    8.4
 qualified
 as an
 Outstandi
 ng
 Scholar
 and knew
 I did not
 have to
 take an
 exam to
 be
 considere
 d for
 federal
 employmen
 t
4. ACWA         5   27.8      2    6.5     17   21.0      3   23.1     27   18.9
 exams
 were not
 required
 for the
 federal
 job(s) of
 interest
 to me
5. The          0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0
 exam
 location
 was too
 inconveni
 ent for
 me
6. The          0    0.0      3    9.7      1    1.2      1    7.7      5    3.5
 times
 and/or
 dates the
 exams(s)
 were
 scheduled
 were too
 inconveni
 ent for
 me
7. I had        1    5.6      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      1    0.7
 no
 interest
 in taking
 another
 exam
 after
 taking so
 many
 exams in
 college
8. Others       0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0
 who had
 taken an
 ACWA exam
 recommend
 ed I not
 take it
9. I was        0    0.0      2    6.5      0    0.0      1    7.7      3    2.1
 not
 convinced
 a written
 exam
 would
 adequatel
 y measure
 my
 abilities
 to do a
 job
10. The         1    5.6      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      1    0.7
 nonfederal
 employer(
 s) I was
 consideri
 ng did
 not
 require
 an exam
 to
 qualify
 for
 employmen
 t
11. I am        0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0
 not a
 good exam
 taker
12. Other       3   16.7      3    9.7      3    3.7      0    0.0      9    6.3
No answer       1    5.6      5   16.1     18   22.2      0    0.0     24   16.8
================================================================================
Total          18  100.0     31  100.0     81  100.0     13  100.0    143  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 14.  Of how much importance, if any, are the following
factors to you in selecting an employer for whom you would like to
work?  (884 respondents.)


         A.  EMPLOYER AND NATURE
         OF WORK
---------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:4.0.1


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       20   14.0      8    8.1     83   16.7     21   14.6    132   14.9
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             42   29.4     14   14.1    134   26.9     31   21.5    221   25.0
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        72   50.4     74   74.8    242   48.6     90   62.5    478   54.1
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        3    2.1      0    0.0     26    5.2      2    1.4     31    3.5
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      3    3.0     13    2.6      0    0.0     22    2.5
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       12    8.4     11   11.1     75   15.1     12    8.3    110   12.4
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             39   27.3     16   16.2    174   34.9     42   29.2    271   30.7
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        87   60.8     69   69.7    237   47.6     87   60.4    480   54.3
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        0    0.0      0    0.0      2    0.4      1    0.7      3    0.3
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      3    3.0     10    2.0      2    1.4     20    2.3
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,        3    2.1      1    1.0      9    1.8      3    2.1     16    1.8
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             10    7.0      9    9.1     64   12.9     21   14.6    104   11.8
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very       124   86.7     87   87.9    414   83.1    119   82.6    744   84.2
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        0    0.0      0    0.0      2    0.4      0    0.0      2    0.2
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      2    2.0      9    1.8      1    0.7     18    2.0
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,        3    2.1      1    1.0     11    2.2      3    2.1     18    2.0
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             19   13.3      0    0.0     71   14.3     11    7.6    101   11.4
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very       115   80.4     96   97.0    403   80.9    129   89.6    743   84.1
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        0    0.0      0    0.0      2    0.4      0    0.0      2    0.2
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      2    2.0     11    2.2      1    0.7     20    2.3
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       11    7.7      1    1.0     24    4.8      3    2.1     39    4.4
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             25   17.5      5    5.1     98   19.7     27   18.8    155   17.5
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very       101   70.6     91   91.9    364   73.1    111   77.1    667   75.5
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        0    0.0      0    0.0      2    0.4      1    0.7      3    0.3
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      2    2.0     10    2.0      2    1.4     20    2.3
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,        3    2.1      0    0.0      5    1.0      1    0.7      9    1.0
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of              3    2.1      1    1.0     19    3.8      6    4.2     29    3.3
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very       131   91.6     96   97.0    463   93.0    135   93.8    825   93.3
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        1    0.7      0    0.0      1    0.2      0    0.0      2    0.2
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      2    2.0     10    2.0      2    1.4     19    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------  --------------------------------------------------
7. Other  64 respondents gave and rated other factors
          concerning the employer and nature of the work.
------------------------------------------------------------

         B.  SALARY, BENEFITS, AND
         PROMOTIONS
---------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:4.0.2


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       11    7.7      3    3.0     18    3.6      0    0.0     32    3.6
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             54   37.8     22   22.2    196   39.4     37   25.7    309   35.0
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        73   51.1     72   72.7    271   54.4    107   74.3    523   59.2
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        0    0.0      0    0.0      2    0.4      0    0.0      2    0.2
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      2    2.0     11    2.2      0    0.0     18    2.0
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       68   47.6      2    2.0     82   16.5     10    6.9    162   18.3
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             39   27.3     10   10.1    163   32.7     41   28.5    253   28.6
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        22   15.4     85   85.9    242   48.6     93   64.6    442   50.0
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        9    6.3      0    0.0      2    0.4      0    0.0     11    1.2
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      2    2.0      9    1.8      0    0.0     16    1.8
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       21   14.7      0    0.0     32    6.4      4    2.8     57    6.5
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             37   25.9      3    3.0     82   16.5     17   11.8    139   15.7
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        78   54.6     93   93.9    371   74.5    122   84.7    664   75.1
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        1    0.7      0    0.0      1    0.2      0    0.0      2    0.2
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      3    3.0     12    2.4      1    0.7     22    2.5
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       36   25.2      6    6.1     86   17.3     13    9.0    141   16.0
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             65   45.5     32   32.3    199   40.0     43   29.9    339   38.4
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        35   24.5     59   59.6    202   40.6     87   60.4    383   43.3
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        2    1.4      0    0.0      1    0.2      0    0.0      3    0.3
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      2    2.0     10    2.0      1    0.7     18    2.0
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       71   49.7      4    4.0    168   33.7     18   12.5    261   29.5
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             43   30.1     13   13.1    155   31.1     48   33.3    259   29.3
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        20   14.0     79   79.8    158   31.7     77   53.5    334   37.8
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        4    2.8      0    0.0      6    1.2      1    0.7     11    1.2
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      3    3.0     11    2.2      0    0.0     19    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       67   46.9      6    6.1    138   27.7     24   16.7    235   26.6
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             43   30.1     21   21.2    146   29.3     39   27.1    249   28.2
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        21   14.7     70   70.7    201   40.4     78   54.2    370   41.9
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        5    3.5      0    0.0      2    0.4      3    2.1     10    1.1
 to judge
No answer       7    4.9      2    2.0     11    2.2      0    0.0     20    2.3
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,        5    3.5      1    1.0     15    3.0      4    2.8     25    2.8
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             14    9.8      1    1.0     51   10.2     13    9.0     79    8.9
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very       118   82.5     95   96.0    418   83.9    126   87.5    757   85.6
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        0    0.0      0    0.0      3    0.6      1    0.7      4    0.5
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      2    2.0     11    2.2      0    0.0     19    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------  ------------------------------------------------
15. Other   30 respondents gave and rated other factors
            concerning salary, benefits, and promotions.
------------------------------------------------------------

         C.  PERSONAL
         CONSIDERATIONS
---------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:4.0.3


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       13    9.1      0    0.0     24    4.8      1    0.7     38    4.3
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             41   28.7      1    1.0     82   16.5      5    3.5    129   14.6
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        84   58.7     95   96.0    384   77.1    137   95.1    700   79.2
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      3    3.0      8    1.6      1    0.7     17    1.9
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       11    7.7     11   11.1     63   12.7     14    9.7     99   11.2
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             46   32.2     30   30.3    163   32.7     42   29.2    281   31.8
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        81   56.6     55   55.6    264   53.0     87   60.4    487   55.1
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        1    0.7      1    1.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      2    0.2
 to judge
No answer       4    2.8      2    2.0      8    1.6      1    0.7     15    1.7
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       41   28.7      5    5.1     72   14.5     16   11.1    134   15.2
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             57   39.9     17   17.2    187   37.6     45   31.3    306   34.6
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        39   27.3     75   75.8    229   46.0     82   56.9    425   48.1
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        2    1.4      0    0.0      1    0.2      0    0.0      3    0.3
 to judge
No answer       4    2.8      2    2.0      9    1.8      1    0.7     16    1.8
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       88   61.5     34   34.3    306   61.5     64   44.4    492   55.7
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             12    8.4     28   28.3     88   17.7     35   24.3    163   18.4
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very         9    6.3     29   29.3     38    7.6     24   16.7    100   11.3
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis       30   21.0      6    6.1     56   11.2     20   13.9    112   12.7
 to judge
No answer       4    2.8      2    2.0     10    2.0      1    0.7     17    1.9
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       93   65.0     38   38.4    329   66.1     81   56.3    541   61.2
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of              9    6.3     26   26.3     62   12.5     34   23.6    131   14.8
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very         2    1.4     27   27.3     27    5.4      8    5.6     64    7.2
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis       33   23.1      4    4.0     71   14.3     21   14.6    129   14.6
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      4    4.0      9    1.8      0    0.0     19    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       87   60.8     37   37.4    289   58.0     76   52.8    489   55.3
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             32   22.4     29   29.3    122   24.5     37   25.7    220   24.9
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very         7    4.9     30   30.3     60   12.1     18   12.5    115   13.0
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis       12    8.4      0    0.0     19    3.8     13    9.0     44    5.0
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      3    3.0      8    1.6      0    0.0     16    1.8
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       74   51.8     21   21.2    162   32.5     40   27.8    297   33.6
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             38   26.6     31   31.3    180   36.1     41   28.5    290   32.8
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        25   17.5     45   45.5    145   29.1     60   41.7    275   31.1
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        2    1.4      0    0.0      3    0.6      3    2.1      8    0.9
 to judge
No answer       4    2.8      2    2.0      8    1.6      0    0.0     14    1.6
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       19   13.3      7    7.1     53   10.6      9    6.3     88   10.0
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             50   35.0     20   20.2    133   26.7     33   22.9    236   26.7
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        69   48.3     69   69.7    302   60.6    101   70.1    541   61.2
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        0    0.0      1    1.0      1    0.2      0    0.0      2    0.2
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      2    2.0      9    1.8      1    0.7     17    1.9
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Of some,       27   18.9      6    6.1     64   12.9     10    6.9    107   12.1
 little,
 or no
 importanc
 e
Of             58   40.6     25   25.3    159   31.9     43   29.9    285   32.2
 moderate
 importanc
 e
Of very        53   37.1     65   65.7    262   52.6     89   61.8    469   53.1
 great or
 great
 importanc
 e
No basis        0    0.0      0    0.0      3    0.6      1    0.7      4    0.5
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      3    3.0     10    2.0      1    0.7     19    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------  ------------------------------------------------
25. Other   40 respondents gave and rated other factors
            concerning personal considerations.
------------------------------------------------------------

         D.  OTHER FACTORS
---------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:4.0.4

----------  ------------------------------------------------
26. Other   61 respondents gave and rated other factors
            concerning selection of an employer.
------------------------------------------------------------
Question 15.  Please compare, based on your personal knowledge and/or
experience, your perceptions of the following employment practices
and conditions of federal agencies versus non federal employers. 
(884 respondents.) Note:  In most cases, these are the same factors
listed in question 14. 


         A.  RECRUITING AND HIRING
---------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:4.0.5


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        14    9.8     15   15.2     49    9.8     14    9.7     92   10.4
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      25   17.5     22   22.2     87   17.5     15   10.4    149   16.9
 same
Nonfederal     87   60.8     51   51.5    305   61.2     99   68.8    542   61.3
 better
 than
 federal
No basis        9    6.3      8    8.1     47    9.4     14    9.7     78    8.8
 to judge
No answer       8    5.6      3    3.0     10    2.0      2    1.4     23    2.6
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         1    0.7      7    7.1     23    4.6      8    5.6     39    4.4
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      16   11.2     22   22.2     67   13.5     14    9.7    119   13.5
 same
Nonfederal    109   76.2     56   56.6    335   67.3     95   66.0    595   67.3
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       11    7.7     10   10.1     66   13.3     25   17.4    112   12.7
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      4    4.0      7    1.4      2    1.4     19    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         0    0.0      7    7.1      6    1.2      1    0.7     14    1.6
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the       8    5.6     19   19.2     38    7.6     12    8.3     77    8.7
 same
Nonfederal     96   67.1     57   57.6    315   63.3     86   59.7    554   62.7
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       34   23.8     13   13.1    131   26.3     43   29.9    221   25.0
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      3    3.0      8    1.6      2    1.4     18    2.0
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         0    0.0      7    7.1      5    1.0      1    0.7     13    1.5
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      12    8.4     16   16.2     44    8.8     15   10.4     87    9.8
 same
Nonfederal     65   45.5     51   51.5    211   42.4     58   40.3    385   43.6
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       61   42.7     23   23.2    231   46.4     67   46.5    382   43.2
 to judge
No answer       5    3.5      2    2.0      7    1.4      3    2.1     17    1.9
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         7    4.9     13   13.1     30    6.0      8    5.6     58    6.6
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the       7    4.9     19   19.2     55   11.0     19   13.2    100   11.3
 same
Nonfederal     53   37.1     42   42.4    166   33.3     49   34.0    310   35.1
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       70   49.0     23   23.2    235   47.2     65   45.1    393   44.5
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      2    2.0     12    2.4      3    2.1     23    2.6
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------  --------------------------------------------------
6. Other  6 respondents gave and rated other employment
          practices and conditions concerning recruiting and
          hiring.
------------------------------------------------------------

         B.  EMPLOYER AND NATURE
         OF WORK
---------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:4.0.6


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         3    2.1     18   18.2     41    8.2      8    5.6     70    7.9
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      41   28.7     29   29.3    143   28.7     31   21.5    244   27.6
 same
Nonfederal     39   27.3     16   16.2    102   20.5     39   27.1    196   22.2
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       54   37.8     33   33.3    202   40.6     61   42.4    350   39.6
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      3    3.0     10    2.0      5    3.5     24    2.7
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         6    4.2     31   31.3     32    6.4     16   11.1     85    9.6
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      36   25.2     29   29.3    156   31.3     36   25.0    257   29.1
 same
Nonfederal     82   57.3     21   21.2    254   51.0     64   44.4    421   47.6
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       11    7.7     16   16.2     49    9.8     25   17.4    101   11.4
 to judge
No answer       8    5.6      2    2.0      7    1.4      3    2.1     20    2.3
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         7    4.9     25   25.3     42    8.4     24   16.7     98   11.1
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      38   26.6     31   31.3    159   31.9     42   29.2    270   30.5
 same
Nonfederal     66   46.2     16   16.2    167   33.5     29   20.1    278   31.5
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       26   18.2     25   25.3    123   24.7     45   31.3    219   24.8
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      2    2.0      7    1.4      4    2.8     19    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        14    9.8     30   30.3     50   10.0     15   10.4    109   12.3
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      58   40.6     33   33.3    205   41.2     55   38.2    351   39.7
 same
Nonfederal     44   30.8     12   12.1    120   24.1     25   17.4    201   22.7
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       20   14.0     22   22.2    115   23.1     46   31.9    203   23.0
 to judge
No answer       7    4.9      2    2.0      8    1.6      3    2.1     20    2.3
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        26   18.2     25   25.3     75   15.1     24   16.7    150   17.0
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      44   30.8     28   28.3    143   28.7     39   27.1    254   28.7
 same
Nonfederal     43   30.1     21   21.2    167   33.5     34   23.6    265   30.0
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       22   15.4     23   23.2    104   20.9     43   29.9    192   21.7
 to judge
No answer       8    5.6      2    2.0      9    1.8      4    2.8     23    2.6
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

           Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce          Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category       r     nt      r     nt      r     nt  Number     nt      r     nt
---------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  ------  -----  -----  -----
Federal        7    4.9     37   37.4     45    9.0      24   16.7    113   12.8
 better
 than
 nonfeder
 al
About the     33   23.1     21   21.2    152   30.5      40   27.8    246   27.8
 same
Nonfedera     73   51.1     22   22.2    185   37.2      36   25.0    316   35.8
 l better
 than
 federal
No basis      24   16.8     16   16.2    106   21.3      41   28.5    187   21.2
 to judge
No answer      6    4.2      3    3.0     10    2.0       3    2.1     22    2.5
================================================================================
Total        143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0     144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------  ------------------------------------------------
13. Other   11 respondents gave and rated other employment
            practices and conditions concerning the employer
            and nature of the work.
------------------------------------------------------------

         C.  SALARY, BENEFITS, AND
         PROMOTIONS
---------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:4.0.7


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         2    1.4     37   37.4     85   17.1     27   18.8    151   17.1
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      14    9.8     16   16.2     89   17.9     28   19.4    147   16.3
 same
Nonfederal    109   76.2     32   32.3    221   44.4     48   33.3    410   46.4
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       12    8.4     13   13.1     92   18.5     39   27.1    156   17.7
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      1    1.0     11    2.2      2    1.4     20    2.3
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         8    5.6     53   53.5    115   23.1     34   23.6    210   23.8
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      21   14.7     14   14.1     92   18.5     31   21.5    158   17.9
 same
Nonfederal     90   62.9     19   19.2    178   35.7     39   27.1    326   36.9
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       17   11.9     12   12.1    102   20.5     38   26.4    169   19.1
 to judge
No answer       7    4.9      1    1.0     11    2.2      2    1.4     21    2.4
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        53   37.1     50   50.5    266   53.4     66   45.8    435   49.2
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      17   11.9     22   22.2     84   16.9     24   16.7    147   16.6
 same
Nonfederal     12    8.4      7    7.1     29    5.8     12    8.3     60    6.8
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       55   38.5     19   19.2    110   22.1     40   27.8    224   25.3
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      1    1.0      9    1.8      2    1.4     18    2.0
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        49   34.3     52   52.5    250   50.2     59   41.0    410   46.4
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      25   17.5     19   19.2    101   20.3     24   16.7    169   19.1
 same
Nonfederal      9    6.3      8    8.1     31    6.2     15   10.4     63    7.1
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       53   37.1     18   18.2    108   21.7     44   30.6    223   25.2
 to judge
No answer       7    4.9      2    2.0      8    1.6      2    1.4      2    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        51   35.7     57   57.6    276   55.4     76   52.8    460   52.0
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      27   18.9     21   21.2     93   18.7     19   13.2    160   18.1
 same
Nonfederal     17   11.9      7    7.1     22    4.4     11    7.6     57    6.5
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       42   29.4     13   13.1     97   19.5     36   25.0    188   21.3
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      1    1.0     10    2.0      2    1.4     19    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        34   23.8     44   44.4    154   30.9     49   34.0    281   31.8
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      28   19.6     24   24.2    135   27.1     29   20.1    216   24.4
 same
Nonfederal      9    6.3      6    6.1     23    4.6     10    6.9     48    5.4
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       66   46.2     24   24.2    177   35.5     54   37.5    321   36.3
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      1    1.0      9    1.8      2    1.4     18    2.0
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        24   16.8     38   38.4    124   24.9     36   25.0    222   25.1
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      27   18.9     25   25.3    143   28.7     29   20.1    224   25.3
 same
Nonfederal     16   11.2     10   10.1     44    8.8     16   11.1     86    9.7
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       69   48.3     25   25.3    178   35.7     61   42.4    333   37.7
 to judge
No answer       7    4.9      1    1.0      9    1.8      2    1.4     19    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         6    4.2     39   39.4     70   14.1     34   23.6    149   16.9
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      27   18.9     26   26.3    138   27.7     30   20.8    221   25.0
 same
Nonfederal     67   46.9     14   14.1    160   32.1     34   23.6    275   31.1
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       36   25.2     18   18.2    120   24.1     43   29.9    217   24.6
 to judge
No answer       7    4.9      2    2.0     10    2.0      3    2.1     22    2.5
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------  ------------------------------------------------
22. Other   6 respondents gave and rated other employment
            practices and conditions concerning salary,
            benefits, and promotions.
------------------------------------------------------------

         D.  PERSONAL
         CONSIDERATIONS
---------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:4.0.8


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        76   53.2     64   64.7    322   64.7     55   38.2    517   58.5
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      25   17.5     18   18.2     69   13.9     37   25.7    149   16.9
 same
Nonfederal     12    8.4      6    6.1     31    6.2     19   13.2     68    7.7
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       22   15.4     10   10.1     66   13.3     31   21.5    129   14.6
 to judge
No answer       8    5.6      1    1.0     10    2.0      2    1.4     21    2.4
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        24   16.8     24   24.2    111   22.3     20   13.9    179   20.3
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      21   14.7     25   25.3     92   18.5     28   19.4    166   18.8
 same
Nonfederal      5    3.5      5    5.1     20    4.0      9    6.3     39    4.4
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       87   60.8     44   44.4    263   52.8     85   59.0    479   54.2
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      1    1.0     12    2.4      2    1.4     21    2.4
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        22   15.4     22   22.2    107   21.5     16   11.1    167   18.9
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      18   12.6     22   22.2     90   18.1     23   16.0    153   17.3
 same
Nonfederal      5    3.5      3    3.0      9    1.8     10    6.9     27    3.1
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       92   64.3     51   51.5    281   56.4     93   64.6    517   58.5
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      1    1.0     11    2.2      2    1.4     20    2.3
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         8    5.6     18   18.2     27    5.4     12    8.3     65    7.4
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      26   18.2     24   24.2    111   22.3     26   18.1    187   21.2
 same
Nonfederal     39   27.3     18   18.2    154   30.9     30   20.8    241   27.3
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       64   44.8     38   38.4    197   39.6     74   51.4    373   42.2
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      1    1.0      9    1.8      2    1.4     18    2.0
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        23   16.1     26   26.3     32    6.4     16   11.1     97   11.0
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      26   18.2     25   25.3    119   23.9     32   22.2    202   22.9
 same
Nonfederal     46   32.2     23   23.2    191   38.4     40   27.8    300   33.9
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       42   29.4     24   24.2    147   29.5     54   37.5    267   30.2
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      1    1.0      9    1.8      2    1.4     18    2.0
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal        39   27.3     19   19.2    101   20.3     13    9.0    172   19.5
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      47   32.9     40   40.4    189   38.0     52   36.1    328   37.1
 same
Nonfederal     13    9.1     14   14.1     63   12.7     22   15.3    112   12.7
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       38   26.6     25   25.3    135   27.1     55   38.2    253   28.6
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      1    1.0     10    2.0      2    1.4     19    2.2
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Federal         5    3.5     19   19.2     42    8.4     17   11.8     83    9.4
 better
 than
 nonfedera
 l
About the      35   24.5     46   46.5    194   39.0     48   33.3    323   36.4
 same
Nonfederal     48   33.6      6    6.1    104   20.9     24   16.7    182   20.6
 better
 than
 federal
No basis       49   34.3     26   26.3    148   29.7     52   36.1    275   31.1
 to judge
No answer       6    4.2      2    2.0     10    2.0      3    2.1     21    2.4
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------  ------------------------------------------------
30. Other   1 respondent gave and rated other employment
            practices and conditions concerning personal
            considerations.
------------------------------------------------------------
Question 16.  Which of the following sources, if any, were the bases
for making your comparisons in question 15?  (884 respondents.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Current     21   14.7     11   11.1     52   10.4     16   11.1    100   11.3
 or past
 federal
 employmen
 t
2. Current     70   49.0     33   33.3    201   40.4     55   38.2    359   40.6
 or past
 nonfedera
 l
 employmen
 t
3. Common      93   65.0     54   54.6    245   49.2     76   52.8    468   52.9
 knowledge
4. General    111   77.6     64   64.7    352   70.7     89   61.8    616   69.7
 observati
 ons
5. Family      70   49.0     30   30.3    195   39.2     44   30.6    339   38.4
 members
 or
 friends
6. College     17   11.9     13   13.1     47    9.4     22   15.3     99   11.2
 professor
 (s)
7. College     18   12.6     14   14.1     32    6.4     13    9.0     77    8.7
 placement
 office/
 career
 counselor
 s
8. Job         11    7.7     15   15.2     63   12.7     19   13.2    108   12.2
 recruiter
 (s)
9.             38   26.6     22   22.2    100   20.1     28   19.4    188   21.3
 Employment
 literatur
 e
10.            66   46.2     37   37.4    184   37.0     43   29.9    330   37.3
 Person(s)
 with
 federal
 employmen
 t
 experienc
 e
11.            68   47.6     24   24.2    140   28.1     32   22.2    264   29.9
 Person(s)
 with
 nonfedera
 l
 employmen
 t
 experienc
 e
12. Other       7    4.9      5    5.1     34    6.8     10    6.9     56    6.3
No answer      12    8.4      4    4.0     26    5.2      5    3.5     47    5.3
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
 responden
 ts\a
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a This total represents the number of respondents who should have
answered this question.  The columns do not add to the totals because
respondents were to check all categories that applied, i.e.,
respondents could select multiple reasons. 


   E.  GENERAL BACKGROUND
   INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:5

Question 17.  In what year were you born?  (884 respondents.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Before          0    0.0     17   17.2     85   17.1     28   19.4    130   14.7
 1967
1967            1    0.7      7    7.1     53   10.6      8    5.6     69    7.8
1968            3    2.1     12   12.1    102   20.5     18   12.5    135   15.3
1969           15   10.5     33   33.3    160   32.1     46   31.9    254   28.7
1970          112   78.3     26   26.3     88   17.7     41   28.5    267   30.2
After 1970      7    4.9      3    3.0      1    0.2      2    1.4     13    1.5
No answer       5    3.5      1    1.0      9    1.8      1    0.7     16    1.8
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 18.  Are you male or female?  (884 respondents.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Male        77   53.9     32   32.3    322   64.7     47   32.6    478   54.1
2. Female      62   43.4     66   66.7    167   33.5     95   66.0    390   44.1
No answer       4    2.8      1    1.0      9    1.8      2    1.4     16    1.8
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 19.  Which of the following categories best describes your
racial/ethnic background?  (884 respondents.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1.              4    2.8      0    0.0      7    1.4      0    0.0     11    1.2
 Hispanic
2. White      118   82.5      5    5.1    441   88.6    140   97.2    704   79.6
 (non-
 Hispanic)
3. Black        9    6.3     89   89.9      5    1.0      3    2.1    106   12.0
 (non-
 Hispanic)
4.              1    0.7      0    0.0      3    0.6      0    0.0      4    0.5
 American
 Indian/
 Alaskan
 Native
5. Asian/       5    3.5      0    0.0     28    5.6      0    0.0     33    3.7
 Pacific
 Islander
6. Other        2    1.4      1    1.0      6    1.2      0    0.0      9    1.0
No answer       4    2.8      4    4.0      8    1.6      1    0.7     17    1.9
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 20.  Using the following scale, what was your Grade Point
Average (GPA) for all of your undergraduate courses?  Note:  We asked
respondents to use the following scale:  A=4.0; B=3.0; C=2.0; D=1.0;
F=0.0.  (884 respondents.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. 3.5-        68   47.6     10   10.1     73   14.7     38   26.4    189   21.4
 4.0
2. 3.0-        60   42.0     40   40.4    241   48.4     67   46.5    408   46.2
 3.4
3. 2.5-        11    7.7     41   41.4    160   32.1     31   21.5    243   27.5
 2.9
4. 2.0-         0    0.0      7    7.1     12    2.4      7    4.9     26    2.9
 2.4
5. Less         0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0      0    0.0
 than 2.0
6. Don't        0    0.0      0    0.0      2    0.4      0    0.0      2    0.2
 remember
 or don't
 know
No answer       4    2.8      1    1.0     10    2.0      1    0.7     16    1.8
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 21.  What was your class standing?  (884 respondents.)


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
1. Class        9    6.3     23   23.2    113   22.7     45   31.3    190   21.5
 standing
 was not
 calculate
 d at my
 school
2. In          23   16.1     14   14.1     62   12.5     23   16.0    122   13.8
 upper 10
 percent
 of class
3. In          33   23.1     19   19.2     65   13.1     17   11.8    134   15.2
 upper 25
 percent
 of class
 (but not
 in upper
 10
 percent)
4. In          26   18.2     12   12.1     49    9.8      7    4.9     94   10.6
 upper 50
 percent
 of class
 (but not
 in upper
 25
 percent)
5. In          16   11.2      3    3.0      4    0.8      1    0.7     24    2.7
 lower 50
 percent
 of class
6. Don't       32   22.4     26   26.3    195   39.2     51   35.4    304   34.4
 remember
 or don't
 know
No answer       4    2.8      2    2.0     10    2.0      0    0.0     16    1.8
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   F.  COMMENTS
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:6

Question 22.  If you have any comments on this survey, or any
questions you think we should have asked but did not, please enter
them in the space below or attach additional sheets.  Also, if you
have any suggestions for ways of making the federal government a more
attractive employer, please write them below. 

Of the 884 respondents who sought employment or stayed with the same
employer as before graduation, 299, or 33.8 percent, provided written
comments. 


            Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce  Numbe  Perce
Category        r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt      r     nt
----------  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Comments       52   36.4     28   28.3    176   35.3     43   29.9    299   33.8
 provided
No             91   63.6     71   71.7    322   64.7    101   70.1    585   66.2
 comments
 provided
================================================================================
Total         143  100.0     99  100.0    498  100.0    144  100.0    884  100.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS REPORT
=========================================================== Appendix V

GENERAL GOVERNMENT DIVISION,
WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Robert E.  Shelton, Assistant Director, Federal Human Resources
 Management Issues
Laura G.  Shumway, Assignment Manager
Jeffery A.  Bass, Evaluator-in-Charge
Margaret M.  Schauer, Social Science Analyst
William R.  Chatlos, Social Science Analyst
James M.  Fields, Social Science Analyst
Jerome T.  Sandau, Social Science Analyst

