YoungFeds.Org > Features > UnCommentary
The Devil Shouldn't Be in the Details
By Antony DiGiovanni
It didn't surprise me to learn that the average worker in America changes jobs 19 times by the age of 33. I'm 34 years old, and since joining the U.S. Department of Energy in 2000 I've had six different jobs.
Actually, I've had one permanent job and five detail assignments.
I can just imagine what you're thinking: "Five details in six years! This guy must be a real loser. He keeps getting shuffled along on another detail." Sadly and too often, agencies unload unwanted employees and poor performers to special commissions and non profit organizations under the guise of a detail. It's the worst kept secret in the federal system and it should stop. It's a disservice to these individuals, to their agencies and to the American people.
Instead, the detail experience should be a positive growth opportunity for both the employee and the agency . . . and be a direct benefit to citizens - the customers and owners of our federal government.
I started my federal service through the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program, which offers "rotations"--a series of detail assignments over a two year period--designed to empower young public servants with broad experience. The fact that I was going to be able to work at least four different jobs in my first two years was a huge selling point for me when I was considering what to do after graduate school.
After my PMF rotations, I worked for three years in my "real job" as a budget analyst in the Energy Department's CFO's Office (where I spent a great deal of time working with Capitol Hill). I heard about a one year assignment with the House Subcommittee on Energy and Water (the folks that decide Energy's appropriation), did some research, talked to my supervisors and applied for the spot. My time on the Hill has been one of the most professionally rewarding and important things I've done in my life.
DOE saw my detail as an investment in our ability to work with the Hill, and I view it as the most practical, "hands on" way to understand the delicate dealing of a subcommittee grappling with complicated issues. The bottom line: DOE benefits by getting an exceptional and engaged employee. I benefit because (to use a line from the Bionic Man) I'm "better, stronger and faster" at my job because of the experience. I'll likely stay in federal service, and work hard to move up the system. And honestly, I think the American public benefits because I am here.
To attract and retain the best you've got to invest . . . in people. The private sector knows this and does it well. The federal government is beginning to catch on. Meaningful, quality detail assignments can be a powerful incentive for young people to consider public service . . . and a good reason for them to stay. Detail assignments in federal government should be a carrot, not a stick.
A graduate of the University of Michigan (both undergraduate and graduate) Antony DiGiovanni is passionate about sustainable development, particularly renewable energy technologies. He considers federal service "the most effective, direct and positive way to make a difference for the environment."
