As he begins assembling his government, the president-elect is a man happily besieged. Some people just want phone time or face time to boost egos and impress friends. But if you aren’t a tabloid star, what you want is a job. Clinton’s election has set off a frenzy of public spirit-and naked ambition -among Democrats who haven’t had an administration to call their own in 12 years. Even stiff new ethics rules, designed to prevent conflicts of interest, haven’t slowed the onslaught of lawyer-lobbyists and Beltway types who want to sign up. Clinton’s folksy style and love of detail make the Boss to Be the only man worth seeing. He may have to pull campaign-style all-nighters to wade through the ever-lengthening list of those who want to work for him.
In the old days-before CNN-presidents-elect could pursue “transitions” to power in relative calm. No more. Surprised at first by the insistent pace, Clinton last week made a good start at bringing order to the process of choosing the personnel and the agenda for the administration he launches Jan. 20. Though Clinton had reminded the world that George Bush is still president, his aides knew he had to look every inch the incumbent when he held his first press conference in Little Rock’s Old State House.
He succeeded. Laid back yet commanding, Clinton rattled off priorities with precision: short-term job creation, long-term economic growth, a national health-care program, ethics rules, campaign-finance reform and national service in exchange for college loans. He vowed to keep promises to rescind a ban on abortion counseling in federally funded clinics and review the policy on Haitians seeking refugee status; gave himself room to maneuver on a pledge to end the ban on homosexuals in the military, and hinted that he would revisit his proposals for middle-class tax relief if the budget requires it. Clinton also tried to defuse any potential controversy over the lobbying connections of transition aides by pledging to make all the final choices himself.
Throughout, Clinton explained-or dodged-articulately. He exhibited factual mastery and sure-handedness, if without the eloquence or wit of his hero, John F. Kennedy. Even some GOPers were impressed. “He was fairly single-minded in his focus, and that’s right,” said author Terry Eastland, a top Reagan administration aide. “He’s being deliberate, and that’s important.”
It’s a hoary maxim that transition staffers don’t get plum jobs in the administration they assemble. That may not be true this time. The transition team Clinton unveiled last week is full of campaign loyalists, many of whom will follow him to power. A student of past presidencies, Clinton seems eager to pursue Ronald Reagan’s first-term model: he will treat his administration-especially its first few months -as a seamless extension of his campaign.
Clinton wants appointees who will push his agenda, working the bureaucracy and Congress as though they were swing states. The idea is to salt campaign stalwarts and “friends of Bill” throughout the government with orders to keep a relentless focus on Clinton’s message. For the transition he chose old friends and campaign advisers for the top policy posts: Harvard lecturer Robert B. Reich for economics; Washington lawyer Samuel Berger for national security; Al From, head of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, for domestic affairs; Judith Feder, a longtime advocate of “managed competition” in medical care, will oversee health policy. Clinton surrounded these appointments with veterans of campaign trench warfare, among them communications director George Stephanopoulos, financial officer Eli Segal, issues specialists Bruce Reed and Gene Sperling and scheduler Susan Thomases. All are sure to land top administration posts.
For job seekers outside the transition, strategies vary. For some it’s a matter of lying low; in the etiquette of job hunting, overexposure can be deadly. For the inner circle of FOBs, no campaigning is necessary. Aide-de-camp Bruce Lindsey, an old Arkansas friend, is one such figure; it may not matter that he’s not officially on the team. “He’s so central, he doesn’t need a title,” one aide explained. Retiring Colorado Sen. Tim Wirth, who campaigned full time for Clinton, was so confident of The Call-to Interior or Energy-that he left for a vacation in Europe. Former Arizona governor Bruce Babbitt is thought to be in the same charmed circle, a candidate, like Wirth, for Interior or Energy. NEWSWEEK has learned that Clinton aides have already sent feelers to two possible cabinet members, Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (for Treasury) and former New Jersey governor Tom Kean, a Republican (for Education).
For others, some grunt work can’t hurt. Democratic Party Chairman Ron Brown, already a Clinton favorite, earned extra points by agreeing to the politically ticklish task of choosing among thousands of big shots who want to attend the Inauguration events. An upcoming “economic summit” in Little Rock will give business and labor leaders a chance to show their stuff. It’s being organized by campaign chairman Mickey Kantor, a Los Angeles lawyer who was the object of sniping from campaign aides for his lobbying ties and sometimes imperious manner. He could be back inside if the summit goes well.
For still others, simply getting on a list that Clinton himself will see is crucial. Two key routes are via Hillary Clinton and Vice President-elect Al Gore. “They’ll be the only people in the room on many of the decisions,” says one Clintonite. Women are operating by way of a 75-name roster offered by a coalition of 62 women’s groups-all Democrats, all pro-choice.
Torpedoing rivals is another ancient tactic. Young and hungry job seekers, particularly those who worked in the campaign, have pledged to keep Clinton from the clutches of “lawyer-lobbyists” and longtime Washington insiders. “They talk like Ralph Nader and act like Hannibal Lecter,” says one worried insider. But it’s nothing personal. They just want a job. Transition chairman Vernon Jordan says he doesn’t want one, and his corporate ties and rainmaking law practice probably are enough to ensure that he wont get one.
Finally, administratation wanna-bes can hope that Clinton calls to thank them for their campaign support, as he was doing early last week. The recipient of one such call waited until the conversation wound down to summon the courage to make his pitch. From Little Rock, there suddenly was nothing but silence.
title: “Help Wanted” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-25” author: “Evelyn Bellomy”
Since most agents regularly take ““fam’’ (familiarization) trips to popular destinations, they can help you choose a hotel that’s perfect for a romantic getaway or one that’s kid friendly.
High-volume agencies can leverage their relationships with hotels and cruise companies to arrange for upgrades.
Agents can assemble the most convenient flight connections. Plus, if you have to make last-minute changes, an agent can often re-ticket you without a huge penalty or fee.
If the airline bumps you from a flight or a hotel loses
title: “Help Wanted” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-30” author: “Mario Friedle”
“I took the job because because I found it was personally meaningful,” says the 27-year-old lawyer. “It wasn’t worth it to me to have a job I disliked just to pay off bills.”
Until September 11, she might have been in the minority. But the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington have sparked a surge in patriotism among the general public and inspired both admiration and applicants for federal agencies like the CIA, which has received more than 31,000 resumes in the past two months—10 times the amount it got before the attacks. “We’re still receiving more per day than we used to in a week,” says CIA spokesman Tom Crispell.
The newfound attraction to public service could not come at a better time.
For years, the federal government has been fighting, and often losing, the battle against attrition in its own ranks and a lack of interest among potential recruits. A survey conducted this summer by Hart-Teeter, a polling company, found that just one in six college-educated workers had expressed a strong interest in working for the federal government. And, by a two-thirds majority, Americans surveyed had a more favorable view of working in the private sector than in the public sector.
The situation threatens to become a national crisis. Within three years, the federal government stands to lose more than half its workers as they become eligible for retirement—the majority of whom hold managerial positions at the top levels of government. Yet, it has not been able to attract enough qualified recruits to fill spots left open by retirees. Even as job openings in the private sector shrink, many government jobs remain unfilled.
“The government needs to make this its top priority. If you were CEO of a private-sector company, this would be your No. 1 priority,” says Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a new nonpartisan, nonprofit organization aimed at recruiting young people and midcareer professionals into the government.
The terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan have added to the sense of urgency, as the demands on government have grown. But the attention and admiration the government has received since the events of September 11 may also help remedy the situation.
Some of the agencies most at risk of losing staff are those involved directly in the war on terrorism. More than 40 percent of the federal workers sent to the site of the World Trade Center attacks were employed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which may lose nearly half of its workforce to retirement by 2003. The Department of Defense will need to replace as many as two out of five of its workers. And the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, which are dealing with anthrax and other bioterrorist threats, may lose more than a third of their employees to retirement in the next few years.
“In all the tragedy and the devastation and heartbreak that came with September 11, it actually gave federal workers some of the credit they deserve for doing their jobs and doing them well,” says Rep. Constance Morella, a Maryland Republican who is drafting legislation to improve government recruiting and retention efforts. “But we can’t rely on national emergencies as a strategy. We need to seize this opportunity.”
After the attacks, lawmakers quickly agreed to a $40 billion spending package to fund recovery efforts and boost defense, intelligence and security agencies. And President George W. Bush expanded the government to include a newly created Office of Homeland Security for which Congress has indicated it plans to increase the funding and staff levels.
Applications for jobs directly related to the antiterrorism efforts, like FBI linguists and U.S. Air Marshals, have also soared. Even those federal agencies that have not attracted as many applications, have gotten a lot more attention since the attacks. “Suddenly the American public not only wants a federal government but wants one that performs really well,” says Paul Light, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, who has done extensive research on the federal workforce. “This has focused attention on the quality of the federal workforce and its ability to respond in a way that hadn’t happened before.”
Still, even the federal workers themselves say much more needs to be done to attract qualified workers to the government and keep them there.
Jodie, the Harvard Law School graduate, admits that without Harvard’s low-income protection plan, which covers $900 a month on her loan payments, she would have had to take a job in the private sector. Starting salaries in the CIA’s legal department hover around $40,000 whereas lawyers can earn double that, or more, at a private firm.
“Every day I make the decision to stay here and not to buy a place to live or a new car. That is a major consideration,” adds Jodie. “If you could equalize salaries in the public and private sectors, you’d have a lot more people working in the public sector.”
That is unlikely to happen anytime soon. But there are efforts underway to narrow the gap.
Last month, Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich and Rep. Morella announced legislation that proposes the government pay off new workers’ college loans and give federal agencies more flexibility to approve pay raises, as well as the power to shorten the hiring process—which often takes six months or more now. The proposals are likely to get backing from President Bush, who included similar proposals in the Freedom to Manage Act he recently unveiled.
“There’s now a growing concern on the part of Congress to address strategic human-capital management—it’s on the president’s agenda now, it’s one of his five government initiatives,” says William J. Doherty, who brought more than 30 years of private-sector experience—much of it at IBM—to his new job as assistant director of human-capital issues at the government’s General Accounting Office.
Doherty himself took a major pay cut when he left his consulting job to work for the government—but he’s turned down opportunities to return to the private sector. “I understood I wouldn’t earn as much here as I did in private-sector consulting; on the other hand, the kind of work was terrific and I wanted to be a part of it.”
In its new recruiting efforts, the federal government is hoping to capitalize on that sense of service, and the public’s renewed patriotism. For the time being, that may be its most effective strategy.
A couple of weeks ago, Jodie says, a former classmate of hers who has been working for a private law firm in the Midwest sent her an e-mail saying the attacks had prompted her to re-evaluate how important her work was to her. “I realized it wasn’t, and I thought I’d want to have a job that makes a difference, not only in my life but in the lives of others,” she wrote, adding that she was considering the CIA.
