Career

Recruitment 411: Interesting Insights from Interns – Part 1

Every year the IRS manages to land some interns who rock. Some are only with us for a few months and then move on. Others start out as interns and join us full-time after graduation. No matter how long they’re here, they always seem to have interesting and sometimes amusing observations of what it’s likeRead… Read more »

Department of Commerce app challenge–an interview with Mike Kruger

Last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced a “Commerce Business Apps Challenge” to developers to look for innovative ways to utilize the Department’s and other publicly available data to help businesses identify opportunities, grow, enhance productivity and create jobs. With the submission deadline of April 30 fast approaching, I interviewed the Department’s MikeRead… Read more »

Succession Planning is NOT a Buzzword!

Yesterday a colleague shared performance and training data with me that truly illustrates just how ill-prepared we are for Workforce 2020. Here are a few realities from that data: Thanks to tight budgets and retirement incentives, the Feds have lost a vast amount of seasoned talent over the past 5 years. Although we have doneRead… Read more »

What Are the Top 10 Traits of an Ideal Mentor? How About a Mentee?

This past Friday night, GovLoop kicked off the Spring 2012 Mentors Program. As part of the orientation session, we asked participants to break into small groups and identify attributes of the ideal mentor and mentees. Here’s what the group (including participants who chimed in by live chat) identified as the top 10 traits for each:Read… Read more »

GovBytes: DOE Denies Loan for Hi-Tech Law Enforcement Vehicle

Carbon Motors, a company looking to create the ideal police car from scratch, was denied a loan by the Department of Energy to fund the continued development of the vehicle. It stands apart from police vehicles currently seen on the road as it is not now, nor was it ever a passenger sedan. Instead, theRead… Read more »

Addressing Austerity – What should you as a public servant do?

Social Connect via: For public servants across the world and more specifically in Canada, austerity measures being introduced by their governments represent a threat to their livelihood. Public service has traditionally been viewed as a cushy, secure job with wonderful benefits. Public service is not the most well paid job but the job security andRead… Read more »

If we just had done a few things differently… OR 3 main problems with capture management

When my phone rings for proposal consulting work, about 90% of the time the story is the same: we’ve got a Request for Proposal in and we need you to help us immediately. I say – great, would be happy to help you. By the way, have you done any capture? I hear either “yes,”Read… Read more »