Many people choose to work in public service because they believe that it is a way to give back to society. The jobs require high levels of training and education. Public service is not for everyone but those who want to be at the heart of creating and delivering services that are non-rivalrous, non-excludable, and often natural monopolies (government-provided services).
The work is complex and demanding. It requires a vision and leadership to build trust. It also demands a commitment to integrity and values. Increasingly, it is also important to be an agent for social change. This means going beyond focusing on what the customer wants or needs and looking at how a public service can help people articulate their interests. The public service must be able to balance the interests of multiple stakeholders with competing objectives, sometimes within tight resource constraints. (Lipsky 1980)
It is also important for public servants to have a healthy dose of empathy. This is because the people you serve are going through challenging circumstances and a good understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and needs is essential to delivering high-quality services. This is especially important when collaborating with others to solve problems and when designing services for those who are underserved.
Entry-level interest in the federal government is low, and it’s difficult to attract new talent when most middle and upper level positions are reserved for insiders who have been promoted from lower ranks. To address this challenge, it is critical to open more federal job opportunities to outside candidates.