Office of Personnel Management

Office of Personnel Management career patterns focus on specific aspects of careers as they pertain to performance, time in career, mission focus, mobility, and flexible work arrangements. The chance to serve ones country as a government employee is both an honor and a privilege, many federal employees find fulfillment in serving this way after the events of September 11. Working for the federal government affords citizens a way of giving back to their country. There are many ways to work in the federal sector, to include becoming a full '" time employee or working as a paid intern as a undergraduate or graduate student.

Critique

Office of Personnel Management career patterns provides a outline "toward effective means of managing a hectic work, life and school balancing act (OPM, 2009)." The Office of Personnel has come to a realization on how to bring on the best and the brightest talent there is to bring about the best of the federal sector for the future of the government. "The Office of Personnel has developed the Career Patterns initiative, a new approach for bringing the next generation of employees into the Federal Government positions (OPM, 2009)." There must be a change in environment for the new 21st century knowledge worker.

This new era of workers has a focus of being leaders and the competition for the top positions is fierce. The "Baby Boomers" are starting to retire or close to retirement, the new workers are egger to absorb their wisdom as valuable knowledge to improve upon a system to become even better. The typical 21st century worker has a minimum of a Bachelor's degree in their specialty, this is a attribute that remains to set the standard of quality needed to fill these positions. The 21st century knowledge workers mind set is beyond traditional aspects of the Baby Boomers, these workers implode on multi-tasking and finding creative ways to solve issues (OPM, 2009).

The career pattern approach has changed as well, whereas the typical Baby Boomer settled in one position for their entire career, 21st century knowledge workers are more prone to have had more than five different job positions within the past 10 years. The Federal sector understands that "building the environments to attract a wider range of potential employees from this new generation of workers will require planning and investment in equipment and training (OPM, 2009)." It is important for managers and leaders to have "specific competencies to supervise and manage in nontraditional work settings" for the 21st century knowledge workers to understand from this new federal sector perspective.

Overall, the career pattern approach requires time and efforts that will identify pattern mindsets and ways of getting work done. Work initiative and work ethic are incorporated in the human resources approach to the capital planning of the career patterns manual. The guide is an introduction to career patterns and how agencies will access hiring practices for new federal employees, it will show to be a valuable tool for the federal government and its employees.