Nontraditional Recruiting Strategies to Attract Applicants to the Nuclear Security Enterprise

With 30% of the federal workforce becoming eligible for retirement by 2025, there is an increasing urgency to attract the next generation of talented government leaders, especially in national security. In today's competitive hiring landscape, potential applicants are flooded with information, yet engaging diverse high-quality talent poses significant challenges. Generation Z, known for seeking transparency and personalized recruiting experiences, rigorously scrutinizes potential employers. Traditional recruiting models such as job boards and headhunting are less effective in this dynamic environment. Representing a successful example, universities have employed brand ambassadors and robust marketing campaigns to help opportunities in higher education standout.  The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Graduate Fellowship Program (NGFP), administered by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), has demonstrated that the nuclear security enterprise (NSE) can successfully adopt similar strategies. For example, in the last year, NGFP has achieved a remarkable 40% increase in applications within a year of establishing the NGFP Ambassador Program. This key program component leverages the enthusiasm of alumni to give back to NGFP and collaborate with research organizations, potential employers, universities, and advocates to share within their networks. In addition to the 40% yield, NGFP has seen an increase in diversity of both its applicant pool and fellowship class. We directly attribute this to NGFP Ambassadors and University Relationship Managers (URMs) utilizing their professional networks and reputations to engage affinity groups and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), to give program visibility to historically underrepresented groups, and in doing so, helping potential applicants envision themselves in the roles and spaces within the nuclear security enterprise.  This report will summarize the new initiatives used by NGFP to attract new candidates, highlighting the unique challenges currently experienced and anticipated in the future.