by Sidnee Michelle
August 7, 2026
The initiative could create additional opportunities for recent graduates and early-career professionals.
The Trump administration and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are directing federal agencies to ramp up recruitment of early-career professionals and technology workers as it prepares for fiscal year 2027, signaling a shift toward targeted hiring after months of workforce reductions across the federal government, according to Federal News Network.
According to the outlet, a July 30 memorandum from the OPM instructs agencies to make early-career employees account for at least one-third of all federal hires during fiscal year 2027. The guidance also calls for expanded recruitment of technology professionals and broader use of governmentwide hiring tools designed to speed up the hiring process.
The initiative could create additional opportunities for recent graduates and early-career professionals seeking federal employment, particularly in technology, cybersecurity, and other mission-critical fields.
OPM said agencies should recruit through programs including the Pathways Program, the CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service program, and the recently launched USAJobs early-career talent network. The agency is also expanding its Tech Force initiative, which aims to hire about 1,000 employees for temporary two-year technology positions. About 300 recruits have joined the program so far, an OPM spokesperson told the outlet.
“Many agencies have gone on college campuses in the past, so nothing we’re doing here is brand new,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said. “But what we haven’t done is have a concerted effort where we can actually capture all those individuals in a talent network and then share those individuals pan-government.”
The hiring effort comes after a significant contraction in the federal workforce. According to the publication, the government has experienced a net loss of about 271,600 employees since early 2025, following widespread workforce reductions and limited hiring. OPM workforce data also shows the share of federal employees younger than 30 declined from about 9% in 2024 to 8% in 2025.
At the same time, hiring activity remains subdued. According to OPM data, USAJobs postings fell 42.8% between 2024 and 2025, and roughly three-quarters of the approximately 12,800 current job openings are concentrated within the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
The administration is also expanding the use of shared hiring certificates, with a goal of filling at least 60% of federal positions through the process in 2027. Under the system, OPM creates centralized lists of qualified applicants that multiple agencies can use instead of conducting separate recruitment efforts.
“OPM is trying to be the top of the funnel and really do a very big outbound recruiting effort for those roles,” Kupor told the outlet.
The July 30 memo also directs agencies to prioritize hiring outside the Washington metropolitan area and incorporate validated technical assessments into all hiring evaluations. Agencies are expected to complete detailed hiring forecasts before the start of fiscal year 2027 as OPM and the Office of Management and Budget review governmentwide staffing plans.
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