Students in the Government, Policy, and Social Impact career community wrestle with federal hiring freeze. (Sam Powers | Managing Photo Editor)

WashU students and recent graduates in the Government, Policy, & Social Impact career community are drastically shifting their career plans after numerous executive orders from Trump’s administration resulted  in mass firings and a hiring freeze.

With newsletters titled “Recalculating” and “Back to Basics,” sent out by Susan Craig on behalf of the Government, Policy, & Social Impact (GPSi) career community, the over 1,000 students in the GPSi community received different messages on how to navigate the government job market.

Career communities are departments within the Center for Career Engagement that students can opt into to receive specialized career support. The GPSi career community focuses on coaching students who hope to go into fields related to government, social work, and international affairs.

On Jan. 20, Trump announced an executive order blocking the hiring of civilian employees and the creation of new positions in all executive departments and agencies. This freeze is set to remain in effect for 90 days.

The effects of executive orders to overhaul the federal workforce are widespread. Federal workers are struggling to meet the demands of their departments due to staff shortages while job offers have been rescinded, leaving both workers and students alike concerned about job security. 

Susan Craig — Associate Director of the GPSi career community — explained that the future of government jobs is very uncertain, especially for students seeking summer internships. 

“It’s kind of unclear what [the federal hiring freeze] means for internships, and it’s also agency by agency, so some students who had government internships last summer … are able to continue, and then there’s just a big question mark on a lot of things,” Craig said. “Maybe [unfilled internships that have been applied for] will go through, but we’re not really sure.”

Craig emphasized that the job cuts are indiscriminately affecting students of all political affiliations in contrast with previous presidential administrations.

“There are students who are interested in working in this administration also, the unfortunate thing is that there aren’t opportunities for them either because there’s just a kind of interest in slashing government and the workforce broadly,” she said. “So even people that are conservative don’t have opportunities where, in typical years, at least there would be a trade off.”

She noted that, while fellowships at all agencies are in the air, students and alumni in certain specializations and agencies are being hit hardest.

“The biggest impact [the GPSI community has] seen so far is in the international development space, with the US Agency for International Development (USAID),” Craig said. 

One 2024 graduate from WashU, who will be referred to using the pseudonym Alex due to fear of professional retaliation, was hired to be an Acquisitions and Assistance specialist at USAID, but was furloughed before they could even complete the orientation process. They had grown up hoping to one day work at the agency.

“USAID specifically had been something that I had dreamed about … since like the age of 10,” they said.

After being furloughed without pay, Alex initially hoped that the job would resume shortly, but after a week and a half, they learned that Elon Musk was pushing to dismantle USAID. Neither they nor their colleagues know what will happen to their jobs at the moment. 

“[I felt] a wave of emotions, shock was kind of the first, then a lingering sense of dread, just because it’s like, what does this mean for me?” Alex said. “What does this mean for the greater organization that deals primarily with humanitarian assistance? … It’s a matter of life and death for so many people around the world.”

While alumni are being impacted in the space, current students have also been grappling with uncertainty about future plans.

Disha Chatterjee, a senior studying Cognitive Neuroscience with a Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor, worked at the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) last summer. Chatterjee hoped to continue to work there before law school, however, her supervisor at the OVW has been unable to respond and the director of the office had to resign, leaving the office in flux.

“I talked to someone who works [at the antitrust program] right now, and she was saying they aren’t hiring right now, which is hard,” Chatterjee said. “If they do start hiring again, it’s likely that I wouldn’t have a job until July, which has been really scary knowing that I am probably not going to graduate with a job.”

Chatterjee noted that while she was aware that the director of the Office on Violence Against Women and head of the DOJ would change, she had not anticipated losing this job opportunity. 

“I did not think that they were going to stop hiring, that was definitely out of the blue for me,” Chatterjee said. “There’s a law that makes sure the office exists and receives funding, and the office exists every year, so I didn’t expect it.” 

Maddy Molyneux, a senior studying Political Science and an intern for the GPSi career community, said she was prepared for this outcome. 

“Leading up to and after the election, we sort of knew to expect this,” Molyneux said. “That being said, it’s harder now that it’s real.” 

Craig laid out how her team has been preparing for this possibility since last fall, including coming up with ways for students to stay interested in government through local and state opportunities outside of Washington.

“I would encourage students that are interested not to give up on it, because there’s a lot of work to be done,” she said. “If they want to get involved or engaged, then there’s lots of opportunities to do that and you can make a difference in a lot of different spaces.”

As someone interested in international work, Molyneux said her entire LinkedIn feed is USAID workers saying they are out of work. 

“It’s a little jarring, as someone who was looking to all of these people as established professionals who could help me, and now they’re flailing just as much as I am,” she said.

Similarly, Alex emphasized that they are among thousands of people who have been affected by job terminations and furloughs. Feeling as though there is nowhere else to go, Alex is now looking to move into other industries.

“The possibility of me remaining in the international development space is essentially zero, which is hard to think about,” Alex said. “I was looking at returning to [Capitol] Hill, but the Hill is pretty difficult right now because it’s the only federal [option] that’s hiring, and so now [I’m] looking into the private sector.”

While some students are changing trajectories, Chatterjee intends to continue pursuing a career in public interest work and direct service legal aid. 

“The need for that kind of work is always going to [be] present, and even more so when the government can’t be relied upon,” Chatterjee said.

Within the GPSi community, this time has brought a lot of uncertainty, especially for seniors looking for jobs, but there has also been increased motivation to seek work. 

“I’ve seen a mix of emotions. People are disheartened, but I wouldn’t say they’re fully discouraged. I think there’s been sort of a fire lit under a lot of us,” Molyneux said. “We know it’s going to be more competitive. We know we’re going to have to work a little bit harder, but everyone wants this really bad, because all of these jobs are rooted in our value system.” 

Molyneux noted that the GPSi community has the same limited information about the status of jobs as most students. 

“We are highlighting more private sector opportunities. We’re being transparent with students that we don’t have a ton more information than they do about federal government developments because it’s constantly changing,” Molyneux said. “Don’t completely count out any federal jobs, but don’t count on them either.” 

Chatterjee said that the GPSi community has been a source of validation during her job search as she returns back to basics and works with their office on cover letters and career coaching. 

“I feel like it can be frustrating to hear no news, but it’s been helpful just to have them validate about it being okay to graduate without a job,” Chatterjee said. “It’s also been helpful that they’ve been reviewing my cover letters because it makes me feel like I’m doing everything in my power.” 

Alex expressed how they’ve felt supported both when they were a student and now as an alumni. 

“[I’m] so thankful to [Susan Craig and the career center] for taking the time to not just calm my nerves about the job search, but also to proactively help me,” they said. “It’s also been really nice to have the WashU community in D.C.”

Molyneux further echoed these sentiments, noting that she has seen a lot of resiliency. 

“The coming together of all of these recently unemployed or people who are fearing that they’re about to be unemployed professionals has been really inspiring,” Molyneux said. “They really have each other’s backs. They’re supporting people like me, who are passionate about mission driven work.” 

She said that undergraduates should not worry about loss of networking opportunities or consider this as a long-term roadblock to federal job opportunities since professionals still have a wealth of experiences and have increased time to talk about career interests.  

Amid concerns about employment opportunities, Molyneux shared a sense of optimism about the drive of students in the GPSi community and the value of pursuing work in these fields.

“Remembering that we’re resilient is important and remembering that this ‘making the world a better place’ work still needs to happen and [should] continue to happen,” she said.