President Donald Trump passed an executive order on Jan. 20 that halted the hiring of federal civilian employees, which has led to the elimination of some entry-level positions, many in the form of rescinded offers. Vanderbilt seniors have expressed concerns after being forced to abandon their plans to work public sector jobs post-graduation.
Senior Tri Shriram said she was in the process of closing a job offer from the U.S. Agency for International Development when her position was eliminated last month. She said the experience has been “aggravating.”
“Everything that I’ve ever done in college and before college has been to work as a bureaucrat in the federal government,” Shriram said. “To be this close to graduating and this close to getting a job, only for it to go away, is heartbreaking.”
Shriram also expressed concern that the Trump administration’s budget cuts will impact private companies that utilize government contracts.
“A lot of people see these hiring freezes and mass layoffs as things that only affect people like myself, who are looking to work in bureaucracies, but it very much also affects the private sector,” Shriram said.
While some students reported having job offers directly rescinded, others said the cuts had eliminated options early in their search. Senior Sam Boison, who had applied to over 20 public health-related federal positions, said that he received notices from every position he applied to stating the job was no longer available.
“The day after the inauguration, I had a wave of emails saying ‘this position has been frozen due to the hiring freeze indefinitely,’” Boison said.
Boison said he was simultaneously looking at graduate school and federal jobs, but that decision was made for him after the hiring freeze.
Political science Professor David Lewis said some students are refocusing their search on nonprofits and the private sector.
“There’ll be people that would otherwise work in the federal government now that are for state jobs, local jobs, think tanks and consulting,” Lewis said.
Hannah Testa, also a senior, worked in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last summer and had been planning to return after graduation. However, following the hiring freeze, Testa said she now plans to work in sustainability policy through non-profits or lobbying agencies.
“Even though these next four years might be a little harder, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done,” Testa said.
Lewis also stressed that now could be a good time to go to graduate school until “the job market shakes itself out.”
“Build up your skills. If you’re going to go back to grad school anyway, or law school, this may be the moment to do it,” Lewis said.
