Beyond Traditional Civil Service Hiring: Alternative Pathways for Recruiting Technical Expertise

ABSTRACT The federal government continues to face persistent challenges in recruiting and retaining skilled talent, particularly in high‐demand technical fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. While compensation gaps are often cited, growing evidence suggests that institutional rigidities and non‐pecuniary disincentives—ranging from opaque hiring procedures to limited flexibility—constrain the public sector's ability to attract and retain expertise. This paper provides a comprehensive review of federal hiring pathways and opportunities to expedite the attraction of talent under existing authorities. Using the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in February 2025 as a case study, I contextualize how it was used to facilitate personnel reforms via alternative hiring mechanisms. The paper concludes with a set of practical policy recommendations for personnel reform for both the short and long run.