In recruitment, the principle “garbage in, garbage out” applies. That is, if you carelessly churn out vacancy announcements that are poorly written and do not reflect the true demands of your office’s openings, your selection process is unlikely to be efficient or produce a successful hire. By contrast, if you carefully craft a reader-friendly vacancy announcement that accurately and comprehensively conveys the demands of the opening, the selection process is likely to be easier and more successful. This principle is demonstrated by two efforts that were used to recruit a manager of a federal communications department who would supervise more than…

President Barack Obama rapidly filled many Cabinet-level political positions. Still, thousands of influential but less prominent political positions remain to be filled in the coming months and years. These positions cover many specialties and career levels, with annual salaries ranging from about $30,000 to under $200,000. Some tips if you are considering applying for a political appointment: *If you are a career civil servant, consider whether you are willing to sacrifice your unparalleled job security for the prestige, power and networking advantages — as well as the pressures and long working hours — of a political position. On average, a political…