The current jobless situation is particularly harmful to young people. Gregg Weltz, M.M.H.S.'97, director of the Division of Youth Services at the Department of Labor, says it's the worst since the Great Depression. His work has become more important than ever.

Studies show that lack of work experience early in a person's life threatens future earnings potential. Also, if young people don't pick up the cultures and norms of the workplace in a summer job or entry-level job, they might never learn them, which could lead to lifelong challenges in the labor market. But today, those first jobs are increasingly difficult to find and qualify for.

"Today's first job is not like my father's first job or my grandfather's first job," says Weltz. "A high school diploma or less is not enough. You're not going to get a decent paying factory job for life; we're never going to go there again."

Weltz is doing his part to give young people a chance. He administers more than $1 billion in federal grants and programs for youth that reach every state and territory in the country. A self-described "kid at heart," Weltz has always been driven to help young people. He was a camp counselor, a swim instructor, an after-school sports coach and a teacher in Africa. It was a Presidential Management Internship that introduced him to the federal government, where he has served for almost 13 years. What he learned at the Heller School helps him every day.

"It's clear that there is no one solution," says Weltz. "It's a global problem."

Last year, Rob Seidner, M.B.A.'03, was scheduled to speak at a government jobs event. About 500 people were expected to attend. As a seasoned federal employee, Seidner had worked at a lot of these career fairs, but his experience did not prepare him for what he saw that day. When he arrived, he noticed that the line to get in the door wrapped around the building -- 3,000 people had shown up. That's when he knew things had changed.

The U.S. government is the largest employer in the country, with 2.1 million people on the payroll. However, getting those employees hired was, for the most part, overly complicated and inefficient. It was taking up to a year to make hires, and some job announcements were 30 pages long, says Seidner, who also got his start as a presidential management intern working in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

"The hiring process was broken," he says. But last year Seidner was given a mandate to work on fixing it by the president himself, when Barack Obama signed an executive order to address the problem. Accepting a promotion at the U.S. Department of Transportation in December 2010, Seidner is now implementing the changes.

Today, the government is requiring managers to get more involved in recruiting and hiring and eliminating many obstacles for candidates, like long essays on first-round applications. Some changes have been in effect for fewer than six months, but already Seidner has seen dramatic improvements. And it isn't a moment too soon. The average age of federal employees is 47, and they've been retiring at high rates. At one time, Seidner says, 100 percent of senior executive service members were eligible to retire at several agencies. "No one quite knows what's going to happen," he says.

Making matters worse, many applicants are not meeting government hiring standards.

"The get-your-foot-in-the-door jobs are mostly gone in government," says Seidner. "Even the entry level is not the entry level anymore."

And, it seems, a college degree is no longer enough.

"Even for college students, the game has changed," says Seidner. "Employers are not looking at potential anymore. By the time you finish college, you already should have accomplished something."

Seidner has counseled thousands of jobseeking college students over the course of his career. He tells them that, in interviews and resumes, they should focus on what they've created and to quantify their results.

"The bottom line is truncated. Employees need to perform right away," he says. "Work ethic is no longer enough. Employers are less likely today to take a risk in general."

That being said, Seidner is still optimistic about career opportunities available with the government, especially for those graduating from Heller programs.

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Jennifer Swanberg, Ph.D.'97, is a national expert on workplace innovation. Not only are employees less well prepared for the dwindling jobs available, she says, but also their needs and expectations have changed.

First, everyone needs more flexibility. More families have two wage earners, and both parents need more family-friendly workplaces. There are more single parents, many earning the minimum wage and some holding down two jobs to make enough to live on. Families in general are more isolated and less cohesive. It's not like the old days when you could rely on your family and friends to help out in a pinch.

To make matters worse, Swanberg notes, we are now a 24-hour economy. Gone are the 9-to-5 workdays, uninterrupted vacations and downtime due to seasonal and cyclical workflow. Older workers, who once would have retired, are now continuing to work and want more flexible situations as they age. Employers are trying to figure out how to retain that valuable human capital. Younger employees don't plan to be tied to one organization for life, and they want the flexibility to learn and grow. And they're more committed to balance; they want to work, but they want a life too.

"In order to move forward, we need to recognize the diversity in the workforce," says Swanberg, an associate professor in the University of Kentucky College of Social Work, with joint appointments in the Colleges of Public Health, Medicine and Business. While the U.S. labor market and workforce have changed, organizations and businesses are still structured around the old model. A shift is taking place, but slowly.

"It was an amazing day for a policy person," says Swanberg. "To hear President Obama challenge the employer community to adopt the types of workplace policies that I have been studying since I was a Heller student was truly inspiring."

The United States experienced its highest productivity level ever in January 2010, but at what cost? Swanberg wonders. Workloads are heavier and employees are feeling the stress.

"We are really charting new territory by rethinking the way work is done," she says. "Innovative and creative employers are changing the way they think about work as a business imperative."