One of the advantages of working in the public sector is that there can be opportunities to work for agencies that deliver a wide variety of services to the public.

In an effort to emphasize this point, on July 21 the Mississippi State Personnel Board organized a successful “intern fair,” which attracted some 92 interns from 19 agencies who were able to get a quick education about the wide variety of jobs available in the state – particularly useful information to interns who may not have seen a future in the agency for which they were currently working.

The state’s Department of Archives did much of the programming and the intern fair was held at the Two Mississippi Museums, a large facility located in Jackson. Picture a typical college fair where potential students go from booth to booth learning about different universities and substitute in the state agencies, and you’ll begin to get the picture. 

But there was more. “Our keynote speaker was our Attorney General for the state,” says Brittany Frederick, Communications Director of the Mississippi State Personnel Board. “And then we had several panels, including a young professional panel that talked about their experience working for state government. We also had a panel of HR directors and recruitment people just talking about applying and the job application process and benefits of state government. And then we had a leadership panel with agency heads who gave insight to their careers and how they worked their way up.”

The long-term results won’t be known for a while, but an immediate survey of interns showed that the event was successful – and has the potential for being emulated in other states. Of the 77 participants who turned in a survey, 64 indicated that they were either very or somewhat interested in a career in state government.

“We gave them the opportunity to see more of state government as a whole,” explains Frederick. “Let's say you're interning with the Department of Transportation. So, all summer you are just engrossed in the Department of Transportation mission and what they do and what your specific division is doing.”

As she describes the fair, it allowed the state’s potential future employees to see the work of multiple other departments, environmental quality, information technology services, health, mental health, public safety, revenue, wildlife, fisheries, and more.  “Those interns might not have wanted to get a job at the agency for which they were interning, but this gave them a broader view of public service that goes beyond the specific agency where they’ve been interns,” she said.

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