The Essays That Could Change Federal Hiring Forever

June 3, 2025

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A new federal hiring memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is stirring significant conversation in Washington—and former OPM Associate Director, Ron Sanders, has strong thoughts. Sanders breaks down what he calls the “good, the bad, and the ugly” in the administration’s latest move to modernize federal hiring.

At the heart of the memo is a bold change: applicants must now complete four essay questions as part of the federal hiring process. Sanders welcomes this shift. He argues it will reduce the flood of low-effort applications that HR teams currently face, often submitted en masse with the click of a button. “Making applicants do a little work is a good thing,” he says. “It weeds out people who aren’t truly serious.”

Essays, he notes, also provide a better window into an applicant’s potential. By asking for examples from a candidate’s professional or personal life, agencies can better assess real-world competencies—something far more valuable than generic résumés or inflated self-assessments.

However, not all four essays sit well with Sanders. He singles out the third question, which asks applicants how they would help implement the president’s executive orders and policy priorities. For Sanders, this crosses a line. He warns that the question risks politicizing what should remain a neutral, merit-based hiring process. “That essay,” he says, “is problematic. It doesn’t align with OPM’s own guidance that federal employees don’t have to support the president politically.”

Sanders is concerned that this approach could create confusion and even put careers at risk. He points to past situations where civil servants faithfully executed a sitting president’s agenda—only to lose their jobs when a new administration disapproved. “That hypocrisy already exists,” he notes. “The question just makes it worse.”

The memo also eliminates special emphasis programs like those supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). While Sanders is personally neutral on DEI, he questions whether the government is ready to do away with those programs entirely. He worries that without the ability to collect data, it may become harder to ensure the federal workforce reflects the diversity of the nation—or the world, in the case of the intelligence community.

There’s also an ambitious goal to reduce the time to hire to just 80 days. Sanders says it’s achievable—if agencies streamline internal HR processes and make smart use of modern technology. However, he’s glad the memo doesn’t include security clearance timelines, which he acknowledges remain a major bottleneck outside of HR’s control.

In the end, Sanders views the memo as a step in the right direction—if agencies stay alert and willing to adjust. He encourages ongoing reassessment of policies, especially after six months and again post-election. “There’s a lot to like here,” he says. “But we have to keep an eye on what works, what doesn’t, and what still needs time to play out.”

You can read the whole memo here