It’s Groundhog Day! And Gobblers Knob’s Punxsutawney Phil in Punxsutawney, Pa., before an inestimably large but reportedly largest crowd in history prognosticated another six long weeks of winter. That means there’s plenty of indoor time to pull together plans for summer internships. Here’s one great start.

THE PATHWAYS PROGRAM

President Obama’s Executive Order 13562 Recruiting and Hiring Students and Recent Graduates of December 2010 launched The Pathway Program. The purpose of Pathways was to calibrate the federal job market for students and recent graduates who simply don’t have the kind of experience necessary to compete with career civil servants, transitioning military, or others who’ve built-up resumes over years in defense, security, and public service related positions.

EO 12562 established “an exception to the competitive hiring rules for certain positions in the Federal civil service.” Now, six years later, The Pathways Program is going strong, offering three doors into Federal service. The Internship Program “provides current high school, college and graduate students with paid opportunities to work in federal agencies while still in school.” The Recent Graduate Program is “a full-time, one-year developmental program” for graduates with diploma in hand. And the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program caters to prospects who “received a qualifying advanced degree within the preceding two years.” There’s also a volunteer program for both high school and college students.

When you’re ready, all you need to do to begin searching for the right internship or recent graduate job. Right now, there are nearly 100 Pathways jobs waiting for applicants, even this late in the season. But as spring approaches, opportunities will naturally dwindle. So don’t wait.

Good luck.

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Ed Ledford enjoys the most challenging, complex, and high stakes communications requirements. His portfolio includes everything from policy and strategy to poetry. A native of Asheville, N.C., and retired Army Aviator, Ed’s currently writing speeches in D.C. and working other writing projects from his office in Rockville, MD. He loves baseball and enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring anything. Follow Ed on Twitter @ECLedford.