Factors of Attractiveness of Civil Service for Public Administration Students

It is obvious today that the labour market is a highly competitive field. More and more people seem to want to work for employers, which hold the highest positions in ratings and offer the most attractive contracts. Private sector organizations recruit the best and brightest by offering them creative and challenging work tasks, high salaries, attractive educational and career opportunities. Almost none of these attractive job benefits are offered by public sector organizations as they function in specific bureaucratic environment with tight budgetary constraints and limited power. It leads to a particular challenge for public sector organizations of how to attract and retain employees in public-service careers, especially when it comes to young specialists. Various studies on the topic of job sector choice provided much theoretical and practical knowledge but it seems there is still lack of research on the issue of what are the factors of attractiveness of civil service for young people. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of whether Russian Public Administration students want to become civil servants and what are the job benefits that attract them to public-service careers. Moreover, the study examines students’ motives and values, which may influence a desire to become a civil servant.