Let me tell you a story about Sarah.

Sarah just graduated from college with a degree in public policy. She's passionate about climate action, has leadership experience from running her campus sustainability program, and genuinely wants to work in government. She's exactly the kind of person you need.

She opens Indeed or another job search site on her laptop and searches "government jobs climate." Your posting pops up:

"Analyst II, Grade 6"

She stares for a moment, trying to understand how this string of vague words relates to her search. She then scrolls past and finds a relevant role from a nonprofit instead.

You just lost a great candidate in 3.2 seconds.

The translation problem nobody's talking about

Here's what's actually happening in local government hiring right now:

According to the MissionSquare Research Institute's State and Local Workforce Survey, while recruitment challenges are improving overall, many governments still report receiving fewer qualified applicants for key positions. Here's the kicker: those applicants exist. They're just not applying to your jobs.

They quite literally don't understand what you're hiring for.

So ask yourself. Who is the "Analyst II, Grade 6" really for? It’s designed to tell your internal HR team everything, like level, responsibility, salary range, etc. but it makes clarity difficult for everyone else.

What you're actually competing with

When Sarah searches for jobs, she's not just looking at government postings. Your competition includes:

• "Climate Policy Analyst – Help Cities Go Carbon Neutral" (nonprofit)

• "Sustainability Coordinator – Make Real Environmental Impact" (private sector)

• "Public Affairs Associate – Drive Climate Legislation" (advocacy group)

These aren't better jobs than yours. They're just better described.

Your actual job might be coordinating renewable energy projects, analyzing emission reduction strategies, and presenting to the city council on climate initiatives. But your job posting says "performs administrative and analytical duties."

That doesn’t exactly evoke excitement among someone interested in saving the planet.

The numbers don't lie

According to Marketplace reporting on NeoGov data, government job postings are drawing fewer applicants than before the pandemic. And it's not because people don't want government jobs. The federal government was the second-most-desired employer among college students (after Google).

The disconnect isn't desire. It's discovery.

When Reid Walsh from NeoGov points out that "Administrative Officer 1" and "Procurement Specialist 2" aren't translatable to everyday language, she's being diplomatic. Let me be less diplomatic:

Your job titles are actively repelling the exact people you're trying to attract.

The real cost of government-speak

Let's do some quick math:

• Time to post job: 4 hours

• Time to review 12 applications: 6 hours

• Time to interview 3 candidates: 12 hours

• Time to realize none are great fits: instant regret

• Time to repost: another 2 hours

According to AFSCME's analysis, there have been months with 850,000 state and local government vacancies, but only 330,000 hires in that same month. The gap? That's partly a translation problem.

Meanwhile, Sarah, your dream candidate, applied to six other jobs and got two interviews. She's getting offers while you're still reviewing your pool of 12 applicants, most of whom aren’t qualified because they didn’t understand the role.

What actually works

Here's the thing: you don't need to abandon your classification system. You need to translate it.

Government job title: "Analyst II, Grade 6"

Translation: "Climate Program Analyst – Help Your City Go Green ($45K-55K)"

Keep the classification in the fine print if you need it for your process. But lead with what the job actually is.

Same with job descriptions. Instead of:

"Performs administrative and analytical duties related to program operations and assists with the preparation of reports."

Try:

"You'll coordinate our renewable energy initiatives, analyze our carbon footprint data, and present recommendations to city leadership. Your work directly impacts how quickly 

Same job. Same requirements. Completely different hit rate.

The path forward

Three things you can do right now:

1. Audit your current job postings. If someone outside the government wouldn't understand what the role actually involves, rewrite it.

2. Lead with purpose, not process. Tell candidates what they'll accomplish, not just what tasks they'll perform.

3. Test your postings on actual job seekers. If they glaze over at the title, fix it before you post it.

The talent you need exists. They want to work in government. They just need to be able to find you first.

Because right now? Sarah's accepting that nonprofit job. And you're about to repost "Analyst II, Grade 6" for the third time.

There's a better way.