'Plum Book' Is Obama's Big Help-Wanted Ad

Joyce Tate and Stephen R. Morbley, who work at the Government Printing Office bookstore, put copies of the new Plum Book on display. (By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)
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One of the buyers is a 34-year-old woman who quit her job in public health and moved from Chicago to Washington on Sunday in the hope of snagging a job in the new administration.

"I don't know how to do this, but I thought getting the Plum Book would be the first step to see what the jobs are," said the woman, who had volunteered for Barack Obama's campaign and spoke on the condition of anonymity because she feared that publicity could hurt her job prospects. She read about the book and showed up at the government bookstore yesterday to claim her copy and begin her job hunt.

Mark D. Gearan, deputy director of Bill Clinton's 1992 transition and now president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, said the Plum Book "gives people a good overview of responsibilities and opportunities." He added: "People are coming at you from all directions -- the campaign, private and public sectors -- and so it's a good starting point."

Gearan says he still vividly recalls the landslide of job applications his office received after the election. He was startled by the quantity of material that some applicants submitted. "It reminds me of the old college counselors' saying: 'The thicker the file, the thicker the applicant,' " he said.

Chase Untermeyer, who handled political appointments for President George H.W. Bush in 1988, found the Plum Book marginally useful.

"It's less valuable than it appears. All it is is snapshots of the jobs the outgoing administration filled," he said. "The new administration might abolish many of those positions. They might not want a director of fish and fowl. . . . The real value for me was as a reference for salary levels."

The incoming Eisenhower administration produced the first comprehensive political job list in 1952.

Democrats had controlled all the political jobs in the prior two decades, and the Republican Party urged the compilation of a list of government positions that would be available to Republicans.

The Plum Book appeared again in 1960 and has since been published after every presidential election.

For all the hundreds of unusual posts described in the book, one appears to be missing: job counselor for outgoing administration employees.