Hiring process streamlined to make it easier for candidates to apply and get hired
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 14, 2025
Roy Kennedy: roy.kennedy@govops.ca.gov
Angela Musallam: Angela.Musallam@govops.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO, CA – California is rolling out a series of hiring reforms aimed at streamlining the upward mobility process and making it easier for applicants to join the state workforce. These changes are designed to reduce delays, cut red tape, and help departments attract top talent more efficiently. This latest efficiency follows Governor Newsom’s Executive Order to further integrate efficiency, engagement, and effectiveness into state operations.
“California is focused on attracting and retaining the best talent to serve Californians. These hiring reforms are the first step toward modernizing state service, making it more efficient, competitive, and aligned with the needs of both applicants and departments.” — Nick Maduros, Secretary, Government Operations Agency
Simplifying Job Classifications to Make Hiring Easier
The state is making it easier to apply for and move between government jobs by combining similar job titles, removing outdated requirements and updating eligibility rules like longstanding college credit requirements. These changes are intended to help applicants find the right job faster, give current employees more flexibility to grow their careers and ultimately reduce state costs by cutting down the number of hours hiring managers spend during the recruitment process.
“These reforms are about opening doors and creating opportunity. By removing unnecessary barriers and modernizing our hiring process, we’re making it easier for Californians to build meaningful careers in public service. Our goal is to ensure the state workforce reflects the talent, diversity, and dedication of the people we serve.” –- Suzanne Ambrose, Executive Officer of the State Personnel Board
For example, 67 generalist job titles – covering more than 32,000 positions – are being merged into just eight classifications. This will make it much easier for applicants to find the right role and for current employees to advance their careers and avoid being stuck in narrow job categories. Additionally, changes to peace officer job requirements will open opportunities across 90 classifications, impacting over 26,000 positions.
Modernizing Hiring Across State Government
The California State Personnel Board (SPB), the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) and the California Government Operations Agency worked together to develop a new hiring guide to streamline and reinforce civil service hiring procedures, continuing the state’s commitment to retain and recruit talent based on merit, while cutting down unnecessary complexities in the hiring process. The goal is to empower hiring managers to tailor their interview approach so applicants can highlight their strengths more effectively.
“The state is an attractive place to work. We have seen more than 1.4 million applications so far in 2025, and we expect that number to remain consistent or grow with the improvements to our hiring process given the early feedback we have heard.” – Monica Erickson, Director of the California Department of Human Resources
In the first pilot using the hiring guide, application screening time was reduced by nearly 87% while maintaining the state’s merit-based hiring practices.
The state is also exploring a new hiring strategy to leverage shared applicant pools across state departments and positions within the same classification. This will not only reduce duplication but also improve coordination across departments by enabling them to fill positions with qualified talent more quickly and reduce the burden on applicants having to apply to multiple job opportunities.
“The streamlined application and screening process allows CalPERS to focus on finding the right person for our mission-critical work, and it does so in a way that simplifies screening processes and accelerates hiring timelines. It’s a win-win for state agencies and the talented Californians who are looking for a career in public service.” – Roshni Patel, Deputy Human Resources Officer at CalPERS
Faster Hiring for Licensed Professionals
The state is exploring streamlining the hiring process for jobs that require professional licenses – starting with marriage and family therapists and clinical counselors. By aligning state hiring and examination requirements with existing licensing standards, the expectation is that qualified professionals can get hired more quickly. CalHR has reduced the testing process for these classifications by leveraging their existing certifications or licensures, instead of making them fully re-examine to become qualified.
A pilot program is underway in partnership with California Correctional Health Care Services, with plans to expand this model to 10% of eligible job classifications by the end of 2025 and 40% by the end of 2026.
Centralized Qualification Checks
The state is also developing a shared system for verifying applicant qualifications. Instead of each department verifying the same applicant’s qualifications for each recruitment, one verification will be completed and uploaded into a shared system. This will save time, reduce duplication and ensure consistency across the state’s hiring process.
What’s Next?
The state continues to modernize its hiring system with a focus on clarity, access and efficiency. With roughly 2,600 job classifications currently in use, the state is committed to consolidating roles further to better reflect today’s workforce needs. The state will continue piloting the new hiring guide with additional departments, with plans for a full rollout in the coming months. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to build a more agile, inclusive and applicant-friendly civil service system.
# # #