In the midst of a lousy job market there’s one sector of the economy that would really like to see your resume.

Uncle Sam is hiring civilian employees — and when the federal government hires it offers both good pay and great benefits. There are full and part-time jobs as well as jobs for entry-level workers and for experienced professionals. Oh, and to make things better, the application process is quick and easy, there’s no charge or fee and you can locate jobs online.

Living as I do outside Washington, I see people everyday who work for the government. The range of jobs is remarkable, from doctors (research at the FDA) and lawyers (pick any federal agency) to letter carriers and Park Service employees at the Antietam National Battlefield. There are jobs available from New York to California and everything in between — and the pay scale runs well into six figures for those with experience and training. In addition, of course, the benefits package is among the best available.

The great beauty of government jobs is this: The government has entered the modern era. You can post a resume online, search for a job online and even get a job which allows telecommuting.

How To Apply For A Government Job

“Many Federal agencies fill their jobs like private industry by allowing applicants to contact the agency directly for job information and application processing,” says the Office of Personnel Management. “But, while the process is similar, there are significant differences due to the many laws, executive orders, and regulations that govern Federal employment.

“Many years ago, applicants who passed the civil service test were placed on standing registers of eligibles maintained by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In addition, applicants had to complete a standard Federal employment application form, the SF-171, to apply for all jobs.

Now, however, the OPM no longer maintains registers of eligible job candidates.

• Applicants can mail, fax their resume, or apply online using their resume.
• An optional application for Federal Employment, the OF-612, is available for those who do not have a resume.
• Job seekers do not need a rating from OPM to enable them to apply for non-clerical vacancies.
• Only a few positions require a written test.
• The old SF-171 is obsolete.

Post A Government Resume

So how does the system work? In basic terms there are two steps required to get a government job interview.

First, you post your resume online. In fact, you can post up to five different resumes online, each oriented toward a different skill or job field. To post your resume you must first create an online account. This is done by going to USAJobs.gov.

Once on the page you will see that creating an account is a two-minute job — name, address, citizenship and veteran’s status, if any.

Search Federal Job Listings

Second, the government has an online jobs search engine. In just a few minutes you can get search by agency, occupation and location; see featured jobs and employers; and find out which jobs are in demand.

To search for a federal job go to this link at USAJobs.gov. You can search by keyword, location, job category and salary range.

Types of Federal Jobs Online

There are two classes of jobs in the Federal Government:

Competitive Service jobs are under OPM’s jurisdiction. These jobs are subject to the civil service laws passed by Congress. These laws ensure that applicants and employees receive fair and equal treatment in the hiring process. They give selecting officials broad authority to review more than one applicant source before determining the best-qualified candidate based on job-related criteria. A basic principle of Federal employment is that all candidates must meet the qualification requirements for the position for which they receive an appointment.

Excepted Service agencies set their own qualification requirements. These agencies are not subject to the appointment, pay, and classification rules in Title 5, United States Code. However, they are subject to veterans’ preference. Some Federal agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), have only excepted service positions. Other agencies, may have some divisions or even specific jobs that may be excepted from civil service procedures. Positions may be in the excepted service by law, by executive order, or by action of OPM.

How Government Job Candidates Are Selected

In filling competitive service jobs, agencies can generally choose from among three groups of candidates:

1. A competitive list of eligibles. This record lists the applicants (in rank order) who meet the qualification requirements for a specific vacancy announcement.

2. A list of eligibles who have civil service status. This list consists of applicants who are eligible for noncompetitive movement within the competitive service. These individuals presently or previously served under career-type appointments in the competitive service. They are selected under agency merit promotion procedures and can receive an appointment by promotion, reassignment, transfer, or reinstatement.

3. A list of eligibles who qualify for a special noncompetitive appointing authority established by law or executive order. Examples of special noncompetitive appointing authorities include the Veterans’ Readjustment Appointment (VRA), the special authority for 30% or more disabled veterans, and the Peace Corps.

Agencies in the competitive service are required by law and OPM regulation to post vacancies with OPM whenever they are seeking candidates from outside their own workforce for positions lasting more than 120 days. (Agency, in this context, means the parent agency — i.e., Treasury, not the Internal Revenue Service.) These vacancies are posted on OPM’s USAJOBS and in America’s Job Bank (AJB). Excepted agencies are not required to post their job announcements in USAJOBS. To learn about their job opportunities you must go to their websites.

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