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Overview of Federal Jobs
by
ResumeEdge.com
- The Net's Premier Resume Writing and Editing Service
The Jobs | Exploring the Field
Breaking into the Field | Web and Print Resources
The Jobs
A person's opinion of the Federal Government's size largely reflects his political beliefs. Some conservatives find the national government overly large and intrusive. Others of more liberal bent see pressing problems in our society that could benefit from organized action funded by taxation. On either extreme, one can find those who want to do away entirely with government or, on the contrary, put every factory and all private property under its control.
This centrality of our ideas on government to how we identify ourselves demonstrates the importance of the government in our daily lives. As the government itself reminds us, "U.S. citizens are particularly aware of the Federal Government when they pay their income taxes each year, but they usually do not consider the government's role when they watch a weather forecast, purchase fresh and uncontaminated groceries, travel by highway or air, or make a deposit at their bank."
Because the government is so large and diverse, it quite naturally employs very many people. In fact, the federal government is the largest employer in the United States, with almost two million civilians on its payroll and more than 1.4 million active-duty military. Add to these numbers the 845,000 employed by the U.S. Postal Service (a quasi-governmental agency) and more than a million reservists, and you can easily see that a substantial portion of the U.S. population gets a paycheck signed by Uncle Sam.
What exactly do all of these people do? Speaking only of civilian jobs, four out of five jobs are located somewhere other than Washington, D.C. As you might expect, larger departments (Defense, Homeland Security) employ many people: 664,000 and 152,000 civilians, respectively. Veterans Affairs employs 225,000; the Department of Treasury, 132,000; Justice 101,000. On the other hand, some very high-profile government departments and agencies employ relatively few: the State Department, for example, has only 32,000; NASA employs 19,000; and the Environmental Protection Agency has just 18,000.
Within these agencies, roughly a third of workers are professional, mostly scientists and engineers employed by the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation, and NASA. The Department of Justice, naturally, employs many lawyers, judges, and legal clerks. Computer specialists and health professionals find work in many different agencies, along with the 28% of the government workforce with management or financial responsibilities. At the highest levels, these workers head agencies; at the lowest, they might be responsible for overseeing one activity or one aspect of a program. Accountants, tax examiners, and auditors round out the professionals.
Thus a third of the federal workforce are white-collar professionals, and almost a third are managers or financial overseers; the final third is divided into many categories. A full 17% are the secretaries and clerks indispensable to any modern organization. 11% provide services, mostly as law enforcement or correctional officers. Mechanics, technicians, air traffic controllers, and inspectors of various kinds round out the picture.
These statistics, of course, fail to capture the commonly known generalities of government employment. First, government employment is considered extremely secure. Twenty years from now, there may be a Republican, a Democrat, or some third-party president, but the work of testing the nation's food and securing its borders will go on. In the private sector, on the other hand, it is almost guaranteed that at least one very well-known company of today will no longer exist in ten years. Perhaps technology will make its products or services unnecessary, or maybe globalization will result in too much competition. But the United States federal government will undoubtedly still be in existence.
Ongoing trends suggest that positions in homeland security will remain in demand, even as certain administrative office jobs face the same threat of automation as they do in the private sector. As the federal debt continues to increase, no great expansion of employment is expected: growth is anticipated to be less than that in the private sector. Nevertheless, most functions will still be necessary to carry out, and (at least insofar as it has the power to produce currency) the government cannot go bankrupt.
Another major characteristic of government employment is that, at least in some positions, it is considered deeply satisfying. The idea of contributing to democracy and freedom is no small part of the rewards of working for Washington. This holds true not just for FBI agents who apprehend terrorists and State Department foreign service officers who negotiate the destruction of weapons of mass destruction, but also for physicians and AmeriCorps teachers who confront inequalities in poor rural or urban areas.
Related to these two general characteristics, government employment does tend to pay less than the private sector across the board. Though benefits, including life and health insurance, pension plans, and vacation time are comparable or superior to those of private sector jobs, the total compensation of a government employee is typically less than that of a private sector worker of comparable training and experience. Fortunately, most government positions do have private sector analogues; every year thousands of government workers accept jobs in the private sector and vice versa.
The typical qualities of government work — secure employment, the satisfaction of contributing to the country, and comparatively low pay — are even more apparent in military employment, the other major opportunity for work with the federal government. As in civil service, almost every type of profession is needed by the armed forces — only one out of every eight members of the military specialize in combat operations. The other seven work in the administrative, construction, electronics, health care, human resources, machine operation, media/PR, protective services, transportation, and mechanics fields necessary to field that soldier, sailor, or airman.
Military service offers unique opportunities and risks. There are many small-town boys and girls who have "seen the world on Uncle Sam's dime," with deployments in Germany and the Republic of Korea particularly common in the Army and world tours of all the major ports familiar to the Navy. Then again, the end of the Cold War has not brought an end to American military involvement overseas, and the risk of being sent to a desolate location or even of becoming a combat fatality is not to be ignored. Moreover, military service involves a commitment to active duty of two to six years. In any other job, if a better offer comes along or you change your mind about your company, it's two weeks' notice, and you're out the door. In the military, a commitment is a commitment, and the government can (under certain conditions) require you to stay in active duty to a maximum of eight years even with a two-year commitment.
Exploring the Field
Each division of the federal government generally carries out its own recruiting according to its own needs. For some branches and divisions, recruiters regularly attend relevant career fairs, where they are excellent sources of information about new opportunities. Compared to most organizations, the government has less of a need to advertise its existence or its available opportunities. Long-standing training programs for the FBI or the State Department need not advertise, because some educational institutions have evolved precisely to prepare people for them.
As a result, the burden is often on the applicant to explore the specific program or agency of interest. Fortunately, as a centralized and technologically advanced institution, the federal government maintains many websites containing descriptions of the agency's responsibilities. Furthermore, the government's age and size mean that there are many books about specific departments and agencies. Finally, internships — including some very selective ones — are great opportunities to work side-by-side with future colleagues. Again, if you have a specific agency that you greatly wish to be explore, by all means examine its website.
The military, of course, maintains separate recruiting commands and has stations all over the nation. Those interested in enlisting can get all of their questions answered, including information on the latest signing bonuses and special training opportunities. High school JROTC and university ROTC units invariably include former active duty officers and senior enlisted people who can give firsthand information about their respective service branches; ROTC is essentially an "internship" into the military for those wanting to see if they like a taste of military life.
Breaking into the Field
Many federal positions have stringent requirements for résumés, with emphasis on a precise listing of capabilities and experiences. As you seek employment, you will find that relevant training and real-world experience is extremely important to this largest of employers. Still, your school can often offer guidance on what classes to take and perhaps put you in touch with appropriate recruiters. Those set on civil service should study the requirements of their desired position carefully and fulfill them as well as possible. A willingness to live in Washington, D.C., is also helpful and may be required for some positions.
Although there are no guarantees, contacting your local representative or senator could prove helpful to gaining employment with the federal government. As you might imagine, more help would be offered to those who make themselves useful to the congressman. Volunteer work on a political campaign, for example, has been known to result in later employment with the newly elected official's staff.
Military service, with its well-developed mechanisms for recruitment, is relatively easy to "break into." Those wanting to enlist can just show up at the recruiting center without a dime in their pockets. The Army (or Marines, Navy, Air Force, or Coast Guard) can put you in a hotel for the few days it takes to complete your paperwork and physical exam. Of course, showing up in this way will clearly mark you as desperate and result in less of an enlistment bonus being offered, if any. Those wishing to become commissioned officers should apply to a service academy, if they do not yet have a bachelor's; those with their college degree can apply to Officers Candidate School (OCS). The Marines, in particular, offer a Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) without any commitment.
For civilian jobs and the non-service academy routes to a military commission, the key is patience. Government hiring is a notoriously long and involved process, sometimes requiring multiple interviews, formal examinations, physicals, security clearances, and the like. Recent graduates who have not begun the procedure should probably secure other employment first, then initiate the application process.
Web and Print Resources
Below are links for various agencies, which provide specific information as to qualifications, skills and resume format required for openings. Please note that this list is not exhaustive.
Be sure to follow instructions and guidelines about formatting and requested information exactly when applying for federal positions. Failure to adhere to requirements may result in immediate disqualification.
As mentioned, the highly organized procedures for government hiring have resulted in a large number of publications. Two excellent books with a general focus are Federal Civil Service Jobs and Ten Steps to a Federal Job. If you already know what agency or department you wish to work for, it's highly likely that there's a specific book regarding how to gain employment. Do a search on Amazon.com or visit your local bookseller.
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