Is it possible to get a federal job

Business and technology. Business and technology make up the biggest and most critical pieces of the government. Business specialists are required to help manage the economics , financial departments, and human resources. Technology is essential due to how quickly things evolve. Governments are always in need of additional programmers, information technologists, and computer science specialists.

Like any other office or organization, governments need administrative experts to help keep them organized and get things done. You can find work as a database administrator, administrative assistant , or office clerk.

Our AI resume builder helps you write a compelling and relevant resume for the jobs you want. Your first search should be on USAJobs. Almost all federal job openings will be available on this website, so ensure you bookmark it for later reference. Job openings will include details about requirements, qualifications , benefits, and application instructions.

Take some time to look through agency and professional field pages to find any open positions in your area of interest. The qualifications listed in each specific job announcement will give you important insights into the general requirements and expectations of any given job. The federal government will not consider incomplete applications, so it is critical that you check and double-check that you have completely filled out all of the application questions and supplied all necessary transcripts and information asked for.

This may include letters of recommendation , writing samples, and a resume , depending on the job you are applying for. Know this before you begin your application process and come prepared with what you have. Another thing to note about federal jobs is that you should prepare to submit a multi-page resume. While typical resumes are recommended to be, at most, two pages, a resume for a federal government position should include more detail and can be between two to five pages.

You will need to elaborate deeply on the duties of your previous jobs, accomplishments, skills, certifications, and even experiences outside of the workplace that can qualify you for the job at hand. Postal Service job. If you've served in the military and want to find a federal job, check out FedsHireVets. It has information on:. Uses Schedule A , a non-competitive hiring process. It's faster and easier than the competitive process. Provides reasonable accommodations to qualified employees.

What you achieved. If you can relate this to actual numbers — the percentage increase in sales you achieved, how much you saved the company, etc.

Why should we hire you? This is a great opportunity to make one final pitch for yourself. Sum up your qualifications and achievements and tie them in with what the interviewer is looking for in their next employee. What would your first month as an employee look like? Explain how you would get ramped up, including any training that would be helpful. How could you start contributing, however small, right away? Use this question to demonstrate how you handle pressure and can think outside the box.

The situation could involve changing deadlines or expectations, making the decision to fire an employee or restructure a team, or handling a displeased client. Tell about a time you made a mistake. Elaborate on what the mistake was, why you made it, how you rectified it and what you learned from it. Everyone makes mistakes — employers want to know how you handled them and what your biggest takeaway was. What did you like most about your last job?

One of the best ways to address the negatives of a current job is by discussing how previous roles have prepared you for new and more challenging ones.

How do you handle challenging situations? Think about the process you use to work through challenges. How did you manage them? What did you learn from them?

How did this challenge shape the way you approach future situations? Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with your boss or a coworker. Phrase the disagreement in factual, objective terms and then outline your problem-solving strategy. How did you use that to manage future interactions? Do you prefer working independently, or do you enjoy being part of a team? Questions like these help an interviewer understand if you will be a long- or a short-term employee.

This is comparable to what many private-sector employers conduct these days. But this is not the only excuse I hear. The other one is that all the positions on USAJobs are already earmarked for someone. The truth is that the federal job search process is not for the faint of heart. But if the calling and the benefits excite you, then you should keep your eyes on the prize! While—sooner or later—you will want to create a USAJOBS account for searching for federal job openings, you do not need to be logged in.

Having said that, I recommend that you …. At this stage, your goal is market research. You want to familiarize yourself with typical requirements for best government jobs as well as entry level government jobs and even government jobs without degree, as well as govt job salaries. You should review the occupational questionnaires and the required qualifications.

You will start to get a feel for what you need to have in place to maximize your chances to get a federal job near you. You can also use our Target Position Self-Assessment Tool to help you determine how you stack up against a particular job opportunity. By now, you should also start to develop a better feel for which agencies there are several hundred are the best match for your skills and interest. While some skills are better suited to certain agencies, almost any federal agency can be a potential employer for many occupations, such as ….

You need to make sure the agency fulfills your other selection criteria. She was familiar with the environment, terminology, culture, and what she would need to do to be succeed in the position. We were expecting no less from Barbara. She had already developed an impressive network of contacts, mentors, and advocates within the agency, even though none were on the panel.

Negotiating her federal job offer was the last milestone on a long journey to a position that she felt would be rewarding and that would open up new challenges for her. Stepping back, thinking through, and coming up with a list of the most important criteria in choosing your next position is important.

For most people, compensation will be one of the items on the list, but there are a lot more criteria to consider. You want to be clear about your criteria, and you want to be able to clearly articulate them for others.

The better you do that, the better results you can expect from our networking efforts. I call these criteria your filters. With your filters defined, you can start enlisting those who can help with your campaign for getting a federal job. Unless you are a bona fide hermit, you do have a network. Our network can be helpful to us with insights, information, and even introductions. But first, we need to improve our inner game and open up to the idea that our network can be a treasure trove.

Some of my most successful networking students are the younger professionals. They have none of the more conservative reservations of my baby boomer generation about networking.