The procedure for evaluating federal employees' performance isn't just written in agencies' human resources handbooks. It's written in law. See Title 5 of the U.S. Code, Section 4302. There you'll find that agencies' performance appraisal systems must establish objective criteria "related to the job in question for each employee or position." In other words, federal performance evaluations are all about individual ...

In a new feature we're calling Ask GovGuru, our Editorial team and experts will be responding to your questions about careers in government. At GovCentral, one of our goal's is to empower individuals to find the information and resources they need to begin a career as public servant in government at the federal, state, or local level. We hope that our ...

The BASIC Search on USAJobs is now easy to read - in one second - you can see the number of jobs in each city, each each job category and for each agency. This is a WONDERFUL improvement for the basic search tool. The new basic search now features an easy-to-read list of job search options by Agency, Location and Occupation, ...

Thanks for checking out our new feature, Ask GovGuru, where I will be answering your questions about government careers. Remember to send your questions to info@govcentral.com with the subject line "Ask GovGuru. Let's get started. My son 26 is an excellent worker and has had his current job a little over two years. Early in his adulthood, he managed to mess ...

President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan will create a number of relatively high-paying jobs for workers in construction, alternative energy, education and healthcare. While the best-paying jobs in those fields typically require at least a four-year degree, you can move into some well-paying stimulus-related jobs after spending half that time in college or training, according to Laurence Shatkin, author of Great ...

Thanks to the stimulus package, many sectors of government are seeing a huge boost in job creation. On the other hand, some departments are having massive layoffs. Straight from the headlines to you, an index of sectors and areas that are hiring, and a list of states and departments that are laying people off. Nobody, not even the Administration, is able ...

Back-to-back snow storms in the Washington, DC area have knocked out the federal government for a record fourth day in a row. The Office of Personnel Management estimates the loss of productivity to be $100 million a day, which many consider a necessary cost to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands federal, state, and local government employees in the area. ...

Losing your job is an overwhelming feeling, no matter when it happens. GovCentral has scoured the web to help connect you with benefits you have already earned. Here are four simple steps to get you through the first days and jumpstart your government job search. (Parts of this article sourced from *"CareerOneStop":http://www.careeronestop.org* is a U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored Web site that ...

I promised my editor I’d cut to the chase. But first, an introduction: My name is Jonathon Feit, and in the Summer of 2009 I received a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to serve as an MBA Intern in the Office of Management & Budget, within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. I was assigned to the Performance & Personnel ...

We’ve all had bosses that we’ve either loved or hated. The boss who helped you get that promotion, or the one who clipped his toenails at his desk. Some help us advance our career, while others seem to hold us back. Different leadership styles can lead to different results for each employee. But certain styles seem to be good or ...

In this day and age, seemingly everything is on the internet. The Federal Government, and in particular the Obama Administration, is actively trying to keep up with the online trends. In their efforts to be more transparent and accessible, they are updating services on .gov sites, creating Department and agency blogs, and more. Further, because of the decline in the print ...

I didn’t think it would happen to me. As a news producer for a television network, I reported on unemployment numbers daily. I was detached. Analytical. Objective. Then one day, without any prior warning, I was out of a job, and the subject of someone else’s news story. It’s not that I thought I was immune, or somehow above it ...

Looking for a job is, indeed, a full time job. And like any full time job, you probably waste a lot of time either completing tasks, or between them. The difference is, when you’re looking for work, you don’t have a boss to answer to. You are only accountable to yourself - and let’s face it, you kind of favor you. ...

CIA Agents are famous protagonists on television shows and movies, and is a fantasy job for many a youngster. But why make it a dream? Turn it into a reality. According to the Central Intelligence Agency website "The CIA offers exciting career opportunities and a dynamic environment. We're on the forefront of world-altering events — as they happen. So working here ...

As with any career, you want to get the most out of your government career and knowing how to boost your government career is essential to the success of your life. Getting the most out of your government career is not unlike any other career; the only difference is the boss you have to impress is the government. [gate] The first ...

Because of the classified nature of our work at the Central Intelligence Agency, the application process is a lengthy one. Depending on your specific circumstances, the process may take as little as two months or more than a year. Start by reviewing each of our career paths: Analytical Opportunities, Clandestine Service, Language Opportunities, Science, Engineering and Technology and Support Services. Each ...

Lindsey Vonn: Don’t Stop When it Starts to Hurt Lindsey Vonn is the first American woman to win a gold medal in the Olympic downhill skiing. A contender in Torino in 2006, Vonn suffered a terrible crash that sent her to the hospital. She left with pain arching through her legs and back but still competed in five events. She didn’t ...

The Obama administration unveiled a major overhaul of the federal hiring process on Tuesday, the Office of Personnel Management announced. The hiring reform memorandum will ask agencies to do away with hand-graded knowledge, skills and abilities essays by Nov. 1, at least in the early stages of the hiring process, Jeri Buchholz, associate director for human resources operations and policy at ...

Frequently Asked Questions: GovCentral's Spring Is Greener Promotion Do I need to register more than once? No How do I increase my odds of winning? Simply sign into your GovCentral account once a day through March 31, 2010 to be entered again to win. If you allow your browser to save your log-in information, you will need to click "Sign out" ...

Inaction by the Senate to pass a short-term highway funding bill may cause the Department of Transportation to furlough nearly 4,000 employees nationwide starting Tuesday. With no extension, the Department of Transportation will cutoff payments to state highway programs as well as the Federal Transit Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. These programs are paid ...