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Getting Hired as a First Timer

Think you need a political science or public administration degree to work for the for the federal government? Think again. The government will be hiring for 193,000 mission-critical jobs over the next two years; job openings exist in over 2,000 different departments, agencies, and career fields.

Some of the jobs offered are not altogether different from private sectors jobs, except for the fact that they are more stable, offer better benefits, and allow for exciting opportunities to travel.

Learn, Connect, Introduce Yourself

If even thinking about the government sector is new to you, make sure to learn about government careers before you start applying. If you are also new to Govcentral, spend some time familiarizing yourself with our website – this way, you’ll really know how to take advantage of the unique resources we provide to government job seekers.

If you’re serious about getting hired, and willing to get started with the work, visit our Ten Steps to Getting a Government Job guide.

Assess Your Employment Skills

When it comes to the politics of business and economy, some things never change. If you already have an established career behind you, and are looking to transition to government work, you might already have all of the skills you need to ace an interview, write a KSA, or pass an entrance exam.

If you don’t have these skills fine tuned yet, don’t worry too much. We’ve recently launched a three-part quiz series designed to help you gauge whether you’re ready to start interviewing for government positions yet.

Job Options and Salary Information

Having a thorough understanding of the different career tracks and job options available to you is equally as important as knowing how to wow a recruiter; in fact, it usually comes first. Browse through our Government Salary Guide section to start building out a plan of attack for choosing a job to pursue.

If you’re interested in mission critical jobs only, the Partnership for Public Service recently published an excellent PDF Guide entitled “Where the Jobs Are”.

Spotlight on Job Search

As you begin searching for government jobs, you’re bound to come across innumerable references to “USAJOBS” – the official government job boards. This is definitely a great tool to use as a final step in your job search – in fact, many federal agencies only accept resumes that are submitted through the USAJOBS application system. However, it is not a perfect tool. For example, it is impossible to use USAJOBS to actually get in touch with personnel from the department to which you are applying.

Did you know that GovCentral’s jobs database contains the entire job feed from the USAJOBS database? How about that you can use GovCentral to actually get in touch with members who really work at the department you’re applying to? Finally – that we keep an accessible archive of agency and department reviews that our users submit?

Learn how to conduct a USAJOBS search on GovCentral.

Join our searching for jobs group.

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