GovCentral

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is posting draft 2008 salary tables on OPM's Website. OPM anticipates that the President will issue an executive order later this year to implement the 2008 pay rates. OPM will issue a separate memorandum confirming the final 2008 salary tables after the President signs the executive order. == Alternative Plan == Under the authority ...

Searching for a job in your home state can be a heavy task. Often times your career field or agency interests don't coincide with what's available in your specific locale. The fifty state profiles below provide short summaries of what federal departments and agencies dominate the federal employment picture in each state and links out to specific federal job searches for ...

The month of April is the time when we hopefully can let go of blustery winter weather as we celebrate spring's entrance. A lesser-known fact about April is that it's a prime time for college graduates to look into government internships. However, before considering this option, know that you'll need to meet some basic requirements. First, you should already have your ...

When starting your search for a federal government job, it is important to realize that using USAJOBS to your advantage is not merely an option, it is a necessity. Even job seekers who have networked with federal managers or have completed a government internship are required to go through the process. While some agencies have started working outside the USAJOBS portal, ...

Do you need more information on the federal employment forms that you will need to fill out to begin the federal hiring process? Over the past decade the overall number of federal employment forms has declined and many federal positions do not require any handwritten employment forms. Still, many job vacancy announcements identify one or two of the forms listed ...

The Federal Wage System (FWS) was developed to make the pay of Federal blue-collar workers comparable to prevailing private sector rates in each local wage area. Before the FWS, there was no central authority to establish wage equity for Federal trade, craft, and laboring employees. In 1965, President Johnson ordered the former Civil Service Commission to work with Federal agencies and ...

From the 1930s through the end of World War II, Washington, DC, was a great place for gays and lesbians to work. The federal government was growing, and the city was tolerant. But during the McCarthy era, hundreds of gays and lesbians were arrested as supposed national security threats; thousands of others lost their jobs. The tide turned again in the ...

According to the Office of Personnel Management's 2004 Fact Book, the federal government employs 2.7 million civilian workers, about 2 percent of America's total workforce. Forty-one percent of them have college degrees, but if you don't, don't worry. In many cases, related work experience can substitute for a diploma, an important consideration when 27 percent of those civilian workers - that's ...

Condoleezza Rice’s selection as US Secretary of State in 2005 was remarkable for how unmentioned her gender was. Nearly a decade earlier, Madeleine Albright had broken that barrier. As the highest-ranking women in American government, Rice and Albright symbolize one unalienable fact: Government - one of the largest sectors of the American economy - is a great place for women to ...

Just when you got those pesky knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) statements under your belt when applying to federal government jobs, a new trend has emerged: Self-assessment questions. Also called job-specific questions, self-assessment questions are found in increasing numbers of government agencies' applications. They will be new to some federal job seekers, but don't be put off. These questions are intended ...

The largest pool of federal job listings can be found at USAJOBS. Based on your bachelor's degree and years of experience, look for jobs at the GS-7 level and higher . Other options include: _Federal Internships_: These can be found at USAJOBS or by searching the Web site of the agency you're targeting. Many offer pay with benefits. _The Presidential Management ...

Government jobs offer you plenty of room to grow, so keep trying. There are usually about 15,000 jobs listed on USAJOBS every day. Listings can also be found on Avue Central. As for why you haven't succeeded so far in your search for a federal job, I'd look at two things: One, you may not be searching in the right places ...

Minority representation in the federal workforce continues to outstrip participation in civilian jobs with one exception: Hispanics, who are significantly underrepresented in federal jobs. But all minority applicants face challenges in government hiring and advancement. The degree of difficulty varies widely based on a number of factors, as demonstrated by the following statistics. They were summarized from the Federal Equal Opportunity ...

American Indians are the least-represented minority group in the federal workforce, with about 60,000 employees in all, according to the Society of American Indian Government Employees (SAIGE). US Office of Personnel Management's 1999 data shows that American Indians were underrepresented in 12 of the 39 federal executive departments and independent agencies with more than 500 employees. Additionally, 20 percent of American ...

People frequently ask me if it's possible to negotiate a higher federal salary. The answer is yes, provided you have some basic information about government pay scales. Each government job has a salary range defined by steps within a pay grade. There is a range that the HR specialist and supervisor may have in mind to offer you, depending on your ...

Supreme Court Judge Samuel Alito used this SF-171 form to apply for deputy assistant attorney general in 1985. Here's my assessment of his application and what you can learn from what he wrote: == Work Experience == Job A's description is 28 words, while Job B's is eight words, and Job C's is four. These are way too short for government ...

True or false? The federal workforce is more diverse than that of the private sector. Believe it or not, the answer is false, at least when it comes to the Hispanic/Latino community. While Hispanics/Latinos account for 13 percent of the US population according to the 2000 census and 12 percent of the private job sector, Hispanic/Latino employees comprise less than 7 ...

Many government job seekers show frustration with the speed of federal hiring and ask the following: Is there anything I can do to speed things up? Are there agencies or departments that hire faster than others? Yes, applying for federal jobs by going through the many steps required does take time, but given the scale of how things work, it's not ...

Government jobs often get a bad rap - sometimes justifiably, but sometimes not. Many younger job seekers see federal, state and local government jobs as being dominated by middle-aged workers who aren't open to new ideas or fresh faces. At one time, there may have been a degree of truth in such sentiments. But these days, both statistical and anecdotal evidence ...

Applying for a government job? Be careful. While all federal agency job listings and application tools can be accessed through USAJOBS, federal agencies don't all use the same resume builders and databases. Lose track of the agency and the resume builder on which you've last updated your resume, and you could lose your opportunity to land that next job. Take the ...