FEDERAL GOVERNMENT JOB AND INTERNSHIP SEARCH

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FEDERAL GOVERNMENT JOB AND INTERNSHIP SEARCH

• UNIVERSITY CAREER SERVICES
• careers.gmu.edu 703-993-2370
• Sept. 24, 2009
• Ms. Andrea Bright, Office of Personnel Management
  (OPM)
• Ms. Shauntae Barber, General Services
  Administration (GSA)

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Agenda

• Benefits of Federal Employment
• Steps in the Search Process
• Exploring Federal Government Careers and
  Internships
• Overview of USAJOBS.GOV STUDENTJOBS.GOV
• Student Programs
• Federal Vacancy Announcements
• Federal Resumes
• Application Questionnaires and Essays-KSAs
• Specifics of Applying

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Benefits of Federal Service

• Have the opportunity to make a difference
• Be able to influence the future of our country
• Enjoy a work/life balance
• - flextime
• - tele-work

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Benefits of Federal Service

• Student loan repayment assistance
• - up to 10,000 per year
• Generous vacation and sick leave
• Training and professional development
• Competitive health and retirement benefits
• Excellent advancement opportunities
• Job security!

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What young feds say about their jobs
I am able to make a big difference by working
from within the Government. (OPM)
Working for the Government offers me a level of
experience and substantive knowledge that I could
not access in the private sector at this stage of
my career. (STATE)
I work on the most important national security
and humanitarian issues our country faces today
and see real progress towards improving how we
respond to crises. (DOD)
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Where the Jobs Are
84 of federal jobs are outside the DC Metro Area!
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Types of Federal Employment

• Competitive Service
• - most agencies
• - merit-based
• - non-competitive appointments
• Excepted Service
• - intelligence, national security, some
  DOD agencies
• - conduct their own hiring process

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Mission Critical Hiring in Federal Government,
2009-2012273,000 hires

• 1) Medical and Public Health 6) Accounting and
  Budget
• 2) Security and Protection 7) Information
  Technology
• 3) Compliance and Enforcement 8) Business and
  Industry
• 4) Legal 9) Engineering
• 5) Administration/Program Mgt. 10)
  Transportation
• Source Where the Jobs Are, Partnership for
  Public Service, www.wherethejobsare.org

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A FEW HIRING AGENCIES

• Department of Defense (DOD) http//go-defense.com/
  
• 2. Veterans Administration (VA)
  http//www.va.gov/jobs/
• 3. Health Human Services (HHS)
• http//www.hhs.gov/careers/index.html
• Department of Agriculture (USDA)
  http//www.usda.gov
• 5. Department of Justice http//www.usdoj.gov/
• Intelligence agencies http//www.intelligence.gov
  
• For a directory of all agencies, see
  http//www.makingthedifference.org/federalcareers/

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STEPS IN THE FEDERAL JOB SEARCH PROCESS

• Step 1 Make a decision to pursue a Federal job
• Step 2 Network Who do you know?
• Step 3 Make agency, job title salary
  decisions
• Federal Jobs by College Major -
  http//www.usajobs.opm.gov/EI23.asp
• Salary Scales - http//www.opm.gov/oca/09tables/in
  dexGS.asp
• Step 4 Find job listings. Follow how-to-apply
  instructions very carefully.

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USAJOBS.GOV

• USAJOBS Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
  search site for Federal jobs
• MAIN FUNCTIONS of http//www.usajobs.gov
• Describes the application process
• Interest inventory available
• Federal employer profiles
• Note many government agencies prefer to use
  their own agency websites to list positions.
• Check individual agency sites to find out how
  they advertise their positions

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STUDENT PROGRAMS

• Partnership for Public Service http//www.makingth
  edifference.org
• Hot Jobs and Cool Internships
• Federal internship directory
• OPMs search site for student employment
  opportunities, www.studentjobs.gov
• Includes e-Scholar -- Apprenticeships,
  Fellowships, Grants and Scholarships
• Agency websites visit agencies of interest to
  you

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STUDENT EDUCATIONAL EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM

• TWO TYPES OF STUDENT EMPLOYMENT
• Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP)
• Also referred to as an Internship
• Not necessarily related to academic field of
  study
• Includes summer employment
• Student Career Experience Program (SCEP)
• also referred to as Co-op
• Must be related to academic field of study
• Provides formal periods of work and study

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ADDITIONAL STUDENT PROGRAMS

• Federal Career Internship Program (FCIP)
• must have a four-year degree from an
  accredited university
• run by individual agencies. Visit usajobs.gov or
  agency websites for information
• two-year program
• Professional Development Program (PDP)
• Similar to FCIP title used by some agencies
• Presidential Management Fellows (PMF)
  www.pmf.opm.gov
• must be in final year of graduate degree program
• must be nominated by your college or department
• two-year program

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THE FEDERAL VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

• Position information, including duties and
  responsibilities
• GS03015/7 (Promotion Potential GS-12)
• Qualifications requirements, including Knowledge,
  Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
• Specialized experience requirements
• Instructions on how to apply
• Contact personusually at the end of the
  announcement

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APPLICATION OPTIONS

• On-line application systems, paper, or fax
• Federal Resume electronic or paper
• Application Questionnaires or Essays (KSAs)
• May require supplemental forms (available on
  usajobs.gov), such as
• - DD-214 (military discharge), or
• - SF-85, SF-85p, and SF-86 (Background
  Investigation and Security Clearance)

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THE FEDERAL RESUME

• Different than corporate resumes
• Require more detail, such as
• - Work experience dates, hours,
  supervisor, location, salary
• - Volunteer experience
• - Coursework
• - Confidential information such as SSN
• See sample Federal resume in Moving On (p. 22)

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FEDERAL APPLICATION PROCESS

• Applicants will be assessed for Federal
  opportunities using
• Application Questionnaires, or
• Essays (KSAs)

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Application Questionnaires - example

• Serve as a primary point of contact for a
  specific project.
• A. I have not had education, training, or
  experience in performing this task.
• B. I have had training in performing this task
  but have not yet performed it on the job.
• C. I have performed this task on the job.
• D. I have performed this task as a regular
  part of my job.
• E. I am considered an expert in performing
  this task.

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Essays or KSAs

• KSAs - Different from anything in the private
  sector.
• Think of competitive, merit-based employment.
• Prove your qualifications and address specific
  KSAs related to the job.
• Volunteer experience counts on the Federal
  Resume.

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WRITING KSAs

• KSAs are the specific knowledge, skills and
  abilities required to carry out the major
  responsibilities of the position.
• You will be asked to address the KSAs required
  for a position your KSA statements may help
  distinguish you as the most qualified candidate.
• Agencies use KSAs as examples of your writing
  skills.
• KSAs highlight the breadth and scope of your
  related experience.
• Be accurate, truthful error-free proofread
  carefully!

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KSA Response Approach CCAR

• Context
• Describe the specific problem you had to
  address. What did you have to solve, resolve,
  respond to, handle, etc?
• Challenges
• Describe the factors that contributed to a
  particular challenge such as budget cuts, new
  legislation, new organizational goals, etc.?
• Action
• Describe the steps you took to resolve the
  problem. Stay away from the ordinary be
  extraordinary in your response!
• Result
• Describe the outcome of your actions. What
  was the difference you made. Highlight the BEST!

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WRITING KSAs CCAR format Context,
Challenge, Action, Result

• Write KSAs as essays, in paragraphs (2-3),
• generally in 1st person.
• Be specific numbers length of time results of
  effort.
• Be sure to use KEYWORDS in vacancy announcement
• http//www.opm.gov/fedclass/html/gsseries.asp
• See KSA Workbook/Sampler in Career Library
  on-line resources, Find a Job Federal,
  http//careers.gmu.edu/links/index.cfm.

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Sample KSA

• Ability to communicate in writing

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KSA Response Example

• Context As the Newsletter Editor in my
  living-learning community, I was responsible for
  writing articles and editing submissions
  published in our monthly newsletter.
• Challenges Our community wanted to use the
  newsletter as a means for reaching alumni of the
  program with the goal of increasing their
  involvement in the community. Before I started as
  Editor, we had never had a submission from an
  alum.
• Action - I decided to focus the first newsletter
  of the year entirely on alumni accomplishments,
  with a message throughout encouraging alumni to
  submit articles and pictures.
• Result Over the course of the year when I was
  Editor we received an average of five alumni
  submissions per newsletter. Additionally, alumni
  rated the quality of the newsletter higher than
  any other year.

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WHEN APPLYING, BE SURE TO..

• Follow ALL directions EXACTLY as they are
  outlined in the vacancy announcement
• Use contact information for questions
• Submit all information as a complete package at
  same time

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What Happens Next

• Agencies evaluate all candidates qualifications
• Produce a list of qualified candidates
• Select candidates for interviews
• Like other organizations, agencies interview
  candidates
• All require some level of background check or
  security clearance

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REMEMBER TO.

• Do your research!
• If you have questions, contact the hiring agency.
• Be persistentbut patientand remain flexible.
• Think creatively.
• After the interview, follow up with a thank you
  note.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Review Find a Job-Federal
• http//careers.gmu.edu/ (A-Z index, F and
  G)
• Partnership for Public Service
• http//www.makingthedifference.org
• GMU Career Library (348 SUB I)
• Meet with your Career Counselor
• Network with family, friends, neighbors,
  professors, classmates, alumni