BEFORE YOU APPLY FOR A FEDERAL JOB, LEARN THE INDUSTRY’S LANDSCAPE

By Alex Harrington, Executive Director

Before you think about blasting your resume to a wide swath of federal job announcements, you need to learn about the federal job industry and how to navigate the hiring process. Here are four tips to improve your mastery in navigating the federal job landscape. 

1. Have a basic understanding of the U.S. Government and its three branches

Most job seekers who are vying for a federal career are applying for positions in the Executive branch, which consists of approximately 2 million federal civilians. You may be missing out on an opportunity in the Legislative and Judicial branches as well. You’ll be doing different work and supporting different missions depending on what branch you enter. Learn more about the U.S. Government and its branches at:

• Organizational Chart of the U.S. Government
• How the U.S. Government is Organized
• Branches of the U.S. Government (Infographic)

2. Learn the major groups of federal careers

Under the Executive branch there are more than 500 federal career fields to choose from. Before applying for a federal job, make sure to learn about what skills are in high demand, projected growth in employment numbers, median hour wage, annual income, etc. You can learn more about federal career fields at:

• Federal Executive Branch Occupations
• Career Outlook by Government career profiles
• O*NET OnLine Federal Occupations

3. Link college majors to careers

Have you ever wondered what you can do with your college degree in the federal government? Check out the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Field of Degree pages, which highlight data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau for a variety of academic fields. Learn more at:

• Field of degree info page
• Field of degrees
• Federal occupations by college major

4. Review helpful websites

The following websites can help you learn about the many occupations in the federal government:

• Go Government
• OPM’s Classification & Qualifications
• O*NET Resource Center
• USA.gov (Find a Federal Government Job)

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Please follow us on Twitter @FedCareer and join our Federal Career Connection page on LinkedIn or find us on Meetup at meetup.com/mbc-cnm.To get updates on upcoming workshops and career coaching sessions, visit https://federalcareerconnection.org/2021-fcc-calendar/

Author: Alex Harrington is currently a Federal civil servant and a Certified Career Services Provider and Global Career Development Facilitator. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a Persian Gulf War veteran.