While USAJobs and individual agency job sites may be a boon for job seekers seeking employment in public service, something job seekers cannot find on USAJobs is information about future government- or agency-wide hiring initiatives. Unlike private sector hiring, which can be driven by the strength of domestic and world markets and can fluctuate wildly, federal hiring is scheduled and strictly regimented—each year agencies must submit budget requests which, sometimes, provide information about hiring initiatives in stunning detail. Although having this information may not, in itself, get you a job in public service, it could provide you with an unbelievably reliable lead and a huge leg up over the competition.
You might wonder, “Where can I find a copy of an agency’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year?” Derrick Dortch of The Washington Post recommends simply going to the agency’s website. From the Federal Air Marshal’s request for an $85M for additional personnel to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s request for a $592M appropriation which would support 50 additional full-time permanent employees, agency budget proposals are ripe with information about future hiring plans. Dortch comments, however, that even with such information in hand, it is important that prospective employees know how to use it, and issues the following four rules:
- Do your research, and start a targeted job search. Dortch recommends that even if the positions outlined in an agency’s budget proposal have yet to appear on USAJobs (keep in mind that Congress has yet to pass a new budget for FY2011) pay close attention to information in the proposal about in which areas the agency will be hiring. Dortch comments, “Some of these agencies are quite specific and state they want scientists, lawyers, investigators, acquisition specialists.” “If you are in one of these specialized areas,” says Dortch, it is important that you “begin a targeted job search in that agency.”
- Make contact with the agency. Dortch suggests that job seekers reach out to “the human resources office in agencies” they’re “interested in and talk about coming openings.” In addition to this, Dortch recommends that job seekers tap individuals in their network who might have information about forthcoming positions or who may have agency contacts. Dortch observes that an innumerable number of people “are connected to various branches of the government through friends, family, or a church member.”
- Attend recruiting events. Attending a career fair, allowing an agency recruiter the opportunity to put a face with a name, can go a long way, says Dortch: “if an agency is planning to attend a career fair, make sure you’re there, too.”
- Tailor your resume accordingly. Although it can be tedious, tailor your resume to meet the specifications of an individual vacancy announcement and ensure, asserts Dortch, that it is “packed with your success stories.”
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