GOVERNMENT JOBS
Half of the nation's 1.8 million federal employees may be eligible to retire in the next 5 years - that's a lot of openings. Unlike some other employers, the federal government will never go out of business. There are employment opportunities in three levels of government in the United States:
- Federal - The federal government is made up of dozens of agencies and departments. Most of them post their jobs with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), but many have "direct hire authority" and hire people directly from their own human resource offices and websites.
- State - The 50 states (and U.S. Territories) have their own hiring systems.
- County, City and Local - There are thousands of local government entities. Many use their own human resource system and others use state-run job boards that list both private and public sector jobs. (In Utah, these listings are with the Utah Department of Workforce Services.)
BEWARE OF SCAMS! Don't fall prey to scam artists selling information about federal job opportunities. Information on job vacancies is free. You can find the information on any public job without a fee if you look in the links below or in the website of the government entity. Don't be enticed to pay money for what is available to you for free!
GOVERNMENT JOBS
Resources are available
in the Career Library
on this topicFederal Government Jobs
There are two primary sources of federal job openings and application information:
- USA Jobs is the official federal job website of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). It posts jobs for 50-60% of all federal agencies and departments. This comprehensive site provides you with worldwide job vacancy information updated daily from a database of more than 16,000 public service opportunities. This site also has additional helpful resources.
- a list of federal jobs by college major
- provides access to federal job application forms. (You must find out exactly which form or forms are required for a specific job application. In some cases, you may have to contact the requesting agency for agency-specific forms.)
- Ten Tips for Letting Federal Employers Know Your Worth - Reach each job announcement carefully and then check your resume to ensure it's complete and includes all the required information for the job. Next, capture how your experience matches the competencies and/or knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) required for the job. Follow these ten tips when describing your experience and skills.
- FirstGov.gov provides a list of links to federal departments and agencies. Use this list to contact these departments and agencies directly. You may find job listings not included in the USA Jobs database. In the upper left corner of the home page you can click on indexes of agencies and governmental units at many levels (federal, state and local).
There are also additional federal government resources and links that are valuable:
- StudentJobs.gov - Listing of federal internships, summer employment, co-op, and volunteer opportunities, plus plenty of part-time jobs. (Many internships, however, are listed only on an agency's own website.)
- FederalJobSearch.com - State-by-state information on federal job openings by occupation. Applicants can register to receive emails, choosing either a free or a subscription service.
State Government Jobs
- FirstGov.gov - a list of state and U.S. Territory Government Websites
- Utah.gov - Jobs working for the state of Utah
- Utah Department of Human Resource Management
- Utah Department of Workforce Services (all kinds of jobs from hard labor to professional)
- University of Utah
- StateLocalGov.net - Look for links within each county, city, or special district nationwide to find their employment opportunities.
- (Other Utah Job Listings - not government)
County, City and Local Government Jobs
- StateLocalGov.net - Look for links within each county, city, or special district nationwide to find their employment opportunities.
- Follow these link to cities and counties in Utah: