Thousands of federal government jobs are advertised on any given day. With close to fifty percent of the federal work force eligible for either early or regular retirement there are abundant federal job opportunities. Jobs are available nationwide and overseas.
This site provides links to federal jobs by occupation, agency, and we include related state and local government, and private sector jobs to provide the largest selection of job opportunities available for your area. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) maintains the largest federal jobs data base and we link direct to their USAJOBS listings.
Why is it that some who land jobs with Uncle Sam have half the experience, education, and special qualifications that you have — and you’re still looking? Many who approach the federal sector lose out because they didn’t take the time to understand the federal hiring process. Others get frustrated by the required paperwork and give up prematurely. Decades later they will regret their impatience and wish they had done what it takes to land a high-paying and benefit-loaded government job.
Use the resources on this site to fast track you through the process from comprehensive federal job listings, how to prepare a comprehensive federal resume, prepare for interviews and everything in between.
2023 Pay Charts – 4.1% Increase
If you take the time to understand the differences between the private and public sectors, thoroughly complete your application package, and seek out all available job vacancies, your chances for employment will increase substantially. Start by exploring federal jobs listings on this website.
It pays to start your employment search early for federal jobs. Applications can take weeks to process and rate. It can take even longer if a civil service test is required. From the time you first identify an opening to actual interviews and hiring can take weeks to months in some cases even under recent hiring reform initiatives. All individuals interested in federal employment should start researching the system, identifying jobs, visiting agency Web sites, and preparing for tests — if required — months in advance.
Many job seekers find a job announcement, send in an application, then forget about the process until they receive a reply. Federal jobs are highly competitive and the more jobs you apply for the better your chances. Content, proper spelling, and grammar counts when submitting your online application and/or federal style resume.
Your application will be submitted online using the USAJOBS resume builder. The standard private sector resume isn’t sufficient to apply for most jobs, it lacks the detail necessary to be properly rated. You can compose your resume/application independently with the proper resources and knowledge or you can use a professional federal resume writing service.
I participated in many selection panels during my 35 years of government service and was a certified rating official for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). I also coordinated and/or conducted hundreds of job interviews for our organization. The first impression that a rating official has of a new applicant is reflected by his or her application package. I can tell you that thousands of applications that I reviewed during my career were poorly done and didn’t make it through the initial review.
Today, applications are completed on-line, and you are able to spell, and grammar check your work before copying and pasting your work experiences into the online resume builders. Content is the key, and you must tailor your application to the job announcement. If you don’t take time to compose a professional application, you won’t be rated high enough to be considered for an interview.
Take the time necessary to draft a coherent, clear, error free, and concise federal style resume as outlined in our federal resume section. With today’s word processors and spell check functions there isn’t any reason to send in an application with misspelled words, and the word processor grammar check functions are also very helpful.
If you don’t have the inclination or time to do it right, hire a service to assist you with your federal style resume. Notice that I say, assist you with your federal style résumé; it takes a lot of time and work for both the résumé service and client to complete a federal style résumé that will get results. So even if you hire a service to complete yours, understand that you will have to provide considerable input and devote time to reviewing drafts to get it right. Only those rated “Best Qualified” will be referred for interviews and eventually selected for a job.
Identify local agency offices and conduct informational interviews and send them a copy of your federal resume along with a short cover letter. In the letter thank them for the interview and let them know what jobs you are interested in. This is a good way to introduce yourself and your qualifications to a perspective employer. The more contacts you make the better. This is especially important if you qualify for a special hiring program such as the Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA) or disability programs.
You will find that you may qualify for many different federal jobs. Don’t overlook Wage Grade (WG) positions. When searching for vacancies online, review job announcements for all the job series that interest you and that you have the education and/or training to apply for. You will be surprised by how many you find. You can also review our online Occupation Listings or view our Agency Job Listings by occupational title as well.
Consider the electronics technician field. For example, all of the following job series require basic electronic technician skills:
General Schedule (GS) Jobs
GS-856 Electronics Technician
GS-802 Electronics Engineering Technician
GS-2101 Transportation Specialist (FAA System Specialists)
WG-2500 — Wire Communications Equip/Installation/Maintenance Family
WG-2502 Telephone Mechanic
WG-2504 Wire Communications Cable Splicing
WG-2508 Communications Line Installing/Repairing
WG-2511 Wire Communications Equipment Install/Repair
WG-2600 — Electronic Equipment Installation and Maintenance Family
WG-2602 Electronic Measurement Equipment Mechanic
WG-2604 Electronic Mechanic
WG-2606 Electronic Industrial Controls
WG-2698 Electronic Digital Computer Mechanic
Other WG Positions to Consider
WG-2800 Electrical Installation Maintenance Family (4 occupations)
WG-3300 Instrument Work Family (5 occupations)
WG-4800 General Maintenance Family (7 occupations)
Federal government job seekers can link direct to thousands of job vacancies by occupation or through our Department & agency listings and list of 141 agency web sites or visit USAJobs.
Use the vacancies listed on this site and our agency recruiting site listings to find more jobs nationwide and overseas. Individual agency personnel offices can also be contacted to determine if they are recruiting in your specialty.
Also, search related private sector jobs on our expanded jobs board to locate ALL jobs in your area.
Agencies recruit through government web sites including OPM’s USAJOBS. Many eliminated their direct general employment support lines. However, the majority of job announcements provide contact information including the staffing specialist’s names, phone number and email address on the announcement if you have specific questions about advertised jobs. You can contact these staffing specialists to ask general questions about employment in their agency.
Agriculture | 202/720-2791 | Other Agencies | |
Bureau of Prisons | 800/347-7744 | EEOC | 800-669-4000 |
Commerce | 202/482-2000 | FCC | 202/418-0130 |
CIA | 703/482-0623 | Federal Reserve | 202/452-3000 |
Dept. of Interior | 202/208-6702 | FTC | 202/326-2021 |
Dept. of Labor | 866/487-2365 | General Accounting | 202/512-3000 |
Dept. of Defense | 1-888-DOD-4USA | GSA | 202/501-0370 |
Education | 202/401-0553 | National Archives | 800/827-4898 |
Energy | 202/586-1234 | Social Security | 410/965-1234 |
EPA | 202/272-0167 | USA Jobs Hotline | 703-724-1850 |
FDIC | 877-275-3342 | ||
H&HS | 888/478-4340 | ||
HUD | 202/708-0408 | ||
Interior | 202/208-3100 | ||
Justice | 202/514-3397 | ||
Transportation | 202/366-4000 | ||
Treasury | 304/480-6144 | ||
U.S. Peace Corps | 800/712-3000 | ||
Veterans Affairs | 202/273-9730 |
Statistics for non-seasonal full-time permanent employees, excluding postal workers, FY 2021
STATE | COUNT |
Alabama | 37,386 |
Alaska | 10,398 |
Arizona | 38,087 |
Arkansas | 12,577 |
California | 152,466 |
Colorado | 36,848 |
Connecticut | 7,998 |
Delaware | 3,039 |
District of Columbia | 141,367 |
Florida | 89,504 |
Georga | 71,371 |
Hawaii | 23,453 |
Idaho | 7,731 |
Illinois | 44,760 |
Indiana | 22,610 |
Iowa | 8,042 |
Kansas | 15,652 |
Kentucky | 22,181 |
Louisiana | 19,537 |
Maine | 11,285 |
Maryland | 120,705 |
Massachusetts | 25,063 |
Michigan | 27,405 |
Minnesota | 16,795 |
Mississippi | 17,295 |
Missouri | 33,377 |
Montana | 8,589 |
Nebraska | 10,468 |
Nevada | 12,186 |
New Hampshire | 4,331 |
New Jersey | 24,758 |
New Mexico | 21,954 |
New York | 60,727 |
North Carolina | 42,772 |
North Dakota | 5,460 |
Ohio | 49,450 |
Oklahoma | 37,486 |
Oregon | 17,252 |
Pennsylvania | 62,366 |
Rhode Island | 6,864 |
South Carolina | 21,050 |
South Dakota | 7,547 |
Tennessee | 25,099 |
Texas | 132,952 |
Utah | 26,109 |
Vermont | 4,845 |
Virginia | 144,295 |
Washington | 53,211 |
West Virginia | 18,656 |
Wisconsin | 14,045 |
Wyoming | 4,977 |
Outside the U.S. | 34,113Unspecified |
Unspecified | 1,124 |
ALL | 1,869,986 |