The federal government's new recruiting and retention programs are attracting applicants with lucrative incentives for current vacancies and for the many new jobs created by the new administration. Today federal agencies can pay off $60,000 of new hires student loans, negotiate starting salaries, and offer relocation allowances for critical vacancies.
Readers will find an expanded application and resume chapter that takes readers step-by-step through a typical job announcement and instructs readers on how to write a professional federal style resume and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) statements. Resume samples, compiled by the author and Kathryn Kraemer Troutman, the author of Federal Resume Guidebook, are included to guide job seekers through the often confusing application process.
Considerable improvements have recently been implemented to the archaic Civil Service examination process. Uncle Sam has finally dropped most general and administrative written entrance examinations and substituted an Occupational Questionnaire and/or Self Certification in most cases. New applicants for certain occupations may still be required to take written tests, but most agencies, other than the U.S. Postal Service, forgo testing and opt to use Occupational Questionnaires.
Agencies are still evolving since the September 11 attacks and the massive reorganization that established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS was established to consolidate law enforcement and security functions, and 22 agencies transferred significant operational functions and personnel to Homeland Security since its inception.
The impact of this reorganization and the increased security requirements in all agencies have changed government demographics. An entire chapter is devoted to law enforcement and DHS careers and the many job opportunities that are now available in the government's third largest agency. DHS employs more than 154,000 workers in hundreds of occupations.
Lucrative recruitment incentives are now offered, programs such as the Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA) were revised, and the student hiring program was reorganized under the eScholar program. This edition added information on the Senior Executive Service (SES), and all these changes expanded the new 10th edition to 352 pages.
The federal governmen's total civilian workforce now exceeds 2,800,000 and approximately 50 percent of the federal workforce is currently eligible for either early or regular retirement. This is creating significant employment opportunities for anyone interested in working for Uncle Sam. Over 1.3 million jobs will need to be filled as the baby boomers opt to leave government service.
This Tenth Edition of The Book of U.S. Government Jobs will help job seekers land high-paying, benefit-loaded, and secure government jobs. If you are looking for a position with good pay and excellent benefits, explore the high-paying and secure federal job market. The average salary now exceeds $70,000 , and you can work at thousands of stateside and overseas locations. Use this book's resources, including the Job Hunter's Checklist in Appendix A, to begin your personal job search.
