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Introduction to
Government Employment

Excerpted from The Book of U.S. Government Jobs: Where They Are, What's Available & How to Get One by Dennis V. Damp


Uncle Sam employs over 2,980,000 workers and hires an average of 350,000 new employees each year to replace workers that transfer to other federal or private jobs, retire, or stop working for other reasons. Average annual salary of all full-time employees exceeded $39,000 as of March 1994. The U.S. Government is the largest employer in the United States, hiring 2.5 percent of the nation's civilian work force. Job hunters will discover that approaching the federal government is now far less intimidating than it was last year. Significant changes were implemented to streamline the hiring process, including:

  • Resumes and new simplified optional forms have replaced the dreaded six-page SF-171 Federal Application.

  • Federal registers, lists of rated job applicants, were abolished. Job seekers can now apply direct to many agencies.

  • Civil service tests were thrown out for 110 professional and administrative occupations.

  • Uncle Sam entered the information superhighway on the Internet with state-of-the-art electronic job information networks, touch screen computers, electronic bulletin boards, and 24-hour-a-day telephone job vacancy request lines.

  • Student employment was consolidated and streamlined into two programs: the "Student Temporary Employment Program" and the "Student Career Experience Program."

You need to know how to take advantage of the federal hiring system and recent changes to successfully land the job you want in the government.

Even when you consider the proposed cuts of the Clinton/Gore National Performance Review (NPR), tremendous job opportunities remain for those who know how to tap this lucrative job market. All government hiring is based on performance and qualifications regardless of your sex, race, color, creed, religion, disability, or national origin. The NPR announced plans to eliminate 252,000 (possibly more) federal employees by 1999. This number is large by any standard; however, you must look at the overall federal employment picture. Fifty thousand positions on average will not be filled each year for five years. Most of the positions will be eliminated through attrition. Uncle Sam employs an average of 350,000 (non-Postal) new workers each year to replace employees that transfer to other jobs, retire, or stop working for other reasons. In 1993, there were 469,885 new hires government-wide. Considerable job opportunities will remain for those willing to seek them out. The federal civilian workforce is projected to remain close to 2,800,000 after downsizing.

Actually, more entry level positions may become available due to the administration's strategy to reduce costs by eliminating a large number of management positions and reducing the supervisor-to-employee ratio to 10 employees for every supervisor. Currently, many agencies have supervisory ratios of 6 to 1 or less.

Over 350,000 federal employees were eligible for regular or early retirement in 1994. Attractive early retirement incentives have enticed thousands to leave. When employees bid on retirement vacancies, entry level jobs are created.

The Book of U.S. Government Jobs walks you through the latest government-sponsored and private company job information networks including available electronic bulletin boards, self-service job information computers, the 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week telephone information systems, toll-free services, (TDD) telephone device for the deaf systems, computer-based reference systems, and explores all facets of the federal job search.

Readers will find up-to-date information on how the federal employment system works from an insider's perspective and how to locate job announcements through various methods and resources.

The book will guide you step by step through the federal employment process, from filling out your first employment application to locating job resources and hiring agencies.

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