By: Kirsi
Part One: USAJobs Search
From the Forest Service to the FBI and from NSA to NASA all prospective government employees use the same common application on the USAJobs.gov website. USAJobs is the one stop shop to view all career openings in every agency in the US Government. Being the top employer of US Citizens, the US Government is a perfect place to jump-start your career in any discipline. Psychiatrist as a Foreign Services Specialist, Senior Technical Advisor for the Department of Energy and Credit Union Examiner are among positions found on USAJobs. College undergraduate positions as a Pathways Intern (Co-Op Co-operative Education) are available at various agencies leading up to positions requiring previous employment and leadership experience. Once you find your dream job, prospective employees are recommended to use the Resume Builder on USAJobs to apply for the positions posted. In this three part blog post series I first will share how to use USAJobs as a job search website, second divulge on how to make a stellar resume using the Resume Builder and last expand on unique opportunities college students have with the US Government.
Using USAJobs for Job Search
The home page of USAJobs provides a simple job search offering to sort open positions by keyword and location. If you do not yet have a position or agency in mind and you would like to browse based on your interests you can use the Advanced Search. By clicking under the “Search Jobs” tab in the top right corner you will find the “Advanced Search“. The advanced search allows you to narrow down positions based on your major, previous experience, and work environment preferences.
If you are set on working in a particular city or country USAJobs is testing a job search you can perform by clicking a location on a world map. By clicking under the “Search Jobs” tab in the top right corner of the home page you will find the “Map Search”.
Once you find a job of interest scan through its requirements to make sure that you qualify. Do not weed yourself out. If you believe you meet most of the preferred qualifications apply anyway and give the hiring manager the final say. Another important component of the USA Job posting is the application deadline. Often positions on USAJobs are only open for one week due to high visibility and popularity of positions. Since the job opening window is so short it is wise to have a resume ready on hand at all times. That way when the small application window opens only small tweaks would be made to cater your resume to the position. Resume creation will be expanded on in part two, however, we will step through how to make a Profile on USAJobs.
Job Position Alert Emails
By making a profile on USAJobs you can save a position of interest and get updates via email when positions you are interested in are open. To make a profile click “Create an Account” in the top right corner of the home page.
Once you are done creating your profile your “My Account” page will look similar to this…
To get email alerts when intriguing positions are posted click the “Saved Searches” button on the right hand side of your “My Account” page. Click “Create a new saved search” in the middle of the “My Account” page. You will be prompted to answer questions about the opportunity you would like to be alerted about. You can choose the frequency that you are alerted via email.
These are the basic search fuctions USAJobs provides to find your dream Government career. In the next two posts I will expand on how make an eye catching resume using the Resume Builder and talk about unique opportunities college students have with the US Government.
Of Possible Interest:
Peer Into Your Career 