Secrets of the Job Hunt

Jobs

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Keys to Finding Government Jobs

One factor that determines the likelihood of being hired by an employer is the number of positions that are available. With the Federal Government being the largest employer in the nation, job seekers are likely to find a good number of jobs online ready to be filled by those with a number of different talents.

A common misconception about government jobs is the fact that they are only available for those who have degrees in very limited fields. In actuality, positions with the government span a wide range of fields encompassing just about every career available in the private sector. With the Federal Government offering jobs for everyone from registered nurses to broadcast specialist, there is no one set type of individual that is particularly suited for government work.

One element that often stands in the way of job seekers looking for work with the Federal Government is the differences in the titles given to similar positions found in civilian offices. Because of this labeling difference, job seekers must be more flexible with their search. For example, those interest in marketing might want to look at positions entitled either market analyst or trade analyst, both of which deal with the marketing of products. Other positions, such as custodian or carpenter are more easily located.

To make matters more complicated, the Government does not often update the titles of their positions. For example, the Government does not use the term web designer despite the fact that people are hired to do this type of work. In most cases these positions are found under other titles such as public relations specialist, visual arts specialist, or information technology manager. Because of this, it is important to either look up a variety of different titles or focus one’s search on a broad occupational group. The job descriptions made available will usually clear up any confusion.

Understanding that the differences in job titles found in government work, USAjobs.com has made a dictionary available. Here one can find the definitions of many popular positions found with the Federal Government. This can be found www.usajobs.opm.gov. Also offered on the site are career related quizzes to enable jobseekers to relate their different interest to appropriate government job titles.

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