U.S. Government Jobs

With the current economic situation, finding a job can be difficult. The U.S. Government is one of the largest employers in the United States. The USAJobs website is available to help you find and apply for a U.S. Government job. There are thousands of available jobs listed and updated daily.

Like private industry, many government agencies fill their jobs by allowing applicants to contact the agency directly for job information and application processing. Even though the process may be similar, there are unique differences due to the federal laws, executive orders, and regulations that govern Federal employment.

Many years ago, applicants who passed the civil service test were placed on standing registers of eligible applicants maintained by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Applicants had to complete a standard Federal employment application form, the SF-171, to apply for all jobs. That process has changed as follows:

The Office of Personnel Management no longer maintains a register of eligible applicants and the SF-171 is no longer being utilized. Applicants can now mail, fax their resume, or apply online using their resume in My USAJOBS. An optional application for Federal Employment, the OF-612 is also available if you do not have a resume. Only a few job positions require a written test.

There are two classes of jobs in the Federal Government. These two types of jobs are known as Competitive Service jobs and Expected Service agency jobs.

The Competitive Service Jobs are under OPM's responsibility. These government jobs are subject to the civil service laws passed by Congress. These laws ensure that applicants and employees receive fair and equal treatment in the hiring process. They give selecting officials broad authority to review more than one applicant source before determining the best-qualified candidate based on job-related criteria. A basic principle of Federal employment is that all candidates must meet the qualification requirements for the position for which they receive an appointment. Agencies in the competitive service are required by law and OPM regulation to post vacancies with OPM whenever they are seeking candidates from outside their own workforce for positions lasting more than 120 days. These vacancies are posted on OPM's USAJOBS and in America's Job Bank (AJB).

The Excepted Services agencies are able to set their own qualification requirements. These agencies are not subject to the appointment, pay, and classification rules in Title 5, United States Code. However, they are subject to veterans' preference. Some Federal agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), have only excepted service positions. Other agencies may have some divisions or even specific jobs that may be excepted from civil service procedures. Positions may be in the excepted service by law, by executive order, or by action of OPM. Excepted agencies are not required to post their job announcements in USAJOBS.

When filling competitive services jobs, agencies can choose from three different groups of candidates. These groups include a competitive list of eligible applicants (ranked in order), that meet the minimum qualification requirements of the vacancy announcement. The second group is a list of eligible applicants that have civil service status. This list consists of applicants who are eligible for noncompetitive hire within the competitive service. These individuals presently or previously served under career-type appointments in the competitive service. They are selected under agency merit promotion procedures and can receive an appointment by promotion, reassignment, transfer, or reinstatement. The third group is a list of eligible applicants that qualify for a special noncompetitive appointing authority established by law or executive order. Examples of special noncompetitive appointing authorities include the Veterans' Readjustment Appointment (VRA), the special authority for 30% or more disabled veterans, and the Peace Corps.

Veterans often receive a 10-point preference when applying for a government job. Veterans' preference recognizes the economic loss suffered by citizens who have served their country in uniform in times of strife. This restores veterans to a favorable competitive position for Government employment, and acknowledges the larger obligation owed to disabled veterans. Historically, Congress has reserved preference for those who were either disabled, who served in combat areas or during certain periods.