6 Tips to Find a Job With the Federal Government

Federal government employment in your sights? Job relocation to D.C. is not required if you know the facts.

Talk to practically anyone who has hunted for a job with the federal government, and he or she will tell you the hiring process can be painfully slow and bureaucratic. And, following the government shutdown and pay freezes last year, why would anyone want to work for Uncle Sam?

There are lots of good reasons to work in the public sector. This year, for example, the federal government is expected to hire around 95,000 new workers, up from 80,000 last year, and more openings are expected. Roughly a quarter of the 2.1 million federal civilian workers are now eligible for retirement, and as the economy improves, more workers may be headed for the exits.

When someone retires, “an agency doesn’t automatically want to fill that with someone younger and less experienced,” says Tim McManus, vice president for education and outreach for the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit that works to increase knowledge about federal careers. “They want someone who can hit the ground running.”

Even if you don’t live in or around Washington, D.C., or have no desire to, that’s fine — as four out of five federal government jobs are based outside the nation’s capital. In fact, more than 50,000 government employees work abroad.

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