Federal Government

Have you ever considered working for the federal government? Did you know that the federal government could offer career opportunities with competitive pay, job security, work/life balance and excellent benefits to almost all majors and interest areas? Learn more about the Benefits of Federal Service.

STEPS TO SUCCESS

Step 1: Identify your Options
Finding employment with the federal government can be challenging. You first need to figure out which agencies would be a good fit for someone with your background and interests.

• Federal Government Overview
• Explore Your Career Opportunities
• Careers by Interest Area
• Federal Jobs Titles by College Major
  To help you choose the right career field, USAJOBS has listed Federal jobs that are often filled by college graduates with appropriate academic majors. Use these job titles to search the Occupational Outlook Handbook (link below) for job related details.
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook
    (NOTE: Use A-Z Index rather than Search OOH:) Describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations.
• Federal Job Titles by Industry
  The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established occupational groups and series that are used to classify the work of positions. You can search job sites such as USAJobs and StudentJobs.gov with these group names and series numbers.
• Research Individual Agencies

Step 2: Gain Experience and Get your Foot in the Door
Do you think internships and co-ops are just for sophomores and juniors? Well, in the world of federal jobs, student opportunities are the best way to get your foot in the door no matter what year/level you are. You should start researching and applying for these employment opportunities as early as your sophomore year. But don't let that scare off you seniors and grad students... some of these programs are only for those who already have a bachelors or masters degree.

• Internships, Co-ops, Apprenticeships, and Scholarships
• Congressional Internships
  Visit the website of the Congressman/woman that you are interested in interning for. Internships are available in the congressional members Washington, DC office, as well as their district offices.
• Gubernatorial Internships
  Visit the Governor’s website for specific application process and timeline.
• Presidential Management Fellowship Program *Open to grad students only!*
  The PMF Program is a two-year post- graduate fellowship offering full-time service and pay/benefits and non-competitive assignment after completion. It designed to attract to the federal service outstanding graduate students (master's and doctoral-level) from a wide variety of academic disciplines who have an interest in, and commitment to, a career in the management of public policies and programs. For information regarding UTK’s nomination process:
  
  UT Nomination Official
  Shawna Hembree
  Career Services, Career Consultant
  100 Dunford Hall
  Knoxville, TN 37996-4010
  (865) 974-5435
  (865) 974-6497 (fax)
  sbhembree@utk.edu
  

Step 3: Find and Apply for Positions
The application process for each job will vary. Pay close attention to detail and start early!

• The Application Process

Additional Information

• MakingtheDifference.org
  Student-focused website designed as a tutorial for careers within the Federal Government. Contains guides for career exploration and internship/job seeking.
• Call to Serve
  A national campaign to attract college students to government positions. Provides information about government jobs and internships.
• Careers in Government
  Provides information on conferences, professional associations and public sector employment trends.
• FirstGov.gov
  Contains links to the home pages of departments, agencies, boards and commissions and quasi-official agencies. Also provides an organizational directory of the federal government.
• GovExec.com
  This site offers articles addressing current developments in federal government agencies, links to job and career information, associations for federal employees and labor relations.
• Students.gov
  Website with centralized information for student related services provided by the government. Career development resources include internship and fellowship information, armed forces information, volunteer opportunities, a resume builder and online application too, and much more.
• USA Jobs FAQs
  Contains federal job application tips, employment initiatives and information of special interest to students.
• Washington Post Government section
  Contains news and resources including career advice on civil service and defense/security careers, career profiles, and a search engine for government jobs.
• White House, Independent Agencies pages
  Alphabetical listing of links to federal agencies and commissions.
• Government Documents and Information
  UTK Library Government Reference
• Institute of Government Studies, Internet Resources Gallery
  Provides comprehensive listing of links to academic and research sites, executive, legislative, public policy and opinion sites, statistics and media resources.
• "Working for Uncle Sam" Tips on how to research and apply for federal jobs. From Career Center Article Archives.
• What Can I Do with This Major?
  While all majors are relevant in the Government you may want to view specific links under majors such as Political Science, Criminal Justice, Public Administration, etc.