We may receive compensation when you click on product links from our partners. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.
The largest employer in the U.S. is the government. Chief attractions of a government job include diversity of career options, employment stability, salary, and benefits–including retirement plans. More people are interested in pursuing careers in the government, particularly as baby boomers retire. Most government agencies have websites online with invaluable information that can be used to launch and grow a career, such as public administration. Applying these 5 insider tips for building a career in government can lead to public administration success through the years.
1. Explore the Diversity of Career Choices
Any job title found in the private sector, including public administration jobs, is mirrored in the government sector. Besides public administration careers, the government also employs other traditional and non-traditional careers, including the following: Accountants, administrative personnel, human resource specialists, IT positions, engineers, management, scientists, and homeland security.
Top employment search engines, search aggregators, and bulletin boards mirror job titles and buzzwords found on government career sites, such as the federal vacancies site USAJobs.gov.
2. Maximize Use of Employment Website Features
- Conduct government job searches using not only job title(s), but keyword(s). For example, “public administration” on USAJobs.gov will produce different search results than a particular job title. Results include a variety of agencies, departments, and job titles that employ someone with this background.
- Review, analyze and archive public administration vacancy announcements for entry-level jobs, mid-career jobs, and upper-tier positions. Announcements can be used for career management research and strategy. Announcements identify required knowledge, skills, and abilities for career progress, along with commensurate salary information. Announcements provide performance evaluation suggestions, such as key performance objectives and ideas for performance accomplishments.
- Incorporate vacancy announcement analyses into targeted employment communications. Revise applications, resumes, and cover letters using public administration keywords. Use knowledge and terms for interviews, objectives, accomplishments, and as a workload guide.
- Market finely tuned communication tools such as resumes and cover letters on Monster.com to increase Recruiter hits. Often, human resource offices have automated resume sorting to screen resumes by keywords. Automated systems will more easily deliver candidate resumes to recruiters when resumes mirror the website terminology for that career field.
3. Link into Career Ladder Keys
When using cross-functional keyword searches such as “public administration” on employment sites such as USAJobs.gov, a variety of job titles will appear, including “Public Affairs” titles. review duties that can be performed across fields. This applied knowledge can position public administration employees for vertical or horizontal moves within or beyond a particular job title.
The U.S. government is the largest employer in the U.S. for countless reasons. These 5 Tips for Building a career in Government can be applied to develop a successful public administration career through the years.Click To Tweet4. Explore Career Growth Plans via Opm.Gov
Career track information can be found on the Office of Personnel Management website (Opm.gov). When job skills searches identify job titles and careers, Opm.gov can provide everything an employee ever wants to know about a field, including the criteria used to demonstrate job skills or proficiency, and what it takes to move up to the next job level.
5. Set Strategic Public Administration Career Growth Plans
Both USAjobs.gov and Opm.gov can job seekers find entry-level, middle career, and senior position opportunities, abilities, and skills requirements. These requirements can lay the foundation and inform employees about training, education, experience, and skills that they need to achieve to advance. This same career growth information can be used when developing training goals, annual performance objectives, and annual performance accomplishments.
The U.S. government is the largest employer in the U.S. for countless reasons. These 5 Tips for Building a career in Government can be applied to develop a successful public administration career through the years.
