Government jobs are easy to find. They are posted in classified ads, magazines, Internet job sites and government job listing boards. The hard task involves trying to understand what the job actually entails. While government uses what are known as standard job definitions, these paragraphs and descriptions don’t always clearly explain what is expected from a candidate.
Getting a Hold of the Duty Statement
Most civil service systems in government have specific requirements for job documentation. One of these required documents is the duty statement. A standard duty statement spells out the job position classification, where it generally will work, and the percentage of time spent on critical duties, spelled out in some detail. A candidate can then use this information to determine if he is a good match for the position or if he’s totally out in left field.
The Advertisement
Don’t forget the job advertisement itself. While classified ads tend to be truncated quite a bit due to word limits, the official job advertisement for a government position tends to be much more detailed. Much of this information can provide additional information beyond a duty statement in terms of what an agency is looking for in a successful candidate. Advertisements also frequently include critical knowledge, skills and attributes that as a minimum successful candidates must have for consideration.
Org Charts
Organizational charts of a particular government office should not be ignored either. While such diagrams may seem simplistic in terms of information, they provide signals as to whether an office may be in a hot zone or functioning out in the network boondocks. The number of positions involved also tell a candidate whether the open position is in a small, intimate group or a simple cog in a large group of similar employees. All of these dynamics shape how the candidate will work in an agency and what importance is given to the work produced.
Calling Up the Manager
Believe it or not, many hiring managers and contacts can give a candidate an inside idea in five or ten minutes what government job involves. Typically, government job ads place a personnel phone number as the contact, which usually goes to a dead end for specific job information. However, if a candidate can find a separate contact for particular program that is doing the hiring in an agency, then he can connect with the hiring manager to get an inside scoop. This option is rarely used, but it’s perfectly allowable as a source of job information. Some managers love to talk about what they are hiring for, getting an idea of potential candidate at the same time. Some don’t. But the worst that can happen is the call doesn’t get responded to, which is not a big loss at all.
Conclusion
Hiring information in government agencies is not always the easiest to find, despite the fact that government frequently touts being transparent to taxpayers. That said, if a candidate understands what documents to hunt down, then the search becomes far easier. Much depends on understanding how the particular government agency hiring process works.
Sources:
“The Book of U.S. Government Jobs,” Dennis V. Vamp, 10th Edition, Bookhaven Press, February 2008.
“Career Development Center,” Fedcareer.info, November 8, 2007.
“Sample Position Description for Web Staff,” USA.gov, 2009.
“2009 Salary Tables and Related Information,” U.S. Office of Personnel Mngmt, 2009.