Federal

Federal employment offers a wide range of civilian job descriptions in many different career areas such as environmental conservation, national security, and medical research. The federal government is one of the country's largest employers, and it is expected to keep recruiting new hires in the near future.

Due to so many career choices, job seekers have good chances of finding at least one position that matches their interests and strengths as a career assessment test may measure. The federal government is split into over 100 diverse bureaus and agencies, each with its own duties and area of expertise. The primary requirement for employment with any of these federal government offices is U.S. citizenship, and other requirements can vary according to each career specialty. Some career areas such as geographic and environmental science have the greatest number of employees working for the federal government.

The federal government classifies its employment opportunities according to a system called the GS series. This system actually simplifies the process of matching educational backgrounds to a possible career within the government. Recent college graduates typically find at least one GS career section that closely matches their area of study. Additional good news about federal employment concerns the application process itself; government hiring managers view both paid and unpaid past experience as equally relevant. This practice is an incentive for both students and career changers to build up strong resumes in their chosen fields, even if some work is done on a volunteer basis.

Many federal jobs require a standard application along with a resume and sometimes an aptitude test for some openings. Some government bureaus have a required format for creating a federal resume and for including specific, detailed information on it. Most applications require descriptions of each job an applicant has held within the past ten years, including duties and responsibilities for each position. Some background research on putting together a federal resume can greatly increase an applicant's chances of landing an interview.

Federal employment offers a valuable chance for recent graduates to gain significant entry-level job experience that can be applied to advancing a new career. This type of experience is often through internships during either summers or academic years, and they can be either paid or unpaid at a specific agency's discretion. Competition for these federal internships can be intense for some positions, so early preparation for the application process is a must.