According to information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 263,000 jobs in April 2019. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent. Besides, the official unemployment rate has been below 4 percent for more than a year. Those rates indicate that economics remains stable and even demonstrates a modest increase. Despite this, 6.0 million people still unemployed and 4.7 million people in part-time jobs want full-time work.
Average U.S. worker’s salary varies based on gender, education, occupation, industry, and other factors. The median wage for workers in the United States in the first quarter of 2019 was $905 per week or $47,060 per year for a 40-hour workweek. This means if you want to raise your social status and average salary, you should take some steps.
According to statistics, the most popular job searches web-resources, 75 percent of candidates eliminated by their resume alone. This percent is higher for the federal resume. We’ll tell you how these statistics can affect your life and why today is auspicious timing to contact federal resume experts to boost your federal career.
The Difference Between Federal and Private-Sector Jobs
Today, more than 2 million employees work for the federal government. It fills nearly 90,000 jobs each year — not counting the military or U.S. Postal Service. This year in the federal sector, employment increased by 28,000. The gain was mostly due to the hiring of 25,000 temporary workers to prepare for the 2020 Census.
The scope of federal job specialties is rather broad:
- public school teachers
- doctors
- technicians
- builders
- USPS postal workers
- sanitary inspectors
- accountants
- programmers
Many other jobs could be civil servants as well. In short, if your employer is a government agency (at the city, state, or country level), you are a government employee. Government work can be performed at the federal, state or local levels. This type of job provides good working conditions and a generous employee compensation package. Benefits include medical insurance, vacation and sick time, pensions, healthcare, etc. Also, federal employees have compensations for public transport expenditures.
If we compare the compensation of employees in the private sector and federal civilian employees, we’ll get conflicting results. It causes the difference in the level of education and work experience between equal seemingly position. But if we use a full level playing field for both sectors ‘area, we’ll have the following results.
Federal civilian workers who have a bachelor’s degree gained 5 percent more, on average, in the federal government than in the private sector. Federal civilian workers who have a high school education earned 34 percent more than similar workers in the private sector.
The situation for federal workers with a professional degree or doctorate is quite different. They earned 24 percent less, on average than their private-sector counterparts.
Small research conducted by us using the data from Indeed and USAJOBS websites confirms this statement. We chose an example of a vacancy for an aviation inspector and compared the amount of compensation offered by employers.
How to Simplify the Process of Being Employed in the Federal Sector?
The government aims to hire top professionals while respecting legal rules – the hiring system designed in such a way as to try to ensure fairness to all. The vast majority of job announcements are posted on USAJOBS site.
The process for filling federal government jobs is substantially different regular recruitment process.
- The public policy in employment aimed at creating opportunities for veterans. This is why preference in employment given to veterans, despite on fact that other candidates have the same set of skills and years of experience.
- You should meet the requirements and have specialized relevant experience.
- Most organizations are using an occupational questionnaire as a screening tool to determine if you have the minimum qualifications for the job. It’s important to include in your awards and achievements.
- Your resume should include terms, but not too much, avoid overwhelming the HR specialists;
- It is quite common, federal resume requires to include specific details such as:
- your social security number;
- job start and end month and sometimes day;
- employer addresses;
- salary information;
- supervisor names and phone numbers;
- college GPA and graduation dates;
- high school education;
- all training, including course name, date, and number of hours
6. Federal job applications demand adherence to strict formatting guidelines and should include 4-6 pages.
Every time you submit a resume, you should consider including a cover letter. A cover letter serves as an introduction that shows your professionalism, explains your interest in the job and matches your qualifications to the employer’s needs. And just as with a resume, the cover letter should be tailored specifically to each job. In a cover letter, you should contact a specific person. In several sentences tell why the employer should choose you. Briefly describe your experience and your skills that will positively affect government activities.
Given the quality and the quantity of information to be incorporated into the federal resume, we recommend addressing federal resume experts. Most federal resume writers have considerable experience and a deep understanding of a federal hiring process. They analyze a target vacancy announcement for keywords, emphasize your accomplishments, relevant experience, and skills. Professional federal resume writers have special required education and certification. With their help, you will save you time in resume writing and also minimize the percent of rejection.
About the author
Linda R. Bedford
Linda is a Professional Resume Writer and Veteran Transition Specialist. Her expertise range across a large spectrum of industries. She loves coaching with people and helps job-seekers in transitioning to their next and best chapter.