Applying for Government Jobs in the Environment
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Applying for Government Jobs in the Environment | |
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Government jobs generally go through the civil service system. That means a neutral party screens applicants and only sends certain ones to the person who is actually doing the hiring. Many agencies require you to take a civil service test. If a test is required for the job the test score will be used first to choose applicants.
Usually the civil service personnel usually have to pick out a certain maximum number of applications to send in a "hiring packet" to the department that is actually hiring for the job. So out of 250 applications, the person doing the hiring might actually see only 30. Obviously, the fewer the applications, the better chance you have of making it through. To sum it up: your job is first to get through the system, and then to impress the person doing the hiring. This is a little different then applying to most private companies.
In order to get your application through the civil service system to the person doing the hiring, it is important to tailor each application to the specific job. Make sure that you read the requirements for the job and indicate specifically how you meet as many of those requirements as possible. You can be creative. Specify minimum requirements as best as possible in your application. Specify the "preferred" requirements in the application as space allows and in the cover letter. Often civil service people don't know much about environmental jobs, so make sure that you are obvious and that what you write is fairly close (but not verbatim) to what is on the job posting.
Government agencies often will attempt to screen out applicants that they think will only stick around for a few years in order to get on the job training and then leave. So if you send a resume in for a government position, and the objective on your resume says you want a job in private consulting, you might get "screened". Make the objective on your resume directly related to the position you are applying for, and maybe the next logical successor to that position in the agency. So if you list a career "Objective" on your resume, you need to change that field for each job you apply for.
Follow the application instructions to the letter. This sounds obvious, but many people don't do it. If they get a zillion applications, they can use minor errors in following of the instructions to "screen you out". If your application is perfect, you stand a better chance.
Fill out all of the fields that you can. Use n/a or none where applicable instead of leaving a blank field. Some offices will consider the application incomplete otherwise. For example: fill in the "qualifications" field with qualifications that match the requirements, DO NOT write in "please see resume", some agencies (like the state where I work) consider that an incomplete application. In Civil Service jobs, the application is more important than the resume when ranking applicants. They might not even read your resume, they may just forward it to the person who is hiring.
Many government agencies will accept photocopied civil service applications. One trick you can do is to fill out all of the application except for the fields which will change with the job, then photocopy the application. Then all you will have to do is to fill out the job specific information. Talk to your local copy center and see if they can match the paper size and color of the application, it may be worth the extra cost per copy.Always type out the application, never fill it out by hand. Remember, some positions get heavy responses. An illegible field in the application can be used as an excuse to reduce the number of documents that they have to deal with. If the instructions say to type it out and you fill it out by hand, you probably have about a 75% chance of getting "screened".
There is always a chance you'll get through if you make mistakes. Especially if the number of apps. is low, or the particular office has relaxed standards, but it is best not to take a chance. At the least, your application will stand out among the others as well written.
Next, if possible, study up on the job and ask other people who have been hired by that agency what to expect in the interview. In order to make the hiring practice fair, goverment agencies will very often ask a series of standard questions to each of the applicants during the interview (i.e. a "quiz", either written or verbal) in order to rank the applicants. In addition to testing your knowledge, this is so that if there are any questions about fairness later, they can produce the quiz results. Also be prepared to be interviewed by two or more people at once.
Finally, it is best to avoid excessive "horn tooting". Civil Service people couldn't care less if you are "a valuable addition to the team". They process applications all day and they want to read as little as possible. All they care is -do you meet the requirements?-. They will look for your qualifications and then forward the best qualified applicants to the person doing the hiring. Yes you want to be positive about the position, and sound confident, but keep it to a minimum. Write a sharp, intelligent, to-the-point letter. Sound like you know what you are doing.
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