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Job Seeker Help > Search Jobs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Search Jobs


 
Safe Job Searching

CONSUMER ALERT - FEDERAL JOB FRAUD
Information on job vacancies with the Federal Government and the Postal Service is provided free of charge. However, many Americans are victimized by scam artists selling information about Federal job opportunities. These scam artists place classified advertisements in newspapers, magazines, and periodicals offering--for a fee--to help Job Seekers locate and apply for Federal jobs. Some companies go so far as to use names that imply affiliation with the Federal Government, such as the "U.S. Agency for Career Advancement," or "Postal Employment Service."

For more information, click here.


Multiple Selections Some fields allow you to select more than one option. For multiple selections, hold down the CTRL key (the Command key for Macs) while clicking selections.

 
Keyword Search

Enter Keywords for the Job Titles and Job Descriptions you would like to see. Keywords are words, phrases, and terms that you can enter to describe educational and professional experiences, skills, and agency names. They are used to search for Jobs containing those words in their Descriptions. By typing in various Keywords, you will maximize your chances of retrieving Jobs that most accurately match your search.

Examples include: Job Title, Job Description, Agency Name, Vacancy Announcement #, Pay Plan, Control #, Occupation Code, Appointment Term, Duty Location.
For more information, consult our Keyword Search Tips.
Location Search Select Location(s) by clicking inside the Location Search box, scrolling to see selections, and clicking on your choices.

For multiple selections, hold down the CTRL key (the Command key for Macs) while clicking selections.

Type the first letter of the state to get closer to the state in which you wish to search.


Category Search

Select Categories by clicking inside the Category Search box, scrolling through the selections, and clicking on your choices.

The Category selection allows you to choose to view jobs for only the occupationsin which you wish to work. If you have no industry preference, you can choose Select all.

If you're unsure of which Keywords to use to describe your Job, you can use the Categories box to show all the Jobs in selected occupations. Once on the search results page, you can then use Keywords to refine these results to find the types of Job you are looking for.

For multiple selections, hold down the CTRL key (the Command key for Macs) while clicking selections.


Agency Search

Select Agencies by clicking inside the Agency Search box, scrolling through the selections, and clicking on your choices.

The Agency selection allows you to choose to view jobs for only the Agencies for which you want to work. If you have no Agency preference, you can choose Select All.

If you're unsure of which Keywords to use to describe your Job, you can use the Agency box to show all the Jobs in selected occupations. Once on the search results page, you can then use Keywords to refine these results to find the types of Job you are looking for.

For multiple selections, hold down the CTRL key (the Command key for Macs) while clicking selections.


Applicant Eligibility

There are only two areas of consideration for SES position and SES Candidate Development Program (SESCDP) vacancy announcements: 1) All Federal Civil Service Appointees or 2) All Qualified Persons.

Federal Civil Service Appointments:

  • The "civil service" consists of all persons who occupy positions in executive, judicial, and legislative branches, except positions in the uniformed services (the armed forces, the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, and the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Included are experts and consultants who occupy appointive positions, and individuals in the Postal Service and Postal Rate Commission. The District of Columbia Government is not part of the Federal Civil Service.
  • A person is considered to be in the civil service only if occupying a civil service position at the time of application. For example, an individual who is not a civil service appointee but has reinstatement eligibility to the competitive service is not eligible for a SES position or a SESCDP announced for "All Federal Civil Service Appointees."

Persons who have noncompetitive eligibility for career SES appointment include:

  • A former career SES appointee who has career reinstatement eligibility (to qualify, you must have successfully completed a one year career SES probationary period or been exempted from that requirement); and
  • A graduate of an OPM-approved Federal agency SES Candidate Development Plan who has been certified by a Qualifications Review Board.
NOTE: An agency has the option of applying the SES merit staffing process to persons who have noncompetitive eligibility for career SES appointment. If you have further questions about the SES, please consult OPM's SES Web Page.


Pay

The actual salary that an agency offers will be dependent on your qualifications. The general qualifications needed to receive that pay (and equivalent GS grade) are shown by the salary. Please see the announcement for specific education and experience requirements for the position.

For more information, click here.

Pay Grade Range General Schedule
Announcements are also classified by the Federal Government's General Schedule (GS) pay scale. As a result, announcements usually provide the salary as well as their GS equivalents. To search for positions by GS Grade Level, specify a low and high GS level using the provided drop-down lists. For example: To search for positions that fall within the GS-9 and GS-12 levels, select 9 (as the low) and 12 (as the high) values.

To review current Federal pay, please see the 2004 Locality Pay Charts.

Note: Grade Level search is not available on the Senior Executive Search page. Searching by Grade Level is currently done for annualized jobs only (not summer or seasonal jobs).


Series Search

Federal occupations are grouped into series that are given a numerical code for identification. This search allows you to search by that code.

Click here for a brief description of the occupations covered by each series.

Please use all 4 digits including any leading zeros when typing the occupational code. You may also search an occupational group by typing the first two digits (e.g. 08 for engineers).


General Schedule Occupational Groups

The General Schedule is the basic classification and compensation system for white collar occupations in the Federal Government as established by chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code.

Click here for more information on GS groups.


 
Sorting Your list of matching Jobs can either be sorted by date posted or by their relevance (how closely the Keywords match words within a Job Posting) to the search Keywords you entered. Choose the sorting method from the drop-down list.
Viewing Results Brief View: The following information appears for each Job in the Brief View: Date, Job Title, Agency, and Location.
Detailed View: The Detailed View displays all the information included in the Brief View, as well as the first couple of lines of the Job Description, the Job Type, the Job Status (e.g. Full-Time, Part-Time, etc.), and Salary. This View allows you to make a better decision on whether a Job interests you enough to want to read its entire description.
Search For Jobs Click this button to view the Jobs that match your Search criteria.

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