Federal Employment Resources

Revised 2010 by ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment

The official job site of the U.S. Federal Goernment is
USAJOBS

You can
search USAJOBS by series:

The 1400 Series covers positions for librarians and archivists:

1410 - Librarian

1411 - Library Technician

1420 - Archivist

1421 - Archives Technician

1499 - Library and Archives Student Trainee

The 2200 Series covers information technology positions:

2210 - Information Technology Management

2299 - Information Technology Student Trainee

Some entry level jobs and internships with the federal government are listed at

STUDENTJOBS.

Consideration for employment in many federal libraries requires establishing civil service eligibility which can add another layer of procedures to the job search. Some civil service jurisdictions require written and/or oral examinations; others assign a ranking based on a review of credentials.

Jobs are usually filled from the top candidates on a qualified list of applicants. Since the exams are held only at certain time periods and a variety of jobs can be filled from a single list of applicants (e.g., all Librarian I positions regardless of type of function), it is important to check whether a library, in which one is interested, falls under civil service procedures.There are some "excepted" agencies, which are not required to hire through the usual Office of Personnel Management channels. While these agencies may require the standard forms, they maintain their own employee selection policies and procedures.

For help with navigating federal procedures in getting a job, attend the 'Jobs in Federal Libraries' workshop. Sponsored by the
Federal and Armed Forces Libraries Round Table of ALA, this workshop is usually held on the Friday of the ALA Midwinter Meetings and Annual Conferences. Visit the events page for the current conference to get details.

Some government agencies that list open positions at USAjobs.gov:

• Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services on USAjobs.gov
• Customs and Border Protection listings on USAjobs.gov
• Department of Homeland Security listings at USAjobs.gov
• Food and Drug Administration listings on USAjobs.gov
  
  

Career information for a variety of governmental agencies:

• Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• Central Intelligence Agency
• Coast Guard
• Congressional Budget Office
• Defense Intelligence Agency
• Department of State
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (USAjobs search)
• Federal Protective Service
• Food and Drug Administration (USAjobs search)
• Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (USAjobs search)
• International Monetary Fund
• Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government
• Mission to the United Nations
• National Institutes of Health
• National Science Foundation
• National Security Agency
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Organization of American States
• Pan American Health Organization
• Pentagon Force Protection Agency
• Postal Service
• Secret Service
• Tennessee Valley Authority
• United Nations Secretariat
• World Bank and IFC

Applicants should attempt to make personal contact directly with federal agencies in which they are interested. This is essential in the Washington, D.C. area where over half the vacancies occur.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Federal Jobs Digest Online newsletter about federal jobs.

Careers In Government is a private company specializing in recruitment for public sector organizations in America and abroad.

A-Z Index of Government Departments and Agencies

The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress--the world's largest and most comprehensive library--is an excepted service agency in the Legislative Branch and administers its own independent merit selection system. Job classifications, pay, and benefits are the same as in other Federal agencies, and qualification requirements generally correspond to those used by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The Library does not use registers, but announces vacancies as they become available. A separate application must be submitted for each vacancy announcement. For most professional positions, announcements are widely distributed and open for a minimum period of 30 days. Qualification requirements and ranking criteria are stated on the vacancy announcement.