Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Dateline: 02/20/98
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) does pretty much the same things the Human Resources department at any other company does. They recruit, interview, and promote employees. They oversee their company's merit pay and retirement programs and see to it that all employees and applicants are treated fairly and according to the law. Oh, there are a couple of little differences; the OPM's "company" is the US Federal Government and they take care of over 2,847,000 employees worldwide.
If you work for the US Federal Government, or want to, the
OPM Web site should
definitely join U.S. Government Info/Resources in your bookmark file.
Resources for Job
Seekers
Searching for jobs in
USAJobs,
OPM's job openings database, is easy and designed to help you find the right
job quickly.
Start by checking out Qualification Requirements for Federal Jobs and How to Apply for a Federal Job. Veterans need to look at Veterans' Preference and Veterans and Uniformed Services for more information on benefits and hiring preference.
Next, get yourself a copy of form OF-612 Application for Federal
Employment.
Download OF-612 from the OPM Web Site
Information
on filling out the
OF-612
OF-612 in plain text
Now, on to the Job Openings Page where you select the job category you're looking for. Choose from Professional, Senior Executive, Clerical & Technical, Entry Level, Trades & Labor, or Summer Jobs.
This will take you to a form where enter details about the desired job and your work background. Specifically, you will select:
- A Job Type (Engineering, Medical, Administrative, etc.)
- An Optional Keyword
- Your Job Experience/Education
- The Salary Range you're looking for
- The Location where you would like to work
- Whether or not you are a current or passed Federal Employee
Here's a link to the Job Search Page for Professional Careers as an example.
Not long after hitting the "Submit" button, you'll have a nice listing of job openings that fit the criteria you entered.
Find a good one? You may be able to apply for it online at OPM's Online Application page.
While most Federal Agencies list their openings with OPM, not all do, and
many agencies post their jobs first on their own Web sites. To check openings
at specific agency Web sites, take a look at my
Job
Openings at Specific US Government Agencies page.
Resources for Federal Employees
Hey, you might not even have to go to work today! Federal Employees in the
Washington, DC area can check the
DC Area Federal Gov't
Operating Conditions page for current weather and notice of any
associated office closures.
For the latest news of actions impacting Federal Employees, you'll find OPM News Releases and the latest salary survey data in the 1988 SALARY AND WAGE Tables.
Need to get away? Start by downloading a Standard Form 71, Request for Leave or Approved Absence and check out the rules of the Family & Medical Leave Act of 1993 which allows you extended leave if necessary. If your leave is going to be for medical reasons, you should download the Sample Medical Certification Form.
American Veterans, you receive preference in certain areas of Federal hiring
and employment. For details, visit the
U.
S. Office of Personnel Management Veterans Information and the
Vet
Guide.
Federal Workforce Statistics
Here a just a few interesting facts from OPM's
FACT BOOK: The Typical
Civilian Federal Employee:
The "typical" full-time Federal Employee is 45.2 years old and has worked for the government for 16.3 years. Average annual salary (full and part-time) is $43,319 worldwide and $55,572 in the Washington, DC Metro area.
From the FACT BOOK about the Federal Workforce you'll find that out of 2,847,000 employees:
56% are men - 44% are women
39% have earned college degrees
7% are legally disabled
26% are veterans
29.1% are minorities as follows...
- Native American - 2%
- Hispanic - 6.1%
- Asian/Pacific Islander - 4.3%
- Black - 16.7%
93% work full-time
11.1% are Supervisors or Managers
86.1% hold white collar jobs - the top 5 being:
- Secretary (61,045)
- Computer Specialist (53,451)
- Clerk & Assistant (53,336)
- Administration (43,661)
- Management (38,582)
13.9% hold blue collar jobs - the top 5 being:
- Material Handler (14,136)
- Aircraft Mechanic (11,097)
- Custodial Work (10,202)
- Maintenance Mechanic (10,084)
- Heavy Equipment Mechanic (9,575)
96.6% work in the USA, with
15.0% working in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area.
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