The Student's Federal Career Guide: 10 Steps to Find and Win Top Government Jobs and Internships

Introduction to Student's Federal Career Guide

Why go Federal?

If you’re reading this book, you are probably aware that the private industry job market is a jungle. This is especially true for recent graduates—today, college graduates are more likely than high school dropouts to be unemployed. Having a college degree no longer ensures that you will have the job of your dreams after graduation. In fact, in today’s competitive job market you may find yourself in competition with those who have multiple advanced degrees or 5 to 10 years of job experience!

Your choice to pursue a job in government is a smart move. The United States federal government is the largest employer in the U.S. The government employs 2.6 million people in jobs that range from biology to art restoration to law enforcement. In addition, the average federal employee is over 46 years of age, and two of every five are eligible now to retire. Agencies are scrambling to find a new, younger workforce …YOU!

Work in the federal government is often more financially rewarding than work in private industry. The average entry level starting salary in government is $26,000 to $37,000 per year. The government may also offer full benefits: including comprehensive health insurance, 401K with matching funds, 10 paid holidays annually, plus 13 days paid vacation to start! Agencies also have the discretion to pay you a signing bonus or pay your student loan debt. In addition, the federal government often offers more workplace flexibility than corporate America. All of these factors add up to a great opportunity for a successful and rewarding career opportunity for you.

Kathryn Kraemer Troutman For more than 30 years, federal job search and federal resume-writing expert Kathryn Kraemer Troutman has assisted jobseekers with landing jobs with the US government, our nation's largest employer. Her expertise in this marketplace led to Troutman being nicknamed the Federal Job Search Guru. Troutman was also a pioneer in developing the streamlining the format now accepted by government agencies.

Kathryn started The Resume Place, Inc. writing and typesetting resumes for law students from Washington, DC universities. As the Monster.com’s Federal Career Coach for the Public Service/ Government Board, many of her questions are from college graduates who are struggling to find career opportunities and who are having trouble figuring out the job titles that are correct for their major.

In 2003, Troutman's book Ten Steps to a Federal Job was recognized as the Best Career Book at the Publishers Marketing Association Awards. Her best-selling title, the Federal Resume Guidebook, is now out in an all-new 3rd edition, and she has also created a companion CD-ROM of federal resume templates/samples.

Kathryn writes and publishes books on Federal Job Search for current federal employees, mid-career/first-time applicants and now students who are seeking their First Federal Job. Kathryn@resume-place.com

Emily K. Troutman Emily Troutman graduated from the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology, and she has since directed her career toward writing, publishing, public policy and international affairs in the Middle East. Emily will complete her Master of Public Policy in May 2005 from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota.

It was Emily who conceptualized this book's first-ever "Find Your Federal Job" chart, which combines college majors with desirable federal job titles. Emily began as a editorial consultant for the book, reading early chapters and offering changes in order to keep the text relevant for students. Impressed with these ideas, Kathryn realized that her daughter should be co-author, especially since Emily was in the midst of what became a successful search for a federal career internship. Write to Emily at Emily@resume-place.com.