How to get a state job in the US, and why it is profitable - ForumDaily
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How to get a state job in the US, and why it is profitable

Фото: Depositphotos

Many people in the United States strive to get government jobs. Such a position is always a guarantee of stable wages, social security and generous benefits.

You can work for the state on three main levels: working for the federal government, for different state structures or for the city. The range of specialties is the broadest: in addition to directly senior government officials, White House employees and city halls of various cities, teachers, firefighters, journalists, electricians and even USPS mail employees work for the state.

ForumDaily talks in detail about who can apply for positions in the US government, what stages to go through to get a government job, and why it’s beneficial to become a government employee.

Big competition for big benefits

Elena Wilson has been working in the New York City Hall for a year now. She came to the USA 10 years ago. In her native Kazakhstan, she graduated from a pedagogical university and received a diploma as an English teacher. At first, in New York, she worked as a nanny in a Russian-speaking family, then as a secretary in a medical office. That’s when I realized: without local education, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to build a career in the USA. First, the girl evaluated her diploma received in her homeland (her education was equated to an American degree Master’s Degree). And then entered the Brooklyn College as an accountant.

“I was given credit for the basic general education subjects that I had already passed at the university in Kazakhstan. And I didn't have to take them again at Brooklyn College. There I studied subjects specifically related to the specialty “accountant”. The training took 3,5 years,” says Elena.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in accounting, she began to look for work. On Online New York City Hall has found more 30 vacancies related to accounting activities. In the course of the search, Wilson learned that for many vacancies you need to pass a special exam for aptitude. However, in some specialties, the City Hall of New York conducts them very rarely.

“I'm lucky! Since there hasn’t been an exam for my specialty for a long time, the mayor’s office recruited and is now recruiting everyone who has not even passed this exam. I registered on the site and sent my resume. About 3 weeks later I received an email from the Department of Transportation,” she recalls.

Elena came to the interview at the appointed time. Together with her, about 40 people also claimed different positions in the city Department of Transport. Through 2 hours of waiting, the girl was invited to an interview.

“There were 3 people on the commission. One of them asked me a lot of questions. And he even hinted that I came for benefits. I replied that at my last job I had much better benefits, he immediately calmed down and moved the conversation to another topic,” says Lena.

Elena Wilson works in the New York City Department of Transportation. Photos from the personal archive

The questions in the interview were classic: why do you want to take this position, where you see yourself in 5 for years, name your strengths and weaknesses or tell about what you did not write in your resume. The poll with addiction lasted about 20 minutes. A month later, Elena was called and informed that she had passed the interview.

“I didn’t even think that I had passed. After the call, they sent a letter where I had to confirm that I had no relatives in this Department. Well, I didn’t get a job based on connections. I signed this paper and sent it back to them,” Elena recalls the details.

The long process of collecting and sending papers began. City Hall employees asked for copies of basic documents needed for work - a passport and social security number, as well as proof of a diploma. For the last document, Elena turned to Brooklyn College, from where they sent her a sealed envelope. She sent a package of documents to the employer and also filled out a special form on the website with personal data. The newly hired City Hall employee spent more than 3 months completing all the paperwork.

“I have to work 7 hours a day. Very convenient schedule. I can choose what time I come to work - at 8 or 10 o'clock in the morning. This is very convenient for New Yorkers who use the subway and may be late for work,” says Lena.

She has free medical insurance, although she covers only part of the services. A trade union pays for medicine and dentistry. 2-weekly paid leave and 3-month decree is available for the girl. 10 years of experience in the city hall will help a young girl in the future to receive a good pension. By the way, the salaries of all employees of the city administration can be found on the website of the City Hall, where vacancies are published.

What is state work

Фото: Depositphotos

A programmer working on a military base, a journalist for the US government-funded Voice of America, a state park worker, or an electrician at a small town mayor's office are all government employees. In short, if your employer is a government agency (at the city, state, or national level), you are a government employee.

The range of specialties in government work is very wide. Government positions are not limited to heads of departments of government, state, or city government. Government employees also include public school teachers, technicians, construction workers, USPS postal workers, sanitation inspectors, accountants, computer programmers, and many, many others. Actually, any specialty can be in demand in the public service.

This type of work requires good working conditions and an extensive social package - employees are provided with health insurance, paid vacation and sick leave, as well as a more than decent pension. Like city employees, U.S. government employees can count on union assistance. Federal employees are paid separately for holidays, and money is allocated monthly for travel.

How to get a city job

At the moment, the staff of the city services of the city of New York has more than 325 thousand people. Vacant positions are available in education, health, construction, transport and in many other industries.

On the Online The New York City mayor's office has published information about who can apply for city jobs. It is important that some positions do not require citizenship - New Yorkers authorized to work in the United States can confidently apply. However, for most positions you still need to have a green card or be an American citizen. Therefore, it is very important to carefully study the employer’s requirements for a particular vacancy.

  1. Summary

Before you begin your job search, you need to write the correct resume, in which you must convince the employer to choose you. Tell us about your skills, emphasize exactly what your potential employer needs. Check out important resume writing tips.

In addition, do not forget to write a so-called cover letter (cover letter), in which in several paragraphs you need to talk about why you should take this or that position. The letter contains examples with figures that show certain results in a previous paper.

Photo: speedypaper.com

Preparing your resume and cover letter is of the utmost importance. Therefore, think twice: can you handle it yourself or is it better to delegate the work to professionals. “It is very important to “sell” yourself in your resume, emphasizing your strengths. But our work experience shows that not everyone succeeds in this,” says Irina Kokurina, president Global Professional Consulting. Her company, along with providing advice in the field of education, assists with writing resumes and cover letters. The latter, until recently, were not widely spread in the post-Soviet countries, therefore many immigrants have no idea how to write them correctly.

“Meanwhile, a well-written cover letter can sometimes play a decisive role in whether you will be hired for the job you want or not,” emphasizes Irina Kokurina.

  1. Search for vacancies

In order to find work in urban structures, you need sign up on the website of the City Hall of New York and create your account. In the future, you can receive all the news by email. It is important to know that you can submit an unlimited number of applications on the city’s website.

Several dozen different departments of the city are almost always looking for qualified specialists. The full list of vacancies is available. here. In addition, there is Advanced Search vacancies, which takes into account the wishes of applicants: salary level, place of work and much more.

As a simple example, consider a vacancy published by the Department of City Parks. All five boros of New York are required parks staff. Anyone can apply for this position, because the employer does not require special education. It is enough to show a diploma of graduation and be ready for physical work. Wages range from $ 15.50 per hour.

If you are hired, the mayor's office will charge a fee of $87. This is a mandatory payment for paperwork. You can submit your application for a vacancy and resume electronically, attaching a cover letter.

  1. Employment and education

Of course, getting a highly qualified job is not so easy. For example, if you want to take a position in the New York Department of Education, you must obtain a special state license or pass an exam - it all depends on the specific position. The mayor's office has very high requirements for vacancies for managers or executives. And this applies not only to city jobs, but also to vacancies at the federal or state level.

In addition, to get a good job, in most cases, you need a higher education. Immigrant applicants who received a diploma in their homeland, in this case there are several options: it may be enough for someone to just test a diploma in the United States, and for someone other than that, they will need to receive additional education in America. On the website of City Hall published list of agenciesthat help foreigners to evaluate education diplomas.

“This list is periodically reviewed by the city to include or exclude certain agencies. The last update was in December-November 2016, and this needs to be monitored,” warns Irina Kokurina, president of the company Global Professional Consultingwhich for almost 20 years has been advising in the field of education.

Irina Kokurina, President of Global Professional Consulting, with colleagues. Photos from the personal archive

Global Professional Consulting helps new immigrants figure out how to convert their education into a new career in the United States.

"We have an individual approach to each client. Our main task is to help a person navigate and apply the education he has previously received. Therefore, the first thing we ask is: what kind of education do you already have and what would you like to do in life? Next, we conduct a full analysis of the existing education, write an action plan and do everything necessary to bring a person to work or study - we prepare the translation of diplomas, evaluation, apostille, resume, cover letter, motivation letter, recommendations,” says Irina Kokurina. She knows from experience that one wrong decision can cost thousands of dollars and wasted time.

“For example, few know that a foreign doctor can fill out a form on the website ARMA and get a certificate Medical assistants. You don’t need to study for this - in this case, work experience is simply taken into account. As a result, you can save a year or two (depending on the program) and from $4 to $20 thousand, which can be spent on preparing for medical exams,” Irina gives an example.

Exam as a guarantee of obtaining a city office

To get a job at the municipal structures of New York, the candidate must pass a special exam. There are special training courses that, among other things, open and Global Professional Consulting. Depending on the area of ​​activity, the applicant must sign up for a specific exam, which will determine his professional suitability. If the applicant achieves a passing score, his name will be on the waiting list. Of course, the process of getting a job can take a long time - people wait for a vacancy from 2 months to 2 years.

The scheme for getting a job after passing the exam is simple: the higher the score, the greater the chances of getting a job. It is important to remember that those employees who have taken positions in the mayor's office, having passed a qualifying exam before this, can take up a position until retirement. If reductions begin in this or that Department, then the employee who got a job in the city without an examination test will be the first to lose the position.

Moskvich Yuri Kostin has been working as a specialist in the New York human resources department for almost 2. However, to get the desired position, Yuri had to wait for the 4 line of the year. He passed the exam back in 2011, and only in 2015 was he invited to an interview. Kostin advises starting to prepare for the test for the 2-3 of the month. Each specialty has its own textbooks.

“The exam was in the form of a test - 80 questions had to be answered in about 3 hours. A separate part of the test was a test of knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar; there were also mathematical problems. But if you prepare, you can pass,” shares Yuri.

During the exam, he scored more than 90 points from 100 possible, but still he was invited to an interview only after 4. Since the position required bilingual specialists, Yuri had to pass another test in Russian.

“We were given a text in English that needed to be translated into Russian. The difficulty was that the text was written in an official business style,” says the young specialist.

With this task, Yuri coped, and for the second year he has been working for the administration of New York.

Where to look for jobs

The admission process and the organization of exams are handled by the city structure - DCAS. To correctly choose the direction you are interested in, study the full instructions, which will help you fill in the information for the passage of a particular test.

In addition, in 2014, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio created a special workforce development agency - WKDEV. It cooperates with large urban organizations that need qualified specialists and often provide vacancies.

Here are a few city departments that are looking for employees almost all year round. Information is available in Russian.

Department of Education

Police department

Fire brigade

Department of Health and Hospitals

Economic Development Corporation

Work in other cities

Municipal employment can be found in most American cities. ForumDaily gives a list of those localities where Russian-speaking immigrants most often move:

Miami City Work

City work in Los Angeles

City work in New Jersey

Chicago City Work

Work on staff

Another level of government work is state government positions. Each of them requires hundreds of specialists of different professions. For example, in order to attract new potential employees, officials from the state of Washington even posted a promotional video on social networks that talks about the benefits of such work.

Current vacancies for working for the government of all states are posted on a special website - governmentjobs.com. More than 4,5 million people visit this resource per month. To send an application with a resume and a cover letter, all applicants must sign up Online.

How to start working for the government

Today, more than 2 million employees work for the US federal government, the site writes governing.com. According to the newspaper, in the 2016 year, the number of federal workers was led by the state of California, where more than 40 thousands of employees work. Detailed information on available federal level positions and who can claim them is on the website. usajobs.gov. Here you can find information about special programs for students.

All applicants need sign up on the website and create a personal account where all the necessary information for applications will be stored. Most of all specialists are required in the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture. The main advantage for Russian-speaking residents of the United States who are looking for a similar job is knowledge of a second language. For example, now in California open vacancy for a teacher of Russian as a foreign language. The US Army is looking for the best candidates who will train Russian soldiers. It is important that applying for this position can and non US citizens.

“Voice of America” in Russian

Kievlyanin Alexander Yanevsky works as an international journalist in the Russian bureau of the Voice of America media holding; before that, 3 had worked in the Ukrainian service of a television company. Voice of America is funded by the US government, so the posts of all workers are federal. Alexander got a job in the company, submitting a resume on the site fbo.gov. Site fbo.gov offers contract work. Many use this opportunity as a springboard for a future career - for those who work for a government agency under a contract, it is then easier for them to switch to the civil service on a permanent basis.

Alexander Yanevsky works for the Russian Service of the Voice of America. Photo by Alexander Bergan

“I'm lucky. I worked under the contract for only a few months, and then received a position as a federal employee there, in the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America. The probationary period lasts 1 year, and then you become a permanent employee,” says the journalist.

But in order to transfer from a “federal contract worker” to a permanent job, you need to use another site - usajobs.gov. Alexander used it when he transferred from the Ukrainian to the Russian service of Voice of America. He again had to send an application with a resume and a cover letter. One of the main stages of obtaining the post was an interview.

“The most difficult thing was to “sell” myself. In the USA, you are on your own: no one will ask for you. Especially if you want to work for the federal government,” explains Sasha.

Federal employees are provided with medical insurance, paid leave and sick leave. A federal position also allows you to earn a decent retirement and rely on the help of trade unions.

“Theoretically, I can work until I retire. If the rules are seriously violated on my part, I may lose my job. It is also worth noting that in the federal service the working day is strictly regulated. You cannot work more than 40 hours a week without prior approval,” adds Alexander.

You can find out how much federal workers earn on a special website - opm.gov. All information is publicly available. The same resource brings together all the sources that allow you to find federal vacancies at any level.

5 useful tips for job seekers

  1. Check status

Most of the vacancies posted on the site usajobs.govrequire that the applicant status of a citizen of the United States. However, you can find positions that are available to green card holders or immigrants who have permission to work in the United States. When you open a vacancy, carefully look at the upper right corner for information about who specifically has the right to send an application: US citizens, non-US citizens, working government officials or employees who have passed a special test.

  1. Make a correct resume

It is very important to create a competent resume. Moreover, check all spelling errors. Read clearly what responsibilities are required for a particular position. The site administration warns that all applications that do not meet the requirements of the vacancy will not be considered. Pay attention to the work experience requirements; if you lack a couple of points that are written in the text of the vacancy, you should not send an application.

Фото: Depositphotos

  1. Transmittal letter

At the end of the vacancy is indicated the department that hires you to work. In the same place you will find personal contact of the responsible person. Therefore, in the cover letter you will need to contact a specific person. In a few sentences you should tell why the employer should choose you. Briefly describe your experience and your skills, which will positively affect the activities of the government.

  1. Preparing for the interview

For the interview you need to prepare. To do this, study the frequently recurring questions on the Internet that are asked by representatives of the US government. Prepare a short story about yourself and your professional experience. Learn as much information as possible about the Department and the specific position you are applying for.

  1. Wait for a response

All information, including the first application sent, will be copied to your personal account on the site. usajobs.com. If you pass the first round, an invitation for an interview will come to your personal account and to your email. After the interview, you should not write once again that you were at the interview and ask when the answer will be given. Even the refusal will definitely tell you in your account.

Read also on ForumDaily:

As a foreigner to enter an American university

How to find a legal job in the USA in a week

7 resume writing tips for US employer

Higher education in the USA: what you need to know and where to go for advice

Miscellanea New York City Hall work in the USA City Administration Educational program US Department of State how to find work in usa
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