Mark Brayboy
Blue & White Flash / Staff Writer
“If you can conceive it, you can achieve it!” This was the message conveyed by the members of the Federal Employment Panel Discussion hosted by the Jackson State University Career Services Center.
Representatives from government branches of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Labor, the Bureau of Land Management, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Veterans Affairs (VA), including its Student Intern Program provided insight about federal employment and job opportunities. The representatives were assisted by interns and government employees who attended both JSU and Tougaloo College.
The panel members discussed ways to find and keep jobs with the government, successful job interviews, what employers are looking for when hiring candidates, internships, how to survive during a hiring freeze, the competitiveness in the government job market, and resumes.
“We have a number of positions that you can imagine,” said IRS representative Christina Coleman. “I often say anything you can conceive, you can achieve at IRS.”
Erica Parker, an FBI representative said, “We do handle all federal crimes, so we have to have people with degrees in all areas. There are very few that we don’t have a position for. Almost every degree you can think of, we have something for you in the FBI. Anything from entry level positions to clerical positions to management positions, specialty positions, IT, accounting [and] IT is big right now. There’s just about anything you can imagine.”
Statistics from the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the average number of government employees have declined from an estimated 23,000 in 2009 to less than 22,000 in 2012.
Department of Labor representative Katie Course said, “One of the [positions] that’s open is an administrative support specialist and you must be fluent in American sign language. That is a requirement. You know why? That is a need! If you are bilingual there is a need for you in the federal government.”
Becoming a potential candidate however is a very difficult task. The panelists informed students that it would help them to create an account on usajobs.gov, which according to the website is the U.S. Government’s official system/program for federal jobs and employment information.”
“Just to be perfectly clear,” said Shayne Brooks of the Bureau of Land Management. “There is no other way to get a government job except through usajobs.gov. That is it.”
Brooks told students to do their homework when researching for government jobs. “Nearly every office in the government has a website now, so they’ll have Facebook pages, twitter accounts, everyone is going into social media now. Learn what’s going on in that office,” said Brooks.
“I thought the event was very informative. Everyone on the panel was professional and they relayed to us everything we needed to know. If we had any questions, they answered them,” said Andrew Rainey, a senior sociology major from Richmond, Va. “They channeled us through the proper behaviors, the skills, and attitudes. Not only does the degree matter, but our direction in life and the things we want to do.”
Chelsea Turner, a sophomore marketing major from Jackson, Miss., said, “I felt that this informational session was very beneficial, especially for young students such as myself trying to break into the federal government industry through internships, and offered me great tips on interview skills and how to be more marketable.”
For more information on government jobs or to be notified of any hirings, contact Career Services 601-979-2477.
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