Anyone have experience in obtaining a federal gov't job?

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Or have insight into writing a resume for a federal government job? I could really use some help/suggestions. Thanks!

A lot of my friends work for the federal government, and college students I know love to get jobs there. It's stable work, but boring as all hell, and often does no one good.

Sorry I didn't answer your question, but I just discourage people from working for the feds.

I encourage people to work for the Fed. It is not boring to work at NASA, or do research at NIH, or the ARS. A job is what you make it.

Good things about working for the Fed: because you don't produce a product your work is not evaluated on how much/quantity you produce. Call it boring if you want, but for Aspies it's heaven. You have loads of time to complete assignments. Way more possible to do an acceptable job than in private industry. You get sick leave, and vacation leave and you are encouraged to use it. No one cares if you call in sick (as long as you are not a "leave abuser"). Unlike private companies where they might give you sick leave, but would be horrified if you actually took it all. Your leave expands over time until at 15 years you get 8 hours per pay. You end up with Use-Or-Lose where you can only carry 240 hours over into the next year and you are forced to take off. Many gov employees take off 3-4 weeks in December to use all their leave. Hence the buildings are half empty and not much happens for the rest who are still "working".

There are lots of slightly 'off' people working there so you don't feel out of place. They don't hire The Beautiful People. There is a union for Fed workers that protects your rights. You have very flexible work schedules. You might be able to come in any time from 6am to 9:30am. So if you prefer early, or you prefer sleeping in, it's up to you. There is no time clock, so (depends on your boss) often no one cares if you actually walk in the door at 9:10 even though you are scheduled for 9am. You simply stay another 10 minutes late and leave at 5:40 instead of 5:30. No hassle. No one cares if you have to leave early one day. There are bosses who do, but they are rare.

If you are not doing enough work instead of firing you, they will put you on a PIP (a work Improvement Plan). You will have 3-6 months (until your next review) to learn to work faster . They only fire you if you gamble/look at porn online, sexually harrass someone, or fail to improve your performance. Compared to private industry that's like getting a second chance, instead of being chucked out the door. Sometimes there is lots of work and pressure, but then it's followed by slow times. Some times it can be boring, but you are being paid to be bored. And you get health care. And a pension.

You need to go on USAJOBS.gov and fill out a resume. You can leave it there and send it in over and over for any job you want to apply for. The most important part though is the KSA'a. These are a series of special questions that you have to answer regarding your knowledge for each job. Be sure to write down everything you can think of that you have experience in. Expand on what you do, not just one sentence. At least a good paragraph each.

The hard part is understanding the OPM (the Office of Personnel Management) hires. This can be frustrating and I agree it's more than a little odd. A person with no college degree, or experience in your field, will read all the resumes that come in and forward the "appropriate" ones to the agency hiring. Basically a clerical worker decides which rocket scientist is best! Yes. I know. So do NOT think that they can understand that if you can do "physics" this means you can do "math". You MUST explain EVERYTHING you can do VERY clearly and specifically relate it to what the job description asks for.

Once you are in, (get into ANY agency) it is easier to move from one agency to another. It's almost like one HUGE company with many departments. You get to know people in other places, and then you hear about an opening (someone leaving) and you might just tell someone you'd like the job and get moved there! Knowing people inside counts for a lot. You could move from the EPA to a military base to the National Zoo.

I don't check back every day, but I'll try to give you more help if you need it.

I have a master's in political science & government and I've tried like hell to get a federal job, but they're not interested in me

I don't work for the federal government, but I'm a contractor with them. Few years ago there was a federal government employee that had some sort of learning disability. Not sure if she had aspergers though.