Presentation hosted by GovLoop.com and facilitated by "Jobs That Matter" author Heather Krasna. Walks participants through the 3 motivations that help them decide where to work within the public sector.

1. How To Find the Right Gov Gig For You
May 11, 2011
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3. HOW TO FIND THE
RIGHT GOV GIG FOR
YOU
Presented by
Heather Krasna, MS
Author, Jobs That Matter: Find a Stable,
Fulfilling Career in Public Service

4. The Three Sectors
4
Percent of U.S. Employment
Local government
State government 10%
3%
Federal
government Private sector
2% Nonprofit sector
Nonprofit sector Federal government
6% State government
Local government
Private sector
79%
Copyright © 2011 Heather Krasna

5. What’s the Main Driver for Your
Career?
5
 Mission or Cause
 Environmental policy
 Human services
 International development, etc.
 Job Function/Skills
 Policyanalysis/research
 Outreach and communications, etc.
 Values
 Work-lifebalance
 Job security, benefits, etc.

6. The Mission-Driven Search
6

7. Which branch of government works on
the issues you care about?
7
Federal Agency State Agency
Legislative
Branch
Local Gov Agency
Tribal Government
International Gov/
Multilateral Agency
Judicial System
Elected Official, City Manager’s
Political Party Office
School Board

8. Federal Agency Missions
8
Percent of Federal Civilian Government
Employment by Job Function, Total=2.7 million
Space Research, Technology Housing & Communit y
1% Development
Postal Service
1%
Transport at ion
2%
National defense
Element ary & Secondary
Social Insurance, Public Welf are Educat ion, Libraries
1%
Hospitals & Health
3%
Government Administrat ion
Police, Correction, Judicial/Legal
6%
Postal Service
Ot her & Unallocable 27% Natural Resources & Parks
7%
Other & Unallocable
Nat ural Resources & Parks
8%
Government Administration
Police, Correction,
Social Insurance, Public Welfare
Judicial/ Legal
8%
Transportation
Hospit als & Healt h Nat ional def ense
11% 25% Space Research, Technology
Housing & Community Development
Elementary & Secondary Education,
Libraries

9. State Government Missions
9
Percent of State Government Employment
by Function, total=5.13 million
P arks & Recreatio n, Source: U.S. Census, 2006
Natural Reso urces
4% Elementary &
Seco ndary Educatio n,
Other & Unallo cable
Other Ed. Higher Educatio n
4%
3%
Transpo rtatio n, P o lice & Fire, Judicial, Legal,
Transit, Infrastructure Co rrectio ns
6% Ho spitals & Health
P ublic Welfare, So cial
Insurance Go vernment A dministratio n
6% Higher Educatio n
46% P ublic Welfare, So cial Insurance
Go vernment
A dministratio n Transpo rtatio n, Transit,
7% Infrastructure
Ho spitals & Health Other & Unallo cable
12%
P arks & Recreatio n, Natural
P o lice & Fire, Judicial,
Reso urces
Legal, Co rrectio ns
Elementary & Seco ndary Educatio n,
12%
Other Ed.

10. Local Government Missions
10
Public Welfare
2%
Local Government Employment
Other & Unallocable
Health
2%
by Function, Total=14.2 million
2%
Source: U.S. Census, 2006
Parks & Recreation, Natural Libraries
Resources 1%
3% Housing & Community Elementary & Secondary Education
Development
Water, Sewer, Utilites Police & Fire, Judicial, Legal, Corrections
1%
4%
Hospitals
Government Administration
4% Transportation, Transit
Higher Education Higher Education
4%
Government Administration
Transportation, Transit
4% Elementary & Secondary Water, Sew er, Utilites
Education
Hospitals Parks & Recreation, Natural Resources
55%
4%
Other & Unallocable
Public Welfare
Police & Fire, Judicial, Legal, Health
Corrections
14% Libraries
Housing & Community Development

11. Research Resources:
Finding the right agencies to pinpoint
11
 Federal: fedscope.opm.gov, usa.gov,
govloop.com, local Federal Executive Board, blue
pages of phone book, Partnership for Public
Service, WheretheJobsAre.org
 State: State government websites, agency sites
 Local: International City Managers Association
(ICMA), League of Cities, Conference of Mayors,
local city websites, visiting your local
city/county/town hall
 Elected officials: Your local political parties;
Washington Post, Poll Call, The Hill, Hillzoo.com,
networking

12. Thinking Outside the Box
12
 Care about the environment? Consider:
 Dept. of Interior
 Dept. of Agriculture
 Dept. of Defense owns significant public land
 Your state DNR
 Your local Department of Solid Waste or Public
Utilities
 Care about education or human services?
 Dept. of Defense runs its own school system
 Social Security Admin
 Veteran’s Affairs
 Local school board, State Dept. of Education

13. Determining Your Job Function
13

14. Identify Your Skills
14
public
political relations policy analysis
awareness
management
What skills have you
grant management amassed in your
professional career? budgets
multitasking
What have you been
responsible for direct service
expertise connection outside of work?
s

15. The 6-Story Exercise
15
 Write out 6 stories of accomplishments you are
most proud of, from work, school, hobbies:
 Problem
 Action
 Result
 Parse the stories for skills
 Interpersonal
 Communication
 Research
 Technical, etc.

16. Examples of Agency Jobs: “Line
16
Roles”
 “Line Roles”—specific to a mission area:
 Social Service (counselor, social worker)
 Scientific/technical specialist (biologist, forester,
ecologist, research scientist, epidemiologist)
 Foreign Service Officer
 Intelligence Analyst
 Management & program analyst
 Policy analysis, research for specific policy areas
 Specific training, certification and education
often needed

17. Examples of Jobs: “Support Roles”
17
 Support Roles - cross mission areas:
 Budget, contract management
 Information Technology
 Human resources
 Public affairs, constituent relations
 Policy analysis, research, performance audit
 Campaign work
 Easier transition back and forth to private and
nonprofit sectors

18. Federal Occupations By Series
Number
18
 http://www.opm.gov/fedclass/

19. Which Agencies Fit Your
19
Values?

20. Which Level of Gov?
20
 Federal Government: 2 million jobs with one
employer
 Lots of variety, potential for growth
 Might have to relocate to advance
 Bird’s eye/funder’s view of policy
 State Gov: 5 million jobs, 50 employers
 Might have to move to state capitol
 Local Gov: 14 million jobs (mainly teachers,
police and firefighters), 87,000+ employers
 See your impact in your own neighborhood
 May have limited career growth within 1 small city

21. Elected Officials, Political
Parties, and Legislative Branch
21
 Partisan work (with an elected official, a
political party) vs. nonpartisan work (legislative
research, GAO, Congressional Research
Service etc.)
 Executive branch (mayor, governor, president
vs. legislative branch
 Issue driven or not (issue-specific committee)
 External to government (government relations,
lobbying, advocacy)

22. Researching Employer Culture
22
 Federal: BestPlacestoWork.com
 Informational interviews
 Glassdoor.com
 GovLoop.com

23. Putting it All Together…
And Doing the Research
23

24. Your Ideal Target Position Is….
24
 A policy analyst position working on
government accountability
 A program management position in a youth-
services agency
 An intelligence analyst role working on
national security issues
 An opportunity in city management in Oregon
or Washington
 …Having a clear statement helps people help
you!

25. Researching Your Best
Environment: Networking 101
25
Where? How?
 An alumni association • Get active in your issue
 A neighborhood coalition area
 A church, synagogue or • Find a buddy
mosque • Set benchmarks of success
 A political campaign • Walk in the footsteps of
 A citywide cleanup effort others
 A local music ensemble • Don’t discount your
 The Junior League corporate contacts
 A sports team • Keep detailed notes
 A nonprofit board • Have a clear and concise
 A parent-teacher elevator speech
association

26. Informational Interviews: Do’s &
26
Don’ts
Do’s Don’ts
 Introduce yourself to someone • Ask for a job.
who may have a job opening • Disrespect the interviewee’s
in the future.
 Learn more about the people time.
who work at this agency. • Be unprepared.
 Receive direction and • Talk too much.
guidance from someone once • Fail to listen.
in your shoes. • Forget to be thankful.
 Learn a name to drop in your
networking and personal
connections.
 Audition some preliminary
answers to obvious interview
questions when a particular
job isn’t on the line.
 Get tips on the hiring process.

27. Informational Interview Goals
27
 Research
 Referrals
 Read & Revise your Resume
 Be Remembered Positively
--The Savvy Networker, Krannich

28. The Job Search Differs
by Government Type
28
 Federal search: competitive, noncompetitive
 State and local: by civil service exam or not
 Elected officials: by networking and campaign
work

29. Contact Information
Heather Krasna
Director, Career Services, Evans School of Public Affairs,
University of Washington
Author, Jobs That Matter: Find a Stable, Fulfilling Career in
Public Service
Director, Candidate Services, Nonprofit Professionals Advisory
Group
heather@heatherkrasna.com
www.heatherkrasna.com

30. Questions and Comments

31. Today’s Speakers
Andy Krzmarzick
Community Manager
GovLoop
Kevin Dubs
YGL Career Services Program Manager
Young Government Leaders
Heather Krasna
Author
“Jobs That Matter: Find a Stable,
Fulfilling Career in Public Service”

32. Thank You!