For This Issue

Summer Jobs
To Start In April

Hiring begins as early as March. Employment can continue

as late as September. Students and non-students eligible. No age limit applies.

Professional, clerical and manual labor positions open for all seeking summer employment.

Office and outside work available. Almost all other Agencies hire some summer workers.

Offering summer jobs to students and the unemployed has been a practice of most Federal Agencies for decades. This year the number of jobs is expected to be particularly large. The economic stimulus package includes funding that can be applied to summer employment programs.

Employment March thru August
Hiring beings in March for jobs that start as early as April. Most summer jobs run May through August. but some run later. Summer workers are often referred to as seasonal workers or interns and are eligible for re-hire year-after-year.

Over 100 announcements for summer workers have been issued by a wide variety of Agencies. Many announcements list multiple openings. Agencies use summer help both as a recruitment tool, to fill-in while permanent employees take vacation, to fill seasonal jobs and, in some cases, to provide income support to the needy. In the new streamlined and restructured Government personnel system, each Agency recruits and hires its own summer help. There is no central register.

High School Diploma Required
Candidates should be at least 16 years old to be eligible. A high school diploma is also generally required. Summer hires do not have to be students or young. Many hires are made at mid-level and above.  All qualified candidates will be considered. In some cases summer work leads to permanent employment.

Salaries
Summer hires generally receive lower wages than permanent employees. However, some summer jobs in professional and skilled trade fields receive pay that is comparable to that of permanent workers. Many summer jobs pay over $40,000 annualized.

Nature of Work
Many Federal summer jobs involve work outdoors . Summer hires serve in a variety of positions including both indoor and outside work. Work indoors includes both white and blue collar.

Major Hiring Agencies
Just about all Federal Agencies hire summer employees. Below includes those with many jobs posted in the current list of summer jobs. Many other Agencies will post summer job listings in subsequent weeks.

National Park Service Looking
For Many Summer Employees
The Department of the Interior’s National Park Service is a major source for summer employment. The National Park Service has 365 national parks in both wilderness and urban environments. In prior years the Service hired over 500 employees for the summer. The majority of the Park Service positions involve direct contact with the public.

Contact URL
Specific parks or job sites do the final hiring. The best bet is to call a specific park directly and call them early. Interested applicants can learn more about summer jobs with the Park Service online

A popular job with the Park Service is Park Ranger and Recreational Assistant starting at $9.45 to $20.85 @ hour, GS-0025 2/7. Duties are described in a current announcement as, “Recreation Aids and Technicians perform a wide range of duties in support of the Bureau's recreation program: assisting in inventories, evaluating visitor patterns, preparing and maintaining recreation sites, briefing visitors and answering their questions, or conducting visitor patrols on land and water, responding to emergency situations, and administering first aid/CPR…”

Securities Exchange Commission
This year the Security & exchange Commission has posted many summer jobs. The current announcement describes duties as “Over the course of the ten-week program, students work with Commission staff on several projects particular to the specific Division or Office to which they are assigned. Students participate in seminars/workshops on various aspects of the federal securities law. Past presentations have included: An Overview of Federal Securities Laws; Securities Fraud on the Internet; Mergers and Acquisitions; and the SEC's Investigative Process.”

Pay for work with the SEC is over $40,000 annualized.

Housing and Urban Development
The Department of Housing and Urban development has listed a nationwide summer job announcement for Management Support Clerks GS-0303 . These interns will provide support for the Agency’s programs including work in the following areas: Community Planning, Human Resources, Legal, IT, Clerical, Fair Housing Program, Healthy Homes Program. This work pays $22,115 to $42,209 annualized.

Government Accountability Office
Another Agency with a nationwide posting for summer jobs is the Government Accountability office. It advertises for summer interns in computer work, specifically Information Technology GS-2210 . Job duties include “As a Information Technology (IT) 2010 summer intern, you will learn how to conduct federal audits and program evaluations and apply that knowledge as part of a team. You will be tasked with assisting IT analysts in evaluating the Federal government's more than $70 billion dollar annual investment in information systems.” These positions pay some $29,000 annualized.

Postal Jobs
Candidates interested in working for the U.S. Postal Service as summer hires should contact the Post Office where they wish to work. Opportunities vary by location. Summer hires replace permanent workers during vacation season. This year postal hiring is greatly reduced. Summer hiring may be as well. However, making an employment call never hurts.

Cold Calling
In addition, interested candidates should call the local Human Resources (personnel) office of any Agency where they want to work. Federal Agencies in an area given location are listed in the blue pages of the phone directory. Virtually all Agencies make summer hires

Leading to Permanent
Summer jobs by nature are temporary and non-permanent. However, some summer employees who have been successful in their job performance have become full-time, permanent employees after completing their schooling or by entering the workforce on a full-time basis. Federal personnel officials consider hiring summer employees an important recruitment tool.

Employment Outlook
The number of jobs available is small compared to the large number of applicants for summer employment with the Federal Government. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, only a small percentage of applicants who apply are actually hired.

Screening is accomplished mostly by analyzing the candidate’s application. Consequently, candidates must take meticulous care in filing their applications. Omitting required data is a major reason for rejection. Candidates should obtain the full Vacancy Announcement for the positions sought and follow the application instructions to the letter.

Candidates should check vacancy announcement deadlines and must submit a separate application for each job for which they want to be considered.

Early Filing Deadlines
Deadlines for summer job applications are unusually tight and Agencies recruit most heavily during the period of March 15 to April 15. Summer job candidates are urged to be diligent in their search by calling Agencies for employment requirements or necessary application packages. Agency personnel offices cannot stress strongly enough the need for summer applicants to apply as early as possible. Personnel officials repeatedly note that competition for summer positions is intense and that hiring deadlines are strictly adhered to.

How to Apply
Applicants interested in Federal employment need to access the Vacancy Announcement for each position. Every Vacancy Announcement contains a “How to Apply” section. Filing requirements vary from Agency to Agency. Mostly a Federal resume and a Questionnaire are required.

Summer and other temporary jobs are listed on this site under the link “Summer Jobs” which appears on the Home page of the site.  http://www.jobsfed.com/rp/cgi/SummerVacs.cgi