Attention Veterans: Cabinet Level Agencies (the major agencies) increased federal positions by 4,500 jobs from 1,693,221 in September 2007 to 1,697,679 in December 2007, according to an Office of Personnel Management report. The most recent numbers from December 2007 are not available, but signs point toward massive hiring for federal jobs in the next five years because of retirements and new hires from outside the current federal employee ranks.

The impending wave of retiring baby boomers will have a huge impact on the federal workforce. Between 22 percent and 60 percent of all full-time federal employees could retire by 2016. That means the internal federal pipeline is drying up and a huge number of new people from outside current government will be hired.

The government is hiring from outside of the current employees way more than ever. According to FedScope — OPM’s personnel data website — 240,763 new hires occurred in 2007 from outside of government — 22,761 new hires/transfers occurred from inside government agencies.

However, the really tricky part of landing a federal job is the application process: getting past human resources, getting your resume onto the desk of a supervisor, and landing the job. The first step is to find a job announcement that really fits your background. Job announcements are great (even though they’re long). They will tell you exactly what qualifications they want for the job. Read the “qualifications link” when you’re considering a job announcement. Your federal-style resume should clearly present your qualifications for the job and a few key words from the announcement would be great, too.

In order to begin looking for one of those great federal jobs, check out the positions available in at www.usajobs.gov or www.military.com/government.