So, you live near an Army post and want to get a well paid civil-service job. You may find the hiring process for a civilian job with the Army to be a bit more complicated than for other employment. However, you may also find civilian employment with the Army gives you stability and the benefits of working for the federal government.
Assess your skills. Know what you do well and what skills you offer. Begin work on creating or updating a resume suitable for civilian employment with the U.S. Army.
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Begin with the Civilian Personnel Online website. Through the use of this website you will be able to learn about necessary qualifications to get a job, search job openings using a filter, enter your resume, apply for a position and check on the status of your application.
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Enter your resume into the appropriate section of the CPOL website, which has a resume builder. The resume builder gives you instructions to enter your resume into the centralized system, or "Resumix" as it is called.
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Use the search function on the Army Civilian Service website. You can search by control number (if you already know of a job opening), location, current status (if you are already a federal employee) or position name/code. This is particularly helpful if you are looking for a position in a specific location. You are able to filter out irrelevant results.
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Once you have tailored your resume, self-nominate for the position by clicking on the link at the bottom of a position announcement.
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Make an extra effort by contacting the department or person with whom you are applying to learn more about the position. Sometimes this type of networking will land you the job, but be very considerate and courteous.
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After the job closes, it will take a few weeks for the results of the hiring process to be known. Check your hiring status on CPOL by using the "ANSWER." This is a handy function that tracks all positions for which you have applied, whether you were considered for the position and whether or not you were hired.
Tips & Warnings
Be honest on your resume. A background check is often conducted; if you are less than honest, you may lose a job before you start work, as is true for most employers.
