If you’re reading this, perhaps you know ClearanceJobs is the #1 career site for individuals with an active federal security clearance. It might be tempting to think you need to be somewhere else to find all of the security clearance jobs out there, however. I recently received a question from a candidate about where to find government jobs, specifically:
“I know about ClearanceJobs but if I want a position with the federal government, I have to use USAJOBS – right?”
Wrong.
USAJOBS is the largest portal for federal government listings, and some agencies are required to use it. But if you have a security clearance, the positions you’re interested in probably fall under the category of excepted service positions. We recently did a short video about the many paths to a government job and what the difference is between competitive service, excepted service and senior executive service positions. Excepted service positions don’t have to be listed on USAJOBS. That’s why you may have applied for a national security position with the federal government and found it not listed there. Here is a listing of just a few of the excepted service agencies who may not have their positions listed on USAJOBS:
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
- Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS)
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Federal Reserve Board
- Library of Congress
- National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- National Security Agency (NSA)
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
- Peace Corps
- United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
- United States Congress – Personal Office Staff
- Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
- United States Postal Service (USPS)
- United States Secret Service (USSS)
Beyond this list there are other excepted service agencies with their own hiring authorities and the ability to source for positions and post their current openings in other locations. The Department of Defense’s Cyber Excepted Service Personnel System was created to give the Department of Defense the flexibility it needed to onboard cybersecurity professionals.
Morale of the story? As even the Office of Personnel Management advises, not every government job will be listed on USAJOBS, so don’t consider it one-stop shopping for a government position. If you’re looking for a government job, check the agency websites, attend in-person career events, and search cleared government job listings on ClearanceJobs.com.
