Civil service is a broad term used to describe any position in the government sector. If you work for any government agency on the local, state, or federal level, then you work in civil service. Teachers, government officials, librarians, and public safety workers such as crossing guards are all in this line of work. However, civil service encompasses almost every type of job imaginable. Engineers, nurses, veterinarians, accountants, and warehouse workers can all be employed by various government agencies.
Finding civil service jobs isn’t as simple as going online to Monster.com or CareerBuilder.com, though. Since these jobs are government sponsored, they aren’t always listed there. You may be better off using a website such as USAJobs.gov, which lists only civil service jobs. USAJobs.gov is the official job search engine of the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management. Here you can find jobs with the federal government as well as search for positions by state.
If you want to work on a state or local level, though, you may want to search for other job boards. Each state government has its own job board for civil service positions. Pennsylvania’s is at www.scsc.pa.us. New York’s is at www.labor.state.ny.us/workforceindustrydata/cslist.shtm. The city of San Diego has a website at www.sandiego.gov. To find the appropriate website for your area, enter a search query in Google, Yahoo!, Bing, or another powerful engine. Phrases such as “[city name] civil service postings” will work.
If you’re having trouble finding a great job in the private sector (i.e. not via a government sponsored agency or company), you shouldn’t disregard this option. Government jobs have a reputation of being very stable, even in the failing economy.
If you live in Canada, there is a large website devoted to civil service jobs just for you. Go to http://jobs-emplois.gc.ca/index-eng.htm for information on government jobs.
