Southern California Job Market : Surviving in the 90’s : Finding a Path Through the Maze of Jobs in Government : Applying is complicated, and pay often lags the private sector. But U.S., state and local agencies can provide good training in many fields.
If you are interested in law enforcement, health care or clerical work, Uncle Sam most likely has a job for you.
But finding the right job in government--federal, state or local--most often means maneuvering through a maze of applications, exams and agencies that can prove frustrating even to the most patient and tenacious of aspiring public servants.
Pay remains a sore point, and tight budgets have tarnished government’s reputation as a haven from the recessions and depressions that send thousands of private sector workers into unemployment lines. And life in the civil service is not necessarily civil.
“You don’t always see individuals’ best sides,” said Robin Kramer, chief deputy for Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre. “People often come to City Hall to yell. They bring their plate of needs and then dump them on you.”
Despite the drawbacks, government agencies remain huge employers that cannot be ignored by job-seekers. Los Angeles County, for example, is the largest employer in the five-county Los Angeles area, with about 78,000 workers. The payroll of the City of Los Angeles includes more than 40,000 employees.
Governments also offer a mind-boggling variety of positions. Recent openings for the State of California ranged from a staff psychologist at Soledad State Prison to a tree maintenance worker in San Diego to an assistant industrial hygiene specialist in Sacramento.
Many public agencies have also received high marks for the hiring and promotion of women and minorities. Kramer notes that eight of the 15 Los Angeles City Council deputies are women. “There are opportunities for women and minorities that don’t exist in the private sector.”
Many civil service jobs--such as an Internal Revenue Service auditor or an assistant district attorney--are a training ground for lawyers, certified public accountants and other professionals.
“Anything that somebody is doing in the private sector is probably needed somewhere in government,” said Carol Baker Tharp, Southern California executive director of the Coro Foundation, which prepares young people for public affairs careers. “It’s a matter of finding the government agency that needs what you have to offer.”
Which is often easier said than done.
The federal government, for example, is broken up into more than 150 agencies and departments that employ more than 3 million. Hiring procedures vary from department to department, various tests may be required and job applications are sometimes accepted only during certain periods of the year. Possibly the only thing consistent about a government job search is Standard Form 171, the omnibus application that includes 47 basic questions spread over six pages.
“Often people will become discouraged because the process is not as easy as they thought it was,” said Sharon Wells, a spokeswoman with the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees federal hiring practices. “You really need to prepare and put in some footwork.”
The vastness and complexity of government hiring has spawned a number of publications and books to help government job-seekers, including “Federal Career Opportunities” and “Jobs Available: A Listing of Employment Opportunities in the Public Sector.”
“It’s really not that hard if you know where to look,” said Daniel Lauber, author of “The CompleatGuide to Finding Jobs in Government,” which includes a listing of publications that carry government openings.
Federal Job Information Centers, including ones in Los Angeles and San Diego, serve as centralized sources of information about hiring procedures, applications and qualifications.
Some government agencies have recently intensified efforts to recruit college graduates into the administrative ranks. The federal government’s “Administrative Careers With America” program tries to simplify testing and applications procedures for the hundreds of types of positions that require a college degree.
The City of Los Angeles also has special entry-level administrative positions for college graduates. “They are the basic entry-level white-collar jobs,” said Dennis Lynch, assistant recruitment chief for the city’s personnel department.
Obtaining an administrative or professional job can be competitive. The Resolution Trust Corp., which is overseeing the closure and sale of failed savings and loans, expects to hire 1,000 lawyers, accountants, real estate executives and other professionals for its offices in Costa Mesa, Denver and Phoenix. The agency is finding that is has no shortage of candidates.
“A lot of people are trying to work for us,” said spokesman Kevin Shields. “We are looking for people who know how to run an S&L; and who know about real estate. There are a lot of them out there.”
Pay for professionals falls short of levels in the private sector. “We don’t pay enough--especially in L.A.--and that’s one of the problems with the government jobs,” said IRS spokesman Robert Giannangeli.
Starting pay for most IRS positions that require a college degree--such as a revenue agent or tax auditor--is about $16,300 in the Los Angeles area. Under current budget proposals, salaries for these workers would rise by 8% in such high-cost cities as Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.
City, state and federal officials say the jobs most in demand now are in the law enforcement and health fields.
The California Department of Corrections, for example, expects to hire 2,000 corrections officers annually over the next several years to staff new prisons and replace departing workers. But there have so many applicants for the jobs, which begin at $28,000 a year, that the department accepts applications at only limited times of the year, said Carlos Sanchez, chief of selection and standards.
“We have a lot of applications, and we have some fairly exacting standards,” Sanchez said.
The demand for jobs often mirrors demands in the private sector. Veterans Administration hospitals are always seeking nurses, especially for critical care.
“One of the areas that we are always hiring in all the time is nursing,” said Larry Caird, a spokesman for the Veterans Administration in Southern California, which includes five hospitals and several clinics. “We are interested in talking to any qualified (registered nurse).”
Governments also seem to have an insatiable appetite for clerical workers. In fact, the federal government has waived the basic civil service test and boosted wages to attract clerk-typists in the Los Angeles area.
“Clerical jobs are always in very high demand,” said Linda M. Peterson, who heads the Los Angeles-area operations of the Office of Personnel Management. “There area always jobs available and often in high numbers.”
Despite the drawbacks of government work, many public servants find challenges and rewards that make their jobs worthwhile.
“The problems here are very real,” said Kramer, the city councilman’s deputy. “People don’t come for the pay. They come because they want to make a difference.”
RESOURCE: FINDING A GOVERNMENT JOB
Finding a job in goverment can be a job in itself.
With a mind-boggling number of agencies, jobs and procedures, job hunting in the public sector takes preparation, officials say.
Job seekers who lack a clear idea of what position or department they want face a frustrating search.
To get a better handle of government departments and positions, job seekers might want to browse through directories of federal, state and local governments often available in public libraries. Some examples include the Federal Staff Directory nd Congressional Quarterly’s Washington Information Directory.
Governments often have job centers or special telephone lines that provide information about job openings, application procedures and testing periods. * FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Los Angeles Federal Job Information Center, 845 S. Figueroa Blvd. Recorded information and office hours: (213) 894-3360.
San Diego Federal Job Information Center, Federal Building, 880 Front St. Recorded information and office hours: (619) 557-6165. * STATE OF CALIFORNIA
State Personnel Board, 107 S. Broadway, Los Angeles. Job postings and testing information. For recorded information, call (213) 620-4210 for clerical, domestic and janitorial openings; ext. 4129 for health and related fields; ext. 4199 for legal, technical and professional openings; and ext. 4175 for testing information. Call (213) 620-3242 for the hearing impaired. Information also is available at Employment Development Department offices. * LOS ANGELES COUNTY
The County of Los Angeles does not have a central personnel office. Applicants should approach individual departments for job information. Department phone numbers and addresses can be found in telephone book directories. * ORANGE COUNTY
Personnel Office, 10 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. For recorded job information, call (714) 834-JOBS.
