The UW is currently looking for students who have completed internships or jobs with federal government agencies to help with our new UW Making the Difference: Careers in Federal Government campaign. There are lots of ways to get involved:
1. Serve as a student ambassador. Attend a one-day training and commit to 2-4 hours per month for a minimum of 6 months. You'll be helping other students get excited about federal opportunities by assisting with events, marketing, etc.
2. Serve as a panelist during the Federal Internship Panel Discussion on October 21st from 5:00-6:00 in Parrington Hall.
3. Write a blog post about your federal experience, which will be posted on the this blog!
If you are interested in helping as an ambassador, panelist, or blogger, please contact Barry Wall at barry77 [at] u . washington . edu
Friday, August 7, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
How to Ride the Federal Hiring Wave
Lily Whiteman has the insider view on federal hiring.
Read her informative article here.
Act on her advice.
Go for it!
Read her informative article here.
Act on her advice.
Go for it!
U.S. Gov't Info Searchin' via Google
Our friends at Google just made searching for gov't info that much easier.
Check out
Not sure what to search for? Think of your academic interests. What are your career goals? What issues really get under-your-skin? Think of challenges our country is facing. Think of global themes. Examples...
government accountability; K-12 education; President Obama; civil rights; federal internships; health care reform; green energy; human rights; foreign policy & diplomacy; LGBT advocacy; poverty; Supreme Court cases; DADT & DOMA; federal pay & benefits; homelessness; trade & microfinance; jobs in Oregon; veteran's affairs
Get your keyword search on & bookmark webpages you want to revisit. Thanks Google!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Do I Have To Live & Work in D.C.?
For those of us that love the Northwest / Seattle / Puget Sound / Portland, the idea of moving outside the area to start or build a career, just isn't that appealing.
If you want federal work, do you have to move to the D.C. area?
Why not work for the feds & live in Seattle?
What about California?
Click here to learn more about federal jobs locations.
Federal Career Catalyst
For undergraduate & graduate students & recent graduates, the key is ... drumroll ... federal internships.
We encourage you to investigate the menu of federal internship programs & unique opportunities found within the vast array of federal agencies.
Stay tuned to this blog for lots during the 09-10 year regarding federal internships & fellowships.
We encourage you to investigate the menu of federal internship programs & unique opportunities found within the vast array of federal agencies.
Stay tuned to this blog for lots during the 09-10 year regarding federal internships & fellowships.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Why Consider a Career with the U.S. Federal Government?
Do you want a rewarding career where you can make a difference in your nation and the world?
How about a career with the nation's largest employer, which employs 1.8 million people—and an employer that will never go out of business?
One where you can advance quickly, because half of the current employees are eligible to retire in the next 5 years?
Where you can double your salary in just 3 years?
Where you can get a job in any part of the country or the world (only 15% of federal jobs are in DC, and 50,000 federal employees work internationally)?
A career that can fit any interest: where you can help people through social service; protect our environment; conduct research; improve our nation’s international relations; provide security to the nation; improve education, and much more?
How about a job that may pay back up to $10,000 for every year of your student loans?
A job where workplace diversity and work-life balance is valued?
A job with fantastic benefits?
If you're hoping to learn more about what government jobs are like and why so many students are considering public service through government, you've come to the right place.
How about a career with the nation's largest employer, which employs 1.8 million people—and an employer that will never go out of business?
One where you can advance quickly, because half of the current employees are eligible to retire in the next 5 years?
Where you can double your salary in just 3 years?
Where you can get a job in any part of the country or the world (only 15% of federal jobs are in DC, and 50,000 federal employees work internationally)?
A career that can fit any interest: where you can help people through social service; protect our environment; conduct research; improve our nation’s international relations; provide security to the nation; improve education, and much more?
How about a job that may pay back up to $10,000 for every year of your student loans?
A job where workplace diversity and work-life balance is valued?
A job with fantastic benefits?
If you're hoping to learn more about what government jobs are like and why so many students are considering public service through government, you've come to the right place.
Welcome!
In 2009, the Partnership for Public Service named the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington as one of five Call to Serve grants recipients nationwide to help launch the nation-wide Making the Difference campaign on the University of Washington campus.
The Making the Difference campaign is the culmination of two years of research the Partnership gleaned during the Call to Serve Recruitment Initiative – a Congressionally-funded project with the Office of Personnel Management to identify cost-effective and sustainable ways to promote federal service on campuses.
The Partnership for Public Service works to revitalize the federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.
This blog will serve as a venue for sharing information & announcing events & programs & workshops related to federal employment and recruiting @ the UW.
UW students, alumni, recent grads - of all majors & interest areas - can benefit from exploring this blog and links & programs we encourage you to check out. Staff, advisers, counselors and students from our huge UW campus community will add to this blog.
Cheers!
The Making the Difference campaign is the culmination of two years of research the Partnership gleaned during the Call to Serve Recruitment Initiative – a Congressionally-funded project with the Office of Personnel Management to identify cost-effective and sustainable ways to promote federal service on campuses.
The Partnership for Public Service works to revitalize the federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.
This blog will serve as a venue for sharing information & announcing events & programs & workshops related to federal employment and recruiting @ the UW.
UW students, alumni, recent grads - of all majors & interest areas - can benefit from exploring this blog and links & programs we encourage you to check out. Staff, advisers, counselors and students from our huge UW campus community will add to this blog.
Cheers!
Monday, May 4, 2009
From Seattle to DC and Back (Part 9)
As the week went by I was quite hurried as I still had to finish my informational interview which I did Thursday morning in Virginia before heading up to New York at noon. I interview a Foreign Commercial Service Officer doing their domestic tour at the Northern Virginia U.S. Export Assistance Center (USEAC). This interview was very informative in further clarifying the role of a Foreign Service Officer in the commercial service. Related to USEAC; I will be interning this summer at the Seattle USEAC. With this coming internship I hope to get a better picture of the Seattle export environment and build my network of contacts in the Seattle area.
Finally on Monday we went to the National Committee on US-China Relations in New York. This was great as I spent the weekend in New York and saw many sites. The meeting was very relaxed with the president of NCUSCR having us ask him questions directly to start out with. This format was different but I think it allowed a more in depth conversation.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Finally on Monday we went to the National Committee on US-China Relations in New York. This was great as I spent the weekend in New York and saw many sites. The meeting was very relaxed with the president of NCUSCR having us ask him questions directly to start out with. This format was different but I think it allowed a more in depth conversation.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
From Seattle to DC and Back (Part 8)
During my time in Washington D.C. at The Washington Center for the US-China Bilateral Trade Internship Program I have been exposed to many new facets of the US-China relationship, trade issues, and future career and learning objectives. Interning at the Department of Commerce has been a rewarding experience not only from what I have learned by answering exporters’ questions but also from the staff in my office. Through this I have come to understand the exporting and trade process in a concrete and practical sense rather than the abstract, theoretical, and vague sense I had from coursework at university. The trade and exporting process involves multiple steps and requires patience and diligence on part of the importer and exporter; this trading process is not clear cut but the practicality of this internship has given me issues to consider in an ordered process rather than just a floating mess of terms and processes that I had from university coursework. Beyond working with practical aspects of exporting I have also worked on various projects with the China Business Information Center (China BIC). These include website maintenance such as subtitling Chinese market brief videos so that they are compliant with federal regulations and creating a sitemap for the China BIC so that pages on the site are easier to find in lists results on search engines. In addition to this I have also made export volume data for China and India that was included in a presentation at a trade expo in Oklahoma City, OK. Furthermore, a fellow intern and I wrote and researched an article that will be published in an online trade journal for the infrastructure industry on China’s stimulus package and business opportunities that exist.
Recently I attended a trade conference and exposition hosted by the US Export and Import Bank. During this conference I was able to gaining a better understanding of all the different businesses involved in this part section of the global business process. Though most businesses were specializing in financing and risk insurance, both public and private companies, also represented there were embassies from a variety of African nations and construction equipment exporters. From this I get the impression that focusing on infrastructure and investment in African will grow soon as I already know that both the US and China have been encouraging investment in Africa.
Consistently during the internship I have been attending events around Washington DC at different institutes and think tanks regarding issues dealing with trade and China. Though it was my intention to write briefs for a majority of these this did not happen as other projects to precedence. Though I did write one brief on an event I went to at Center for Strategic & International Studies on green technology implementation methods in China. I wrote this brief as it dealt directly with my internship in finding market niches in China for US companies, so it would be of interest to the China BIC. This article “Getting the Dragon to go Green” was also submitted for the US-China Bilateral Trade Program Newsletter “Mei-Hua Connection.”
While in Washington DC I have had many opportunities to gain a further understanding of American history. In the DC area there are many interesting things in the city and surrounding area relating to the Civil War. What I found interesting is the two tones of the Washington Monument as construction was halted during the Civil War but that the Capital Dome was continued during the war which required enormous amounts of metal that were needing for arms to fight the war. This continuation in construction of the dome was obviously for morale and symbolic purposes during the war than for practical reasons. Even in the city of Rockville where I am currently living there are monuments and markers for the civil war, I find this interesting as I don’t think of the war taking place this close to the Capital.
Recently I attended a trade conference and exposition hosted by the US Export and Import Bank. During this conference I was able to gaining a better understanding of all the different businesses involved in this part section of the global business process. Though most businesses were specializing in financing and risk insurance, both public and private companies, also represented there were embassies from a variety of African nations and construction equipment exporters. From this I get the impression that focusing on infrastructure and investment in African will grow soon as I already know that both the US and China have been encouraging investment in Africa.
Consistently during the internship I have been attending events around Washington DC at different institutes and think tanks regarding issues dealing with trade and China. Though it was my intention to write briefs for a majority of these this did not happen as other projects to precedence. Though I did write one brief on an event I went to at Center for Strategic & International Studies on green technology implementation methods in China. I wrote this brief as it dealt directly with my internship in finding market niches in China for US companies, so it would be of interest to the China BIC. This article “Getting the Dragon to go Green” was also submitted for the US-China Bilateral Trade Program Newsletter “Mei-Hua Connection.”
While in Washington DC I have had many opportunities to gain a further understanding of American history. In the DC area there are many interesting things in the city and surrounding area relating to the Civil War. What I found interesting is the two tones of the Washington Monument as construction was halted during the Civil War but that the Capital Dome was continued during the war which required enormous amounts of metal that were needing for arms to fight the war. This continuation in construction of the dome was obviously for morale and symbolic purposes during the war than for practical reasons. Even in the city of Rockville where I am currently living there are monuments and markers for the civil war, I find this interesting as I don’t think of the war taking place this close to the Capital.
Monday, April 20, 2009
From Seattle to DC and Back (Part 7)
On Friday, April 10th I went to a presentation at the Department of Commerce on negotiating with the Chinese. The discussion started out with a simulation between two American representatives on one side of the table with three Chinese and their interpreter on the other side. Though simulation was very entertaining as it was presented in a way that the American side did everything incorrectly and wasn’t prepared while the Chinese negotiators were. Some mistakes the Americans made was not bringing their own interpreter, discussing amongst themselves while the Chinese side was speaking in Chinese, and not inspecting business cards when receiving them from the Chinese side among other things. This Friday was also a colleague’s last day working with us in the TIC as he was on rotation from the NAFTA Secretariat’s office. It was nice being able to work with him as he was in the beginning of his career and had been introduced to Commerce through as internship he had done during university.
On Thursday I went to an International Trade Fair and workshops put on by the US Export-Import Bank. We were able to get into the lunch and watch an award ceremony for export companies, financiers, and brokers. After lunch we went back to the display room and greeted different export-business people. Later I went around to the different tables, got various informational materials and talked with people to get a better feel for what process in exporting they were involved in.
On Friday I submitted our final draft of our article on the Chinese stimulus package and infrastructure opportunities for American companies. It will be sent to others for a final look over before it is sent to the industry organization’s website for posting. That afternoon I went to the Brookings Institute to hear the former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe given a speech on various security and economic issues. A comment I found interesting was when the PM was asked about piracy on the seas and whether it could lead to further US-China-Japan cooperation in maritime affairs the PM said that he was hopeful that this could be the case in the future given China becomes more transparent.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
On Thursday I went to an International Trade Fair and workshops put on by the US Export-Import Bank. We were able to get into the lunch and watch an award ceremony for export companies, financiers, and brokers. After lunch we went back to the display room and greeted different export-business people. Later I went around to the different tables, got various informational materials and talked with people to get a better feel for what process in exporting they were involved in.
On Friday I submitted our final draft of our article on the Chinese stimulus package and infrastructure opportunities for American companies. It will be sent to others for a final look over before it is sent to the industry organization’s website for posting. That afternoon I went to the Brookings Institute to hear the former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe given a speech on various security and economic issues. A comment I found interesting was when the PM was asked about piracy on the seas and whether it could lead to further US-China-Japan cooperation in maritime affairs the PM said that he was hopeful that this could be the case in the future given China becomes more transparent.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Monday, April 6, 2009
From Seattle to DC and Back (Part 6)
Green energy has also been a theme that keeps reoccurring through the past two weeks as I attended an event at CSIS about encouraging green and smart grid technology in China through public-private partnerships at the local level. This event was refreshing as it discussed a different method of deploying these technologies that didn’t involve a large central government initiative.
A week later we went to a panel at the Washington Center on green technologies and environmental issues that gave a wider view of these issues with panelist from an NGO, a carbon trading investment group, the Department of Energy, and wind energy. Obviously many people are interested in these technologies but has there been any deployment? I was given the answer to this question when I received a tariff request at work for five different HS codes to assemble a wind power turbine tower in Mexico to be exported from the United States.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
A week later we went to a panel at the Washington Center on green technologies and environmental issues that gave a wider view of these issues with panelist from an NGO, a carbon trading investment group, the Department of Energy, and wind energy. Obviously many people are interested in these technologies but has there been any deployment? I was given the answer to this question when I received a tariff request at work for five different HS codes to assemble a wind power turbine tower in Mexico to be exported from the United States.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Monday, March 23, 2009
From Seattle to DC and Back (Part 5)
My responsibilities at my internship include researching tariff and taxes rates for various countries that exporters are send their products to and responding to these requests in a timely manner. I also answer these questions on the phone along with other information that exporters may want to know about such as sanctions and export licenses. I also work with the China Business Center in research projects and other tasks. In addition, I do research and projects for other regions.
A highlight that sticks out is going to John Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies for a presentation about being in the Foreign Service. I am interested in the other agencies especially Commerce and USAID as what these two agencies do when taken in aggregate has a substantial impact on foreign relations.
The experience of being in Washington DC has been an interesting and exciting semester so far as I am always expanding my knowledge through my internship, class, and events around DC. This is also a very unique time to be in Washington DC as it has again become the focal point with the new administration and for many due to the issues that are facing the world.
I was finally contacted by the Capital Region Maryland Small Business Center. The surprising part of this was I was just inquiring about doing some volunteer work with them but they offered me an internship instead! Sadly, due to the distance of College Park the logistics of doing this would not work. I have also been attending weekly events around DC focusing on trade and China issues. Besides this I have been able to learn a lot at my internship by just talking with people in my office as they have a wealth of knowledge and experience. At this point I’m considering interviewing someone at the Foreign Commercial Service section for the informational interview. I’m also considering arranging to continue my internship at the Commercial Service office in Seattle when I go home.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
A highlight that sticks out is going to John Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies for a presentation about being in the Foreign Service. I am interested in the other agencies especially Commerce and USAID as what these two agencies do when taken in aggregate has a substantial impact on foreign relations.
The experience of being in Washington DC has been an interesting and exciting semester so far as I am always expanding my knowledge through my internship, class, and events around DC. This is also a very unique time to be in Washington DC as it has again become the focal point with the new administration and for many due to the issues that are facing the world.
I was finally contacted by the Capital Region Maryland Small Business Center. The surprising part of this was I was just inquiring about doing some volunteer work with them but they offered me an internship instead! Sadly, due to the distance of College Park the logistics of doing this would not work. I have also been attending weekly events around DC focusing on trade and China issues. Besides this I have been able to learn a lot at my internship by just talking with people in my office as they have a wealth of knowledge and experience. At this point I’m considering interviewing someone at the Foreign Commercial Service section for the informational interview. I’m also considering arranging to continue my internship at the Commercial Service office in Seattle when I go home.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Monday, March 9, 2009
From Seattle to DC and Back (Part 4)
Besides doing tariff requests through email, I have begun answering calls at my internship; the majority of these calls are people asking for HS codes so I have to refer them to the census bureau to get these for their products. The other portion of calls are from exporters that have their HS codes and want to know tariff rates and taxes. At first I felt intimidated by the phones as it feels people are waiting for an answer and I wasn’t used to getting information from the databases yet but this took only a few phone calls to get down and now the process goes by smoothly. Besides answering phones I have also been working on updating export data for a China and India presentation that will be taking place in Oklahoma City. Another project I was working on was an excel file with taxes on imports for every country we trade with. An interesting project I have been assigned is finding exporters of various products for the finance minister to the president of the Congo.
The events I have attended were a lecture on the Philippines and their counterinsurgency operations. China was mentioned when they were trying to build a road in a Maoist guerrilla held area and the guerrillas demand payment but the Chinese argued that they were both Maoist so why should they pay but the guerrillas argued that the Chinese are revisionist and demanded payment anyways. Another event that I really enjoyed was a presentation at SAIS on a career in the Foreign Service. This presentation gave a real clarity to what a Foreign Service Officer and the State Department do. Recently there have been a number of events dealing with China and US-China relations among other events that I have attended throughout the last two weeks. Of note was the ‘Smart Power in US-China Relations’ report of the CSIS Commission on China that consisted in a diversity of speakers from different specialties.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
The events I have attended were a lecture on the Philippines and their counterinsurgency operations. China was mentioned when they were trying to build a road in a Maoist guerrilla held area and the guerrillas demand payment but the Chinese argued that they were both Maoist so why should they pay but the guerrillas argued that the Chinese are revisionist and demanded payment anyways. Another event that I really enjoyed was a presentation at SAIS on a career in the Foreign Service. This presentation gave a real clarity to what a Foreign Service Officer and the State Department do. Recently there have been a number of events dealing with China and US-China relations among other events that I have attended throughout the last two weeks. Of note was the ‘Smart Power in US-China Relations’ report of the CSIS Commission on China that consisted in a diversity of speakers from different specialties.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Sunday, February 22, 2009
From Seattle to DC and Back (Part 3)
The past two weeks have really gone by too quickly; luckily I have been keeping notes of my activities since I started my internship. The amount of information I am receiving from my internship, class, and events I attend during the week are giving me the type of solid foundation in understanding trade that I was looking for when I applied to this program.
The knowledge I have gained through my internship in just two weeks really surprises me. Recently we went to an event on business opportunities in India for hi-technology and bio-pharmaceutical companies. Through shadowing with Trade Specialist I now have a thorough understanding of the practical side of doing NAFTA certification and all the details it involves. Another subject that surprised me was the depth of EU privacy rights when compared to US privacy rights. We learned about this during a presentation about Safe Harbor Certification for US companies to be EU compliant when it came to privacy rights.
I am trying to volunteer at the Maryland Small Business Development Center. The reason I am interested in this organization is currently I am interning at the US Department of Commerce in the Trade Information Center assisting small and medium sized businesses in exporting. I would like to volunteer with this organization to get an understanding of the process business owners go through in establishing and growing their businesses in the domestic market as well. Being from a family that runs a small business I believe that what is done at this organization is not only helping people realize their aspirations but also contributing to the well being of the surrounding community, which is another reason why I would like to volunteer at the Capital Region Small Business Development Center.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
The knowledge I have gained through my internship in just two weeks really surprises me. Recently we went to an event on business opportunities in India for hi-technology and bio-pharmaceutical companies. Through shadowing with Trade Specialist I now have a thorough understanding of the practical side of doing NAFTA certification and all the details it involves. Another subject that surprised me was the depth of EU privacy rights when compared to US privacy rights. We learned about this during a presentation about Safe Harbor Certification for US companies to be EU compliant when it came to privacy rights.
I am trying to volunteer at the Maryland Small Business Development Center. The reason I am interested in this organization is currently I am interning at the US Department of Commerce in the Trade Information Center assisting small and medium sized businesses in exporting. I would like to volunteer with this organization to get an understanding of the process business owners go through in establishing and growing their businesses in the domestic market as well. Being from a family that runs a small business I believe that what is done at this organization is not only helping people realize their aspirations but also contributing to the well being of the surrounding community, which is another reason why I would like to volunteer at the Capital Region Small Business Development Center.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Sunday, February 8, 2009
From Seattle to DC and Back (Part 2)
My internship site is in the Ronald Reagan/International Trade Center which is relatively new for a federal building. Some bonuses of being at this location are a food court in the basement and a large cafeteria in the Hoover building at the Department of Commerce. The metro station is also located directly below our building so we don’t have to walk a long distance after getting off the metro. Also the Smithsonian Institution is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from our building so we can go there on our lunch breaks. People in my office get along with each other very well so the environment is very relaxed. This past week we have been doing training on looking up tariff information and using the different databases depending on whether the country is Brazil, Panama, or the products are covered under NAFTA. On Friday I did my first tariff and tax information request for a company in Missouri that was exporting to Mexico.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Sunday, February 1, 2009
From Seattle to DC and Back (Part 1)
The internship placement process went very smooth as I received contact from the Department of Commerce soon after I had requested to have my information sent. Although my contact at my internship indicated that work would include working on trade regions outside of China, which I don’t mind, I hope that I will still be able to apply general business principles learned in the academic course to these regions also, which I believe is possible with a little innovative thinking. I believe being able to work on trade regions outside China will strengthen my trade and business knowledge.
Nathan Gardner
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Boeing Fellow
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
