The federal government, the nation’s largest employer with 1.7 million workers, is expected to hire approximately 273,000 new employees over the next three years. This is according to a recent report says CNNMoney.com contributing writer Hibah Yousuf in an article posted on Yahoo Finance on September 3rd. But the 41% increase in hiring doesn’t necessarily translate into an expanding government. Many new hires will replace retiring baby boomers.

The agency with the largest increase in job openings is the Department of Veteran Affairs, which is expected to hire more than 48,000 new workers by 2012 in an effort to provide medical care for returning service members fighting wars on two fronts.

The second largest need is for security and protection workers, with the Partnership for Public Service predicting 52,000 new hires. That is followed by compliance and enforcement officers (31,000), legal jobs (24,000) and administrative positions (17,000).

In an economy where new job openings are hard to come by, the federal government’s push to fill “mission critical” positions that mesh well with many military backgrounds should not be overlooked by military job seekers. Understand the rights afforded to you by your veteran’s preference, network with civil service employees, familiarize yourself with www.usajobs.gov, and prepare a properly key-worded military-to-federal resume. (For professional military federal resume writing assistance and federal job search advice, visit www.MilitaryResumes.com.) With some research and a plan, you can land a job with the federal government.

Filed under: Federal Resumes, In the News, Military Career Transition, Military Job Seeker Advice, Military Resumes