Marking USAJOBS’ 25th Anniversary
Twenty-five years ago this month, OPM launched a new website to connect service-minded Americans with rewarding careers across the federal government. The vision for USAJOBS wasn’t just an application hub — it was to bring a wide range of federal job opportunities to a user’s fingertips. Thanks to consistent efforts to refine and better optimize the site over the years, applicants today can send their resume wherever it needs to go, whether they have a specific agency and position in mind, or are open to a variety of opportunities that will put their qualifications to good use.
By connecting strong talent with exciting opportunities, USAJOBS has helped qualified professionals find their place in public service. In the process, it has allowed OPM to ensure some of the best and brightest minds are working to meet public needs. The federal workforce is more than two million people strong and counting, and the American people deserve to have top talent working on their behalf, whether it’s to find a cure to cancer, fight climate change, or land a rover on the surface of Mars.
No doubt USAJOBS has faced challenges along the way. The job market is ever-changing — so are the needs of federal agencies, and the applicants who want to join them. The USAJOBS team has worked hard to adapt and make improvements to the user experience. Over the past decade, USAJOBS created new hiring paths to streamline the application process; they added an eligibility functionality to help job seekers identify the openings that are right for them; they improved proactive recruitment efforts to seek out the right talent for complex roles, and much more. Thanks to these improvements, USAJOBS has served as the central point for posting over 5,900 COVID-19 related positions across the federal government. And the site continues to play a critical role in recent agency talent surges in cybersecurity, data science, and customer service/experience.
Looking forward, USAJOBS is implementing a new federal job announcement template for use by agencies when posting job openings. The changes, which are based on applicant feedback and recommendations from the U.S. Digital Service, will streamline information for potential applicants and provide easy access to the most important details, like qualifications and assessment requirements. The USAJOBS team plans to implement an improved remote work option on job announcements. When launched, the feature will allow agencies to advertise remote positions and allow job seekers to search and filter remote work opportunities. In addition to these, the site is also in the process of upgrading its mobile experience to allow job seekers to better navigate its features on mobile devices.
We face big challenges as a nation, and my goal isn’t just a federal workforce that meets the needs of today, but one that allows us all to thrive for decades to come. That means addressing the global pandemic and building our country back better than before. It also means defining a new era of work that draws from the diversity of the American people, invests in the success and wellbeing of each employee, and includes flexibilities like remote and telework where appropriate to better recruit and retain qualified candidates. Cultivating a workforce with top talent is no easy task. I congratulate the USAJOBS team on this milestone, and look forward to their continued service connecting public servants with impactful careers at a time when we need it most.
-Kiran Ahuja, Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management
