Working for the US government will give you a long term job that will enable you to support and provide for your family. There are many branches of federal offices in all the states in the US and you can apply for a position in a federal government office in your area. If you are used to working in an environment where there is a hierarchy of employee positions and if you can take orders from your superiors, then a job in the government is one for you. There are also disadvantages in working in the federal government that you have to cope with if you want to last in your job. If you are set on working for the government, here are some tips on how to survive in your job. Read on.
Do not expect to be rewarded for extra work done. Unlike in private companies, any innovations and extra efforts put in are rewarded accordingly. In the federal workplace, however, this is not so. If you go the distance to improve your tasks, you are not given extra pay. You have to accept this as a fact of federal office life, but do not let this situation discourage you from improving your tasks.
Be contented for the tasks given to you. When you are a newbie, you are given easy tasks that do not require too much skill or know-how to complete. Starting on the bottom of the ladder means the tasks are fit to be assigned to the ones at the bottom. Tasks like photocopying documents, encoding files into the office’s computer database, etc. are just some of the jobs that do not take a genius to accomplish. Be patient, all these shall pass – when you go up the ladder in a few years. Do not question the authorities if you do not agree with your assignments. Everyone goes through the same situation.
The ladder is not always easy to climb. In federal offices, there are a lot of senior employees holding the top positions, and unless they retire, their posts are never vacant. When the time comes that a senior post is vacant, the one immediately under is considered the next in line. It takes several years to climb up a step, and many more years to climb all the way up the federal ladder.
Think of ways to improve yourself. Personal advancement is possible in a federal workplace. Treat your experiences at work as learning tools for you to further improve the way you serve the American people with the job that you do. Do not pass up seminars and conventions for career development.
If you ever find your job more difficult than what you expected, you have to be more persistent and patient in familiarizing yourself with your tasks and responsibilities. Do not give up if things do not go your way and if coworkers make your life a living hell. In every workplace there are one or two people who will disagree and try to destroy you. You only have to step up your game and do not get fazed by them.
