Did you know? The Federal Job Numbers

Originally posted to Unleash the Monster

By Monster Government Solutions Team

While the country has been faced with the highest unemployment numbers in over two decades, the federal government is currently struggling to fill jobs with qualified candidates.

According to our numbers at Monster, agencies using Monster Hiring Management posted 234,144 vacancies across 36 federal agencies since the summer of 2001. That is roughly 29,000 jobs each year.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had the most vacancies at 28,953 and received 1,343,448 applications. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service had the fewest vacancies (only 20), but still had over 23,000 applications. The high application to job vacancy ratio can most likely be attributed to the fact that television shows like NCIS have glamorized the position.

With the daunting number of applications being received, how do agencies ensure that they select the right applicant for the job? Monster Government Solutions has some suggestions that we offer to our customers to assist with identifying best qualified applicants, including:

· Implement a job knowledge test – designed to assess a job applicant’s technical or professional expertise in a specific knowledge area (licensing and certification tests are considered job knowledge assessments).

· Utilize situational judgment tests – multiple choice assessments that provide applicant’s with real-life job scenarios and asks them to indicate how they would respond.

· Offer training and experience questionnaires – self-report measures designed to assess an applicant’s prior training and experience as it relates to job requirements.

· Consider biographical data – self-report measures consisting of factual questions about life and work experiences, as well as questions about opinions, values, beliefs and attitudes.

· Utilize structured interviews – standardized assessments consisting of behaviorally-based lead and probe interview questions as well as scoring protocols (including proficiency levels and behavioral anchors)

What strategies has your agency put into place to ensure the placement of qualified candidates?