By Lily Whiteman
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0 a% Z; |9 S- RThe federal government is bracing not just for a retirement wave but for a full blown retirement "tsunami," says Linda M. Springer, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Indeed, fully 50 percent of federal employees will be eligible to retire by 2010. Partly because of increased federal retirements, the federal government will hire more than 200,000 professionals in 2006. Moreover, because of the exodus of federal managers, new hires will enjoy unprecedented opportunities for quickly climbing the federal career ladder.
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Federal Job Myths
+ V( ]1 M2 c0 _5 \( RTo cultivate the next generation of leaders, the federal government has been rolling out new internship and hiring programs for students, recent grads, minorities, and women. These programs, which are based all over the United States, offer opportunities for students to pursue almost any specialty, including scientific research, budget analysis, engineering, policy, and communications. 7 s8 {( d  r, k) U6 P

9 B  c& Q) L! _3 i" m, e( o* w" EDesigned to showcase the federal government as a dynamic employer, most federal internships and special hiring programs offer enlightening activities, such as lectures, mentoring, networking events, and rotational assignments. Here are descriptions of a few of these programs:
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  R- h1 M" Y  A1 R. ?7 Q6 \The National Institutes for Health near Washington, D.C. offers summer internships and year-round opportunities for undergrads, grad students, and recent grads to conduct research at the nation's premier biomedical research laboratories. Dozens of other labs throughout the United States run similar programs. . Q$ `. s8 z: g4 U3 W6 K4 A
The Government Accountability—a watchdog agency—offers summer internships for undergrads and a two-year professional development program for recent grads. Participants in both programs help investigate international, environmental, housing, and other issues for Congress, and help summarize investigation results in reports and Congressional testimony. 7 h0 B+ U" H, x" U
The Federal Bureau of Investigation hires undergrads and grad students to work side-by-side with special agents on important cases in Washington, D.C. and at the agency's forensics lab in Quantico, Virginia. : ^" e+ v+ {1 S1 h& H2 T8 v: X7 v
The Federal Highway Administration hires college and master's degree graduates to plan and manage transportation systems and their environmental, land-use, safety, funding, and civil rights aspects. + |6 O, ?  p) T* I% P
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Finding Openings
/ k/ c  d. m3 b" H8 A# T$ iTo find federal jobs, check:3 ?! v# L, P; m, M8 K

  }3 s! Y7 m  TUSAjobs.gov This site—the federal government's centralized jobs web site-posts announcements of jobs and career fairs that may feature on-the-spot hiring. ! F# Z. F2 ^- y' p
Students.gov This site provides links to many internships and special hiring programs for students.
1 ?  M  H0 s/ iNACElink A job web site that offers links to many federal job opportunities. If your school is a participant, you'll find a login box on your career center's web site.
1 j9 R* a/ K, P$ v# [4 \Agency web sites: These sites frequently announce jobs, career fairs, internships, and special hiring programs that are not announced elsewhere. (Links to all agency web sites are provided on Usajobs.gov.)
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Also keep in mind that many temporary agencies place employees on contract jobs in federal agencies. Such contract jobs may segue seamlessly into permanent federal jobs or yield networking contacts that provide inside tracks to permanent federal jobs.

Impressing Employers
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Once you identify your target jobs, craft winning applications for them by:% G0 N0 R" F. s5 \6 V1 Q5 e
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Design your resume for easy skimming. Why? Because studies shows that most employers devote less than 10 seconds to each resume before deciding whether to read on or move on to another resume. So to quickly impress hiring managers, you should format the names of your degrees; schools you attended; employers' names; and job titles to leap off the page. (Hint: If the name of your degree and your zip code are equally as prominent on your resume, keep working on it.) Also, confine each job description to a concise list of quick-read, achievement-oriented bullets.
' m7 S' s# B0 i: O! Z! gWrite winning answers to essay questions on job applications (commonly known as KSAs). Provide specific examples of instances in which you have demonstrated relevant skills. For example, if an essay question asks you to describe your communication skills, craft an impressive response by citing your grades in English classes and the praise you received on writing assignments and presentations in other classes. Also describe written or oral work products you produced on previous jobs and the positive feedback they drew. $ M4 `$ m: j" I4 L7 m. g! w# l, n, i
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Practice answers to common interview questions. These include:
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; @, P- I: H0 _$ {! j" n+ x6 MTell me about yourself. 3 a7 b( x: B# z# M1 t
What are your strengths?
! |8 |  [4 t$ [! D! q& k: N9 IWhy do you want to work here? 4 u  u3 v2 W9 @# \
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Your answers should emphasize what you offer employers—not what you want from the job. Also, incorporate into your answers what you learned about your target organization from its web site and from ourpublicservice.org, which provides a cornucopia of information about many federal agencies. & g6 G, F' V0 @# j- d* t8 h
And as for that loathsome standard: "What are your weaknesses?" Here's a good answer: "I have never worked for this organization before, so I have a lot to learn about it. But I offer a fresh perspective and lots of energy."