How to target jobs in Washington, DC
District of Columbia
Washington hiring is federal agencies, the contractors around them, associations, law and policy offices, nonprofits, and hospitality that serves that world. The form you fill out depends on which of those it is. A private-sector resume is not always the document a federal posting asked for.
This page does not estimate salaries or how many jobs are open. Those figures go stale, and there is no source for them here.
Federal agencies
Agencies hire in almost every profession, under their own titles and questionnaires. Read the announcement. If it asks for a particular document format or a specific qualification, follow it. Do not assume a corporate resume will be parsed the same way.
Contractors
Firms that serve agencies hire project staff, analysts, engineers, and specialists. Clearance requirements are explicit. List a clearance you hold. Do not write that you are eligible unless the posting uses that word and you know it is true.
Associations, nonprofits, and firms
Associations, nonprofits, law firms, and consultancies hire researchers, managers, and coordinators. Show the subject you have actually worked on. Interest in policy is not the same as having done the work.
The kinds of employers
Agencies, contractors, associations, nonprofits, law offices, universities, hospitals, and hotels. Many jobs that say Washington are in Virginia or Maryland. The commute across the region is the decision.
How to aim an application
Say whether you will work in the District, in Northern Virginia, in suburban Maryland, or some combination. Keep federal and private applications separate when they ask for different documents. Use the announcement's title.
What to have ready
Have consistent dates and employer names for a background check. For clearance jobs, do not embellish. For association jobs, name the program or the membership work you did, not a cause you admire from outside.
Role guides that fit this mix
Questions
- Are DC jobs all federal?
- A great many are federal or contractor roles. Associations, hospitals, universities, and hotels hire here too.
- What if the office is in Virginia?
- Then it is a Virginia commute, even if the search said Washington. Include it only if you will go.