Hiring authority for this program is provided under the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP) which is designed to help agencies recruit and attract exceptional individuals into the Federal workforce. The program was created under Executive Order 13162 and hiring authority is permitted when recruiting at regional or national levels. Applicants may be university seniors (or graduates) and must be able to report to work within six months of the job offer. Successful candidates are typically offered entry level positions and may be converted to permanent status after two years of acceptable internship. During the internship, work assignments are designed to provide an orientation to the agency and offer progressive on-the-job specialized work experience and training targeted to the full-performance duties of the RMS. For more information, please visit the FCIP website at www.opm.gov/careerintern.

Hiring authority is also provided under the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) that provides Federal agencies with a consistent, regulated structure for hiring student employees. The SCEP provides career and study-related employment for a student enrolled (or accepted for enrollment) as a degree-seeking student in an accredited high school, technical or vocational school, two or four year college or university, graduate or professional school. For more information, please visit: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/blm_jobs.html

As in past years, Agency Job Outreach Notices, advertising available vacancies, will be posted on the SRM website about 2 months prior to the meetings. The intent is to notify individuals in advance allowing them to plan on attending the meetings in order to apply to positions of interest. In the past, advertised positions represented the Rangeland Management Specialist (454), Natural Resource Specialist (401), Wildlife Biologist (486), and Rangeland Technician (455) job series as well as Student Career and Experience Program (SCEP) positions. The array of positions available changes from year to year.

Once at the meetings, the entire process generally takes four days from Sunday to Wednesday. Applicants should plan to be available for interviews at any time during this period. Agencies will be present at the annual SRM RANGELAND JOB FAIR and the CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS on the first Sunday of the meeting to circulate job outreach notices as well as explain the agency hiring process to interested participants. By Monday noon most applications should be submitted, typically coming from graduating seniors or recently graduated young professionals. Agency teams of Human Resource Specialists will review and qualify submitted applications within one day.

During the next 2-3 days qualified applicants will be provided with ~ 30 minute interviews. The interview panels usually consist of managers and/or program leads delegated with hiring authority and representing all available vacancies. At the completion of the interviews, offers may be made to exceptional candidates with the intent to fill all available positions by Thursday.

In 2010 the BLM and USFS will try a new approach whereby individuals may be able to submit their applications about 2 weeks in advance of the meetings. This will then allow for applications to be reviewed and qualified in advance of the meetings. It is anticipated that all qualified applicants will then be contacted in advance of the meetings in order to schedule on-site interviews. This would also allow for hiring officials to be able to effectively set-up phone interviews with those applicants who are unable to attend the meetings. More information on the application submission process for this program is located above under agency specific positions and information.

For preliminary agency-specific information please contact Linda Coates-Markle, BLM Liaison to SRM, Amanda Cameron, Rangeland Management Specialist, USFS, Leonard Jolley, USDA-NRCS Rangeland/Grazingland Specialist and/or Dennis W. Thompson, USDA - NRCS National Range and Grazing Lands Ecologist.

• Making the First 10 Minutes of an Interview Count (pdf)
• Information for Applying for Federal Jobs (pdf)
• BLM Comparison Fact Sheet (pdf)
• BLM Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) (pdf)
• Resume Tips, presented by USAJOBS, the official job site of the US Federal Government. It's your one-stop source for Federal jobs and employment information.
• The following position descriptions represent generic versions and are generally representative of the kind of duties performed under these job series. It should be noted that local variations will exist within all job descriptions.
  • Wildlife Biologist (0486)
  • Range Technician (0455)
  • BLM Rangeland Management Specialist (0454)
  • USFS Rangeland Management Specialist (0454)
  • BLM Natural Resource Specialist (0401)
  • BLM Botanist (0430)
• USFS Student Employment Information
• USFS General Career Overview Information
• Careers with the BLM
• Current vacancies throughout the BLM can be found at: http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/a9blm.asp