Where are the social media jobs in the federal government?

The latest job numbers showed slow but steady growth with 103,000 new jobs added in December, though new government jobs declined by 10,000. Yet many analysts are predicting a boom in government hiring in 2011, and there are a number of jobs open right now for media professionals with skills in social media.

WHO'S HIRING?

More than a dozen U.S. government department and agencies currently have open postings for public affairs specialists and other social media-related jobs.  Agencies including the IRS, Homeland Security, FEMA, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Transportation are now looking for social media help. Military branches are also doing a lot of hiring in this field, particularly the Army and the Air Force.

HIRING FOR WHAT?

Not surprisingly, most of the federal social media jobs are part of the public affairs shops at agencies. “Public Affairs Specialist” is the most common position title now for jobs that utilize social media expertise, but others such as “Communications Specialist” are also fairly common. For most of these jobs, the main goal is to represent and control the agenda and reputation of the agency on all fronts, which encompasses print and broadcast media as well as Web 2.0 technologies.

Many of the job descriptions don't go into detail about how social media is used on the job. However, a careful reading of the postings offer some clues as to how candidates might expect to use social media. For example, a posting from the Treasury Department for a Public Affairs Specialist instructs employees to “develop and transmit information materials to a variety of publics to enhance the understanding of certain attitudes and practices that are advocated by the CFPB [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau].” That's quite a mouthful. A listing by the Department of Veteran Affairs for a Communications Specialist requires candidates to have the “ability to edit web pages and create links, and use social networking technology.” Simply put, know your social media and break out those hashtags.

WHERE?

Many of the current social media listings are for positions in the Washington D.C. area. However, agencies are by no means limiting their hiring to just inside the Beltway. Openings for Public Affairs Specialists alone can be found for agencies all over the country, in cities such as Kennewick, WA, Denton, TX, Silver City, NM, among others. For those who may be a little more adventurous, the Army Corps of Engineers is hiring for a number of public relations specialists to work overseas in the Middle East.

HOW MUCH CAN I EARN?

All of the jobs listed on USAJobs were salaried positions, and most of the media positions offered salary ranges that are competitive (if not higher than) private sector media professionals. The best paying position we found is an opening for a Public Affairs Specialist for SIGTARP, listing a salary range in between $123,758-$155,500 per year. Most jobs averaged in the $50,000-$75,000 range, not bad considering that many early- or even mid-career media professionals are happy to subsist on a diet of Ramen noodles and frozen dinners.

ACT NOW!

More than half of the federal social media-related jobs now open are set to stop accepting applications by the end of this month. Furthermore, more than one-third of the jobs are set to stop accepting applications in the next week. If you're not quite ready to start sending out resumes, don't worry: openings are expected to increase as 2011 moves forward. However, if you see a job that suits you, the key is to act swiftly to put your feet into the ring to get that potential interview.

CHECK OUT THESE HOT OPPORTUNITIES

Here are a few listings for some cool social media jobs that close soon:

Visual Information Specialist, FEMA – Department of Homeland Security:

Works as a key member of and supports an Integrated Communications team, supporting a variety of products that are made available to internal and external audiences through a variety of traditional and new media tools.

Closes: 1/12/2011

New Media Analyst, Federal Student Aid – Department of Education:

Position is located in the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid (FSA), Customer Experience, Student Aid Awareness and Applicant Services Channel, which is responsible for the development of FSA's social media strategy and enterprise-wide implementation including policy, design, metrics and analysis. 

Closes: 1/18/2011

Tribal Policy Specialist, Federal Communications Commission

Provides expert advice and assistance to the Office Chief,  ONAP staff, and Bureau management on the strategies, policies, and programs covering Federal-Tribal government-to-government affairs and policy development, consultations and coordination with Federally-recognized Tribal governments and other Native organizations, relationships with Native media, and outreach to American Indian, Alaska Native and other Native community leaders and their governmental citizens and organizations members.

Closes: 1/18/2011