Wanted, veterans! Major cabinet-level agencies increased federal positions by 4,500 jobs from 1,693,000 in September 2007 to 1,697,500 in December 2007, according to the latest Office of Personnel Management report.

The most recent numbers from last December to the present are not yet available, but signs point toward massive hiring for federal jobs in the next five years. This is the result of retirements and new hires from outside the current federal employee ranks.

The impending wave of retiring baby boomers will have a huge impact on the federal workforce. Between 22 percent and 60 percent of all full-time federal employees could retire by 2016. That means the internal federal pipeline is drying up and a huge number of new employees from outside current government will be hired.

According to FedScope, OPM’s personnel data Web site, the government is hiring from outside of the current employees at a much higher rate than ever before. 240,763 new hires occurred in 2007 from outside of government; 22,761 new hires/transfers occurred from inside government agencies.

However, the really tricky part of landing a federal job is the application process: getting past human resources, getting your resume onto the desk of a supervisor, and landing the job. The first step is to find a job announcement that really fits your background.

Job announcements are great, though they can be quite lengthy. They will tell you exactly what qualifications they want for the job. Read the “qualifications link” when you’re considering a job announcement. Your federal-style resume should clearly present your qualifications for the job, and a few key words from the announcement would be great to utilize also.

In order to begin looking for one of those great federal jobs, check out the positions available in the official government Web site for federal jobs, www.usajobs.gov Using this Web site, you can find jobs in your city and state of preference.

Veterans, remember. Honorably discharged veterans get “preference and priority” over non-veterans in consideration for federal and state civil service positions. You get “preference” with additional preference points added to your test score for military service, and service-connected disability status. You get “priority” in that you don’t have to have the highest test score of those candidates being considered to successfully get the job.

Vincent Darcangelo is a retired Veterans Employment Representative. The Veterans Unit of the Pa. CareerLink, Mercer County is located at 217 West State St., Sharon, and can be reached at 724-347-9257, ext. 116.