Careers at Rural Development

Why Work for Us

	Diverse Career Paths Working at Rural Development you can explore diverse career paths such as: Loan Specialists, Loan Technicians, Engineering, Finance and Lending, Information Technology, Human Resources, Contracting, and many other exciting career paths.
	Salaries and Benefits The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development strongly believes in supporting our employees with desirable benefits which compare favorably with other employers. We provide competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package, which includes paid vacation, sick leave, health coverage and retirement plans, thrift savings plans, life and long-term care insurance, and flexible spending accounts.
	Work Life Balance We know that maintaining a balance between your professional and personal responsibilities is vital to your happiness and your professional success.  We offer a number of programs aimed to help you achieve work/life balance including health and wellness programs, employee assistance programs, alternate workplace arrangements, and flexible work schedules.

Who is Eligible to Apply

	All U.S. Citizens and Nationals All U.S. citizens and nationals are eligible to apply for careers with Rural Development.
	Veterans We are committed to hiring veterans.  Veterans bring a wealth of skills and experience that make them well suited for employment in the Federal workforce. Veterans eligible for special hiring authority such as the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) may compete for positions along with current federal employees under merit promotion procedures.   Veterans may also compete for positions open to all U.S. citizens under competitive examining procedures which may allow veteran preference over nonveterans. For additional information, please visit the Feds Hire Vets website.
	Disability We are proud to offer employment opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities.  Qualified individuals may be hired non-competitively through the Schedule A Hiring Authority. For additional information and useful links, please visit OPM’s web page on Disability and Employment.
	Pathways Student Programs We offer different pathway opportunities for students and recent graduates.  The Pathway programs provides meaningful training and developmental opportunities to those who are beginning their Federal Careers. It consists of the Internship, Recent Graduate and Presidential Management Fellows Programs. Several opportunities with RD are available through this program. For additional information, please visit OPM’s web page for Students and Recent Graduates.

How to Apply

• The Hiring Process
• Hiring Options and Appointment Types

To apply for positions with Rural Development, please visit the USAJobs website (www.usajobs.gov) and search for available positions.  Once you have determined that you are qualified for a job and want to apply for the position, the How to Apply section of the job announcement will help you understand your next steps and will carefully guide you through each step of the application process.  This section may state deadlines and will list required supporting documents such as a formal application and resume.

Here are some videos to help you get started with USAJobs:

• Applying for a Federal Job
• Resume Writing Tips
• 5 Tips on Communicating your Qualifications 
• What to Include in your Federal Resume

Hiring Process

Below is a quick summary of how the federal application process works:

• Create a USAJobs Profile and search for available jobs
• Review Job Announcement
• Prepare your Application in USAJobs
• Submit Application to Agency
• Agency Reviews Application and determines Qualifications
• Hiring Manager will review the highest qualified applications and selects applicants to interview based on agency policy.
• Candidate is selected and contacted to start the job offer process.  At this time, a tentative job offer will be extended.  After the tentative job offer is accepted, the agency will start the background investigation.
• Once the background investigation is successfully completed, a final job offer will be extended to the candidate with a start date.