Federal and state agencies offer excellent job opportunities in a range of fields. We have many government agencies who attend our Career Fairs looking to recruit UC Davis Students! 

Applying for a government job is a different process than applying for a private sector job, so review the resources below to get started. For additional information about the government application process, you can attend our quarterly state/federal workshops or schedule an appointment with a career advisor.  

California State Jobs

CalCareers is the primary place to find California State positions. Your first step is to create an account on CalCareers.

• Narrow Your Search: Browse state occupations by college major or state occupations by industry.
• Job Postings and Terminology: Read all sections of a job posting, such as the department description, duty statement and application instructions. Review our Decoding State Job Announcements handout for more information about commonly used terminology in job postings.
• Student Jobs and Internships: For part-time student jobs and internships with California state agencies, browse CalCareers Student Assistant vacancies. Additionally, some departments hire their student assistants through college partnership programs like University Enterprises Inc. (UEI) and the Community College Foundation (CCF).
• State Hiring Workshops: The CA Employment Development Department (EDD) has a calendar of upcoming workshops. You can also access recorded workshops on their YouTube channel: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
• NxtGov Resource: NxtGov is an organization that helps people get hired in state government. They have a variety of job search tools to help you get started on your search.

Federal Government Jobs

USAJOBS is the primary place to find federal job listings. Your first step is to create an account on USAJOBS.

• Job Filters: Use the Pathways for Students and Recent Graduates filter on USAJOBS. In order to narrow down your search you can browse federal occupations by college major.
• Federal Internships: Many federal internships can be found on the Federal Internship Portal or the Federal Internship Finder Tool. For more information on federal internships, visit USAJOBS Help Center.
• GoGovernment Tool: The Partnership for Public Service developed this site to be your guide as you consider, apply and secure federal employment. Their library of Career Guides can help you find which federal agencies hire people with your skills.
• Workshops: See this calendar of monthly workshops for topics such as how to write federal resumes, how to navigate USAJobs and more. You can also review our recorded “how to apply” workshop for more information.

Additional Opportunities

In addition to the resources above, consider the following opportunities to gain experience in public service.

• UC Center Sacramento: Only open to UC students, UCCS offers a quarter-long program of coursework paired with an internship. Offered every quarter and in the summer, internship placements are tailored to students' backgrounds, experiences and career goals.
• UC Washington Program: The Washington Program offers undergraduate students a unique opportunity to combine their academic studies with an extraordinary internship experience in Washington, D.C.
• Capital Fellows Program: These nationally recognized public policy fellowships offer 10-month positions as paid, full-time employees working in California’s Legislative, Executive or Judicial Branch.
• GovernmentJobs.com: This job board, used by many cities and counties across the U.S., is a great place to search for local government job opportunities.