I have served local governments for over 27 years and I can truly say the experience and opportunity to make a difference in the lives of so many is a rewarding experience and one I would not trade. My passion, which I began to realize many years ago, was in creating great public spaces that […]
As times change and as our work cultures progress, the methods we use to seek out career opportunities and to efficiently manage our work place must adapt with them. Social media has become a phenomenon over the last decade, with Nielsen estimating in July 2012 that U.S. mobile and PC users spent 121 billion minutes […]
Applying for a government job can be a brutally competitive experience. Not only will you be subject to a lengthy interview process that can sometimes span three to four different meetings, you’ll also be up against hundreds – if not thousands – of other job applicants. Government positions can be very lucrative jobs and are […]
In times such as these, many people still have a feeling that public sector employees are overpaid, underworked, and (frankly) untouchable. The reality of public service is they are not. Coming from the private sector 12 years ago to the public arena, I vowed never to forget where I came from. I even keep an […]
By now, we’re all aware of the dreaded sequester — or group cuts to federal spending — that recently went into effect. According to The Washington Post, although the sequester was originally meant to serve as an incentive for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to cut $1.1 trillion over the next decade, not […]
For seven years Public Works magazine has asked readers – city, county, state, special district, and township employees who oversee their community’s infrastructure assets — how much they’re paid. The latest statistics can be found here. For some communities, furloughs are no longer enough to close the gap between available revenue and community need. For […]
Congratulations! You just received a call from a hiring manager asking you to attend the first round of interviews. An experienced hiring manager once told me that the number one mistake job applicants make is showing up to an interview unprepared and use a lot of “ums” and “ahs” throughout. Worst of all, candidates like […]
For as long as most of us can remember the words “government employee” have been synonymous with steady, reliable employment where terms like “downsizing” and” rightsizing” seldom applied and the threat of being laid off was as remote as snowfall in Miami Beach. Then the housing bubble burst, banks failed, retail sales plummeted, and unemployment […]
Work in local government often requires knowing the right people to better understand how your community functions and how to accomplish the tasks at hand. Knowing and talking to the right people can also help you get the job you want within local government, even when you aren’t running for an elected position. If you […]
This is the second article in a four-part series on Why Local Governments Fail at Economic Development. The first article addressed how local government officials “fail to define and sell the sizzle” that makes their community attractive for a new businesses considering relocating there. Local public officials love to pitch the fact that they have […]
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