OPM Unveils New USAJobs

The Office of Personnel Management on Monday unveiled its revamped USAJobs.gov, the government's primary job search Web site. In a press conference on Monday, OPM touted the new site as easier to navigate, more streamlined and more personal, largely because it enables applicants to better refine job search results, as well as share job search information on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking Web sites.

OPM Deputy Director Christine Griffin said that students at George Washington University have complimented the new site as being "as easy to use as Google," largely by allowing applicants to set up an account and follow up on their application at any time.

"We worked with folks [at George Washington] to help us develop it," Griffin said. "We know that GW's campus is literally across E Street. I think if you're trying to cross that street as a new college grad into a federal job, the E might as well stand for Everest because working with the old USAJobs represented your climb up Everest as you try to get a federal job."

The new site also enables federal applicants to save jobs and upload up to five documents, such as veterans preference forms or college transcripts, to their account, said Kim Bauhs, assistant director of recruitment and diversity at OPM. Applicants can also upload their resume to their account, or build a resume using a structured format, and applicants can log into their account to check the status of their application and whether the job has been filled, she added.

"The black hole has been filled in," Griffin said. "There's an opportunity for applicants to set up an account and follow up on the process and their application at any time. It's simple and transparent."

Still, Bauhs said that some challenges with the site remain, including ensuring all agency staffing systems are fully integrated with the new USAJobs. Currently, about 73 percent of chief human capital officer agencies are integrated with the new site, she said.

As someone who has both covered the federal workforce for a few years and applied to federal jobs in the past, I'm impressed with OPM's redesign of the site and overall goal of improving the federal hiring process. What are your thoughts? Will the new USAJobs help the government better market itself and appeal to top talent, particularly younger workers?