Avue debuts transition job site

The site www.transitionjobs.us will list the about 7,000 politically appointed positions that will open after President Bush leaves the White House to make way for a new administration.

For now, Avue has posted the 2004 Plum Book positions that were filled by the current Bush administration so that people have an idea of what types of jobs are available and where they are located, said Linda Rix, co-chief executive officer of Avue Technologies.

Avue will add the 2008 Plum Book to the site once it is published after the Nov. 4 presidential election.

The Plum Book is traditionally organized by agency, but Avue reorganized the data on its site so that job seekers can search by agency, by state via an interactive map, as well as by affinity group such as technology or accounting.

Politically appointed jobs are available in every state and range from those that require Senate approval to those at the GS-9 level that do not.

“One of things that I like about the map is [it shows] how many jobs are not in DC,” Rix said. “I think members of Congress would be interested in how many jobs are in their state and district.”

The site will also track how many of these jobs have been filled and will provide job applications for download.

Rix said she is interested in talking with the Obama and McCain camps about using the new site as part of their political appointee hiring process. “We want to introduce them to a technology solution early in the process so they don’t end up mired in a paper mill,” Rix said.

O'Hara is a freelance writer based in Arlington, Va.