How To Apply For Government Contract Jobs

Find And Apply For A Job

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to apply for a job or to review the status of your application

See our tips on getting the best results from your search, including leaving the job field blank

To make your job search easier, you can:

create a saved search
sign up for email alerts, where the search criteria you have chosen will be applied and will be saved to your account

On the job advertisement, select the Apply online link

Work your way through the list of Requirements, completing each section and saving as you go

If you identify as a woman, or are an Aboriginal person, a member of a visible minority, or a person with a disability, you may self-declare in the Employment Equity section of the Requirements, using consent option 3.

Submit your application before the closing date and time listed on the job advertisement, using the Submit application link

What Is A Government Contractor

Overview

The average government contractor salary is $76,972. The most common degree is a bachelor’s degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a government contractor. Government contractors with a Project Management Professional certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 46,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

System For Award Management

Once you have your NAICS code and DUNS Number ready, register with the SAM website. It’s the principal database of vendors maintained by the federal government. Under the Federal Acquisitions Regulation system, you must be registered in SAM in order to be considered for a government contract or purchase agreement.

On registering with SAM, you will be given a Commercial and Government Entity code. Government agencies may ask for this code while responding to your solicitations.

Historically Underutilized Business Zones

The Historically Underutilized Business Zones program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. These preferences go to small businesses that obtain HUBZone certification in part by employing staff who live in a HUBZone. The company business must also maintain a âprincipal officeâ in one of these specially designated areas. Here is a map of HUBZones in New Jersey.

Overview Of Your Data Rights

Your data rights for personal data where we are the data controller.

You can review and enforce your personal data rights through your account, communications you receive from us, third party mechanisms, or with the assistance of our support team using the emails at the end of this Policy. For instance, you can:

Your data rights for personal data you submit to our Customers.

Upon making your personal data available to an employer , your personal data may be controlled by our Customer. In this regard, we are a data processor for personal data Customers maintain have us process, and your data rights are subject to our Customers internal policies. For these reasons, we are not in a position to directly handle data requests for personal data controlled by Customers. You should contact the Customer regarding personal data they may hold about you and to exercise any data rights you may have. We will cooperate with such inquiry in line with applicable law and our contractual obligations with the Customer.

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Find Government Jobs Online

The best way to find government jobs is by searching through online databases. Here are the steps you should follow to find government jobs in the area youd like to work:

Go to Indeeds Job Search page.

Type Government into the keyword section, then fill in your desired location.

After clicking Find Jobs, youll be shown a list of results. You can then narrow your search further using the filters on the left side of the page.

If you have a specific job in mind, type it into the keywords box and conduct another search. For example, you could search for government accountant or corrections officer.

Another option you have is searching through the job postings by specific government agencies. For example, if you want to work for the State Department, go to their website and see what jobs they have available. Most agencies keep their list of job openings updated regularly, so you can check back often to see if a new job has opened.

Finding Business Opportunities With Samgov

Generally speaking, federal contractors and businesses interested in providing goods and services to the government must:

Find available opportunities with the government relevant to their business.

Make necessary preparations for bidding on a GSA contract.

Submit an offer.

Businesses should first visit SAM.gov and register there to be notified of newly posted opportunities in their industries. SAM.gov provides a comprehensive database of all major government solicitations, contract awards, subcontracting opportunities, surplus property sales, and foreign business opportunities with the federal government.

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Find Your Companys Naics Code

Most businesses also need a North American Industry Classification System code, which classifies your businessâs industry, country, and economic sector for purposes of government contracting. This code is needed in order to register your business.

Consult the Small Business Administration for guidance on identifying your industry code, keeping in mind that if your business operates across multiple industries or sectors, you might need to report multiple NAICS codes.

Find The Best Option For Your Needs

Understanding Fraud in HHS Grants and Contracts

First, we will look at how you can find the contracts that youre interested in. Then we will explain how to bid on a government contract with step-by-step instructions.

Doing it Yourself

Federal government contracts are published on the FedBizOpps website. If you want to pursue contracts at the federal level, you can register your business with FedBizOpps to receive notifications about new opportunities that align well with your business.

Finding suitable contracts at the state, county, regional and municipal levels can be much more time-consuming for small and medium sized vendors. With thousands of Requests for Proposal , Requests for Quote and Invitations for Bid being published across the U.S. every day, it can be difficult to keep up with them all.

In order to find opportunities in these jurisdictions, you will need to visit state bidding portals, municipal administration websites, and county purchasing departments. Most of these portals require you to complete a registration process.

If your business employs a person dedicated solely to researching contract opportunities, the do-it-yourself method can work for you. Keep in mind, however, that the time required to evaluate if a contract is right for your business can lead to spending a lot of resources on research and evaluation, instead of bidding on contracts.

Using a Bid Service

Research And Technical Assistance

These contracts are comparable to service-based contracts, although they are more specialized in specific industries. One good example is scientific research or the evaluation of legal documents required by government bodies.

This sort of contract is beneficial to small business owners that work in highly specialized fields. You can be on the bidding list for this type of contract if your company has a strong portfolio, a searchable database on their list, and/or a collection of testimonials from clients with whom youve worked. Taking advantage of successfully obtaining a contract can improve your companys revenue and reputation in the industry you are in, as well as future government contracting prospects.

Government contracts are simple to bid if you determine the dos and donts, submission process, and understand the fundamentals of government contracting. When working for significant customers such as government organizations, keep in mind that your companys reputation and credibility are on the line. As a result, make sure you have the bravery and determination to deal with their credentials and demands.

How To Become A Government Contractor

If you’re interested in becoming a government contractor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We’ve determined that 53.9% of government contractors have a bachelor’s degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 11.0% of government contractors have master’s degrees. Even though most government contractors have a college degree, it’s possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

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Determine If You Have A Special Status

Some government jobs are easier to obtain if you have a special status. A special status means you have specific experience that the government is looking for. Some examples include:

Military veteran

Family of a military member
Recently left the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps
Previous government employee

Government agencies like to see these experiences on a resume and may give special consideration to anyone with these special statuses.

Before you begin the application process, you should consider if any of these special statuses apply to you. For veterans, all you need to have is documentation of a general or honorable discharge. Not all veterans qualify for what is called veterans preference, so you should check to make sure you do before applying.

For Peace Corps and AmeriCorps members, you should start applying immediately after your service ends. Preference for Peace Corps and AmeriCorps members lasts for one year following the end of your service, so you dont want to wait too long. By applying for this preference, you can often avoid large portions of the hiring process, as agencies can offer to interview you without even posting the job opening.

How To Get Government Contracts: Prepare Your Proposal

Though you likely have experience creating proposals and scope of work orders for prospective clients in the private sector, little can prepare you for the unique process of preparing a government contract proposal. In fact, completing a bid or proposal for a government agency may be more akin to completing your business taxes or a stack of forms for the DMV.

Even so, there are plenty of opportunities to share your unique value add and let your business shine within the pages of your proposalâas long as you fit within the confines of agency formats and expectations.

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How To Find Government Contract Jobs

When my grandpa graduated from college with a degree in forestry, he landed a job right away with the U.S. Forest Service, put in his required 30 years as a federal employee and then retired with a cushy pension and other benefits. However, federal government careerists are becoming a thing of the past, as there continues to be a rise in the contract workforce and a stagnation in the number of permanent federal jobs created.

Overall, it is estimated that 40% of government workers are contractors. So, if youre interested in work that supports the mission of a government agency, you may need to expand your search to look for contract jobs. But that may not be as straightforward as you think and will require some due diligence to identify potential employers that hire technical staff to work at these agencies. This week, we bring you resources on how to find government contract jobs, using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an example.

Government Contracts Favor Small Businesses

Of the approximately $500 billion that the U.S. government spends annually on federal contracts, its also their goal to allocate 23% of those funds to small businesses. Now, that might not sound like a huge figureâbut in what other bidding scenarios do you have any sort of guarantee that the prospect will choose a small firm like yours over a much bigger company? In private industry, thatâs virtually unheard of.

Whatâs more, through the Federal Procurement Data System, you actually have the ability to identify government agencies that arenât yet meeting that 23% target. If you respond to a request for a proposal from an agency in this circumstance, youâre almost guaranteed preferential consideration over non-small business firms.

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Additional Resources For Government Contracts

We hope this has been a useful primer on how to obtain government contracts for small business, but theres certainly more to be learned within this expansive and complex industry. Fortunately, the SBA and other federal agencies have gone to great lengths to provide valuable resources for small business owners interested in federal contracts. Here are a few of the most useful resources we recommend.

The Government Is The Worlds Largest Buyer

Govt terminates contracts of suspended Uganda Airlines managers

With an annual contracting marketplace of between $350 billion and $500 billion, the U.S. federal government is the worldâs largest buyer of products and services. Ignoring the contracting opportunities available through the federal government means effectively writing off the single largest avenue for finding new customers.

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Can Anyone Get A Government Contract

You can bid and obtain a government contract whether you are a large or small business. Government contracts will be straightforward to bid on and win once you understand how the bidding process, registration process, requirements, and other things to do in government contracting. But, before you can submit a proposal or bid to a government agency, you must first be added to its bidding or government contractors list.

Large corporations seek prospective clients and government contracts for millions of dollars. These huge firms tend to bid for the federal marketplace, but also have an interest in national and municipal agreements. Small businesses, on the other hand, bid for small contracting opportunities that meet their business credentials and scope of work. Small businesses, with fewer resources, tend to seek out state and more regional contracts.

Another thing to keep in mind while bidding on a contract is that you will be obliged to pay applicable taxes, especially if the services you provide are for public buildings or projects. The prevailing wages are set by local, state, and federal government bodies based on regional union wages.

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How To Sell To The Government

Its a good idea to learn all you can about the process of selling to the governmentto achieve the greatest success. The Small Business Administrations Learning Center offers a free, three-part, on-demand course called Government Contracting 101 that you can take at your own pace.

The SBAs Government Contracting Classroom also offers other self-paced online courses on a variety of topics. Youll find courses for women-owned small businesses, courses for veteran-owned small businesses, courses about how to prepare government contract proposals, and more.

You can prepare long before bidding on a government contract by:

Being sure that bidding on a government contract is best for your company. The process takes time and company resources. You may want to create a plan detailing staffing needs and how much money you hope to gain from the contract.
Researching the demand for your products or services.
Researching the price for your products or services.

Making sure your business is eligible.

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Government Contracting For Small Businesses

The small business sector is an integral part U.S. economy. Of the annual government spending of over 4 trillion dollars, almost $440 billion goes to small businesses.

Small businesses have a very large market. If you have the determination and patience to work within the ambit of set rules and regulations, pursuing government contracts for the supply of goods and services can be a lucrative business opportunity.

Since the application process for government contracts is quite lengthy and the government hardly ever moves at a high speed, you should plan out your businesses for the long haul.

Seek A Subcontracting Opportunity

While the SAM.gov database handles direct contracts with government agenciesâknown in government terms as prime contractsâthere is another form of government contracts for small businesses to explore: subcontracting.

As the name suggests, subcontracting opportunities involve negotiating contracts with current government contractors to complete a portion of the work designated by the prime contractors. In other words, subcontractors are the vendorâs vendor. Subcontracting on government contracts can be both a lucrative business opportunity and a chance to learn more about government contracting before attempting to bid on prime contracts directly with the U.S. government.

Similar to SAM.gov, the SBA maintains a searchable database called SUB-Net that highlights available subcontracting opportunities. If youâre just getting started with government contracting or would like a layer of experience between government agency clientele and your own business, searching SUB-Net for subcontracting opportunities is a great starting point.

Register In The System For Award Management

The System for Award Management is a database of companies that are interested in government contracts, maintained by the U.S. government. Whereas a business customer in the private sector might come across your business on Google, LinkedIn, or some other search or social network, decision-makers at government agencies use SAM to identify potential vendors.

For this reason, small businesses looking to obtain government contracts should invest a similar level of effort into creating a compelling and search-friendly SAM profile as they would spend on SEO strategy or your companyâs LinkedIn profile.

To get started, your business will need to register as a government vendor in the SAM system. While your SAM profile must be updated at least once a year to remain active, firms committed to obtaining government contracts should update and refine their SAM profile at least quarterly, if not monthly or more.

Remember that although youâre pitching to government agencies, the decision-makers within those agencies are real people. Avoid the temptation to fall into overly technical and bureaucratic descriptions of your products or services. Working with a government agency doesnât require stifling the personality behind your brand!

Should My Business Apply For Government Tenders

We talked to Tender Expert and How2Tender Director, Wynand Cronjé, to explain why the Government can be the ideal client to help grow your business.

The bulk of Tender contracts are for periods of 2 to 3 years, which means companies delivering as per their bid proposal have sustainable contracts upon which to grow their businesses, explains , the director of How2Tender.

As the largest procurer of goods and services in South-Africa with a budget of roughly R1.56 trillion, the Government can be a very lucrative client.

All the latest Government Tenders for SMMEs are listed on the Tenders4Me website and app. Click on the image below to see what is available right now.

Are Government Tenders corrupt?

Many businesses have a common misconception that all Government Tenders are corrupt, says Cronjé.

The bulk of tenders are awarded fairly and according to the preferential procurement act which factors in technical compliance, pricing and B-BBEE.

The key is to ensure you deliver compliant and effective bid responses. Educating yourself in this regard is crucial, says Cronjé.

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