An Ahead-of-the-Curve Way to Land a Federal Job

By Marty Nemko

Soon, a law will likely be enacted that essentially gives amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. If so, the federal government will almost certainly have to hire thousands of people to register each of the millions of illegal immigrants, monitor that they’re meeting the mandated work requirements, and depending on which version of the bill passes, ensures that illegals return to Mexico prior to returning to register, and/or monitors companies to ensure they’re only hiring illegals when they have no other choice.

That government hiring will likely continue for years because millions of additional illegals will undoubtedly flood the U.S., knowing that not only won’t they be prosecuted for their illegality, they will be rewarded with instant government health, education, and other services plus, now, a likely path to U.S. citizenship. Even though the law will probably only apply to illegal aliens currently in the U.S., a look at the previous No-It’s-Not-Amnesty bill (1986) made clear the obvious: that it’s impossible for the U.S. to keep track of the endless flood of illegal immigrants. Soon after the bill was passed, the U.S. gave up trying to monitor the illegals. That’s a major reason why the Feds perceive the need for a 2006 No-It’s-Not-Amnesty bill. So, jobs registering and monitoring illegals and the employers who hire them should remain plentiful for the foreseeable future.

But you say, “A career registering and monitoring illegals isn’t very enticing.” I understand. But the federal government employs two to three million people (Estimates vary: the number is so large, no one’s quite sure), in jobs from artist to zoologist. And current federal employees get preference in hiring, even if your current federal job has nothing to do with the job you’re applying for. (God knows why.) So, if you like the idea of a federal job—one of the last bastions of offshore-resistant, permanent, well-paying jobs offering a fat pension at taxpayer expense—it’s often wise to take any federal job. Once in, you can transfer. I can’t think of a more likely to be successful way to become a federal employer than to apply for one of the myriad jobs that will become available as a result of the forthcoming illegal immigration bill.

There’s a larger takeaway: When looking for a new job or career, monitor the news for new government laws and policies that will give rise to new hiring. That hiring may not be limited to the government. For example, when the feds passed the Sarbanes-Oxley law, all publicly traded companies were immediately forced to hire clerks, accountants, programmers, and project managers to come into compliance. When the law was first passed, because it was new, no one had experience with it. So job seekers who took a little time to read and understand the law instantly became in demand. Simply read the newspaper (or U.S. News) and you’ll be ahead of the curve.