Welcome to the Pacific Northwest Region website on temporary hiring. Are you or
someone you know interested in a summer job for 2018 with the Forest Service?
Come join us! Now is the time to begin thinking about
what kind of job you want and preparing your applications for temporary jobs.
This video will give you some tips and tricks to apply successfully, a little
bit about the jobs that will be available, and why the Pacific Northwest
Region is the place you want to work this summer. We work together to serve people
and communities by ensuring that the Region's natural resources remain
healthy and productive for future generations. We call this the greatest
good, and we've been united by this purpose for over a hundred years. The
Forest Service works with the American public in stewarding these treasured
landscapes, resources, and communities. We look a lot like you, and are diverse in
our backgrounds, heritage, and viewpoints. Reasons for joining our team abound
everything from our people, to our locations, to our environment, and making
a difference. About 3,000 permanent employees work with us throughout Oregon
and Washington and each year we bring on roughly an additional 1,000 new seasonal
employees. Many people love the jobs they choose as seasonal employees and want to
return year after year. Once you are hired as a seasonal employee, you have
many opportunities to be rehired. Even better, once you've completed 24 months
of employment as a seasonal employee you can compete for many permanent positions
that are offered throughout the National Forest System. Connections with
communities is at the heart of what we do
so in addition to the technical experience and skills you will need for
a specific job, we're also looking for people who share our passion for the
mission of the Forest Service, enjoy interacting with people from all walks
of life, believe that working together with other people can often
generate better ideas and solutions than working alone, and people who are active
in their communities. There's great opportunity to compete for a huge
variety of jobs in the Pacific Northwest: everything from specialties such as fire,
timber, recreation, biological science, natural resources, engineering,
archaeology, to business and visitor services. So you're probably wondering
what's the value for me in working in a temporary position for the Forest
Service? You can network with permanent employees and supervisors that, in the
future, could be considering hiring you or recommending you to others for
permanent employment. It lets you try out a different career field, get some
experience, and put your education and previous experience to work in a
practical work environment. You can make new friends and explore more of the
outdoors and the local communities that live there, and experience a broad range
of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer. And you will be conserving and
protecting the legacy that we leave for future generations:
resilient forests, clean and plentiful water and air, sustainable recreation,
cultural and historical preservation, and more. In deciding the kind of work that
fits best for you, you might want to ask yourself: 1) do you enjoy working outdoors?
The bulk of these jobs are filled going so there will be a lot of time spent
outside. or 2) do you prefer being inside? We do have some office positions as well.
3) Do you like being part of a team and working with forest visitors and
customers? Every job demands teamwork and responsive courteous interactions with
others. We are an organization that demands inclusive behaviors.
Discrimination and harassment of any kind are not welcome here.
4) Do you like physically demanding jobs outdoors? A majority of the seasonal
positions in fire suppression require strenuous physical effort, over night
assignments lasting up to two weeks at a time,
camping and working in steep terrain with extreme temperatures. When you click
on the link to the USAJOBS website you'll see all the positions offered
for national forests in Oregon and Washington during our application period.
This is our primary hiring event so while you may see a few single vacancies
later on for hard to fill positions, the bulk of our hiring will be done based on
the pool during our application period. So visit our seasonal hiring page on our
website for dates and other details. In a lot of the job descriptions that
you'll read, you'll find similarities but there are some that certainly have
unique opportunities. For example some of the firefighting positions are for
helicopter repellers, engine crews, and hotshots.
There's also archaeology work and climbing rangers. Some forests offer
remote locations if you like rural life and some offer urban settings where
housing and populations are denser. Certain forests and duty locations will
have more job opportunities than others and this is dependent on their seasonal
workforce demand. So now I know you're thinking: I've got to work for the Forest
Service because it's the place to be! Here is the most important thing you
need to know and do: sign into USAJOBS early and get your documentation and
resume uploaded. Be ready to apply well in advance of our application period and
stay tuned for updates on our website. This might require a little bit of work
if you haven't applied on USAJOBS before. You will need to think about which
locations you would like to live and work in and which jobs. Take a look at
the map on our jobs website and explore both the type of work you would like to
do and where you would like to live. Review the extensive job list when it's
released in October. It will be featured on the temporary hiring website for this
Region. Look at the grade level--for example GS-5--because that determines your
pay. Look at the duty location because that is where you would be living and
would have to move to for the temporary job. Think about which
locations you most prefer. In many instances you can select more than one
location. Make sure your resume tells the story about what you are qualified to do
and the work that you applied to do. Be sure you attach all files or documents
that you need to support your qualifications or status--for example
veterans preference, documents and transcripts. This is a very competitive
process and incomplete applications will not be considered for employment. We're
hopeful that we'll be working with many of you this coming summer. Again there
are unique opportunities, fabulous places to work, and they may lead to lots of
other opportunities. Please consider a job with the Forest Service in your
future. If you have any questions contact the national forest office that you are
interested in working for, and best of luck with the application process.