Tips for Finding a Federal Job

Participate in a federal internship for a quarter or summer during college. Many agencies have summer and academic year opportunities.
Do your homework. Resources at http://www.calltoserve.org/ can help applicants learn more about and link to the 70+ major federal departments and agencies. See Finding and Applying for Government Jobs for state and local resources.
Start the search at http://www.usajobs.gov/ where most agencies are required to post permanent jobs. Tools include a federal resumé builder and sign-up for automated job alerts. In any given week, over 8,000 jobs are open to qualified U.S. citizens.
Check the Web site of any agencies of special interest. Some agencies (e.g., GAO and FBI) and legislative and judicial branch agencies are not required to post on www.usajobs.gov.
Be sure to complete everything required in the vacancy announcement, including KSAs (note: see "Due diligence on KSAs," below), all of the information about what the agency is looking for and how to apply is there, even if it is sometimes hard to follow!
Submit application as directed and follow up with the listed contact.
Pay close attention to electronic applications: take time to be complete and accurate.
Search by agency, location, etc. - but be as flexible as possible.
Start early - once an application is submitted, it can take a few weeks to several months before you hear back, especially for positions requiring a security clearance. Many agencies operate on a school year-based hiring cycle.
Seek out and talk to knowledgeable sources, e.g., alumni, career services officers, current or former federal employees, etc. Internship programs are a great way to become known.
Select carefully - a tailored application for a few jobs that are a good fit will be more successful than "shot-gunning" a standard resumé for many jobs.
Feel free to follow-up with an agency to find out more about a job before applying or regarding the status of an application.

Due Diligence on KSAs:

KSA is an acronym for "Knowledge, Skills and Abilities."
Agencies commonly require one or more essays, or KSAs, as part of the application package.
KSAs can be extremely important in the evaluation process in sorting out the best qualified candidates from the general pool of qualified candidates.
KSAs topics vary depending on the job, but examples include: skill in written and oral communications; demonstrated ability to communicate technical results; knowledge of specific subject matter areas.
KSAs can be thought of as interview questions; answers should provide concrete examples (coursework and volunteer experience count), particularly those that demonstrate quantifiable results, complexity, or leadership.
KSAs should be written in first person and should be no longer than one page each.