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An Unofficial Guide to

NYC Government Job Postings







Read this unofficial, 5 minute guide about how to understand New York City government job postings or jump to the bottom to find an agency you love!


(P.S. Nothing on this website should constitute advice endorsed by the City of New York. This website is not affiliated with the City of New York.)


Let's start by looking at a real job posting. The screenshot below is from the posting's header. The title of the posting is also known as the business title and describes what the job actually does (as opposed to the civil service title, which we'll cover in a moment).




Meanwhile, although there is a salary range (a big range or a small one), typically the agency has budgeted for a very specific salary number that is rarely negotiable (as in almost never!).




...

Most of the job posting is the actual job description, including about the agency and team. But an extremely important section is Minimum Qualifications.


Read this section carefully! Your experience and education must meet the exact wording of this section, otherwise your application will be discarded long before the interview round...




...

This last screenshot is from the footer at the very bottom of the posting. Note the Civil Service Title and Title Classification. If the civil service title is Exempt or Non-Competitive, then you're in luck! You can apply for this job without having to have a civil service title.


But if it says Competitive, you'll likely either need to already have the corresponding civil service title (achieved via an exam) or you'll need to take a civil service exam in the future.




The other important item to note is the Posted Until date. If this date is two weeks or less after the Posted On date in the header, then the job is for an internal candidate and it's not worth applying for!





...

The hiring process for City agencies that use the main hiring website is quite arduous. After applying for a job, it may take between 3 and 12 weeks to hear if you're getting an interview. If you're not selected to move forward, you'll likely never hear back (agencies can receive hundreds of applicants per job). However, some agencies may refer you internally for another position.


If you ultimately receive and accept a job offer, don't quit your current job! It can take another 3 to 9 months for the agency to get final approvals to hire you!



Discover an agency you love!


Economic Development and Health and Hospitals are quasi-governmental organizations. If you're looking for Mayor's Office jobs, go here.


Aging

What They Do:
  • Manage older adult center system
  • Provide case management and in-home care
  • Prevent elder abuse
Team Spotlight:
  • The Older Adult Workforce Programs team connects retired New Yorkers to part-time and volunteer employment opportunities.
See Jobs

Buildings

What They Do:
  • Issue construction permits and inspect construction sites
  • Enforce the building code
Team Spotlight:
  • The Tenant Advocate team helps tenants resolve harassment resulting from construction in their building.
See Jobs

Children's Services

What They Do:
  • Investigate child abuse and maltreatment
  • Educate and support low-income families
  • Operate foster care and juvenile justice systems
Team Spotlight:
  • The Community Engagement and Partnerships team operates Family Enrichment Centers that are community-designed educational spaces.
See Jobs

City Planning

What They Do:
  • Set the vision for citywide planning and design
  • Mantain the zoning code
  • Review land use applications
Team Spotlight:
  • The Data Engineering team builds data products, like NYC’s definitive tax lot dataset, to support city planners and civic technologists alike.
See Jobs

Citywide Administrative Services

What They Do:
  • Oversee agency hiring, procurement, fleet, and facilities
  • Manage agency energy use
Team Spotlight:
  • The Energy Management team supports agencies in reducing their carbon footprint.
See Jobs

Consumer and Worker Protection

What They Do:
  • License businesses
  • Enforce consumer protection, licensing, and workplace rules and laws
  • Provide financial empowerment services
Team Spotlight:
  • The Financial Empowerment team provides financial education and counseling to low-income New Yorkers.
See Jobs

Correction

What They Do:
  • Oversee jails
Team Spotlight:
  • The Programs and Community Partnerships team brings performing arts, education, workforce development, and other programs to incarcerated individuals.
See Jobs

Cultural Affairs

What They Do:
  • Fund cultural institutions
  • Commission public artwork
  • Provide art materials to schools
Team Spotlight:
  • The Percent for Art team ensures that 1% of the budget for City-funded construction projects is spent on public artwork.
See Jobs

Design and Construction

What They Do:
  • Manage design and construction of libraries, firehouses, police precincts, cultural facilities, and other civic facilities
Team Spotlight:
  • The Public Buildings team collaborates with architects and engineers to construct beautiful and functional civic buildings.
See Jobs

Economic Development

What They Do:
  • Lead large-scale strategic plans and initiatives to re-envision the city and its economy
  • Design and manage programs to serve high-growth industries
  • Oversee development of the City's real estate portfolio
Team Spotlight:
  • The Initiatives team develops industry-specific programs to support talent, start-ups, and growing businesses.
See Jobs

Education

What They Do:
  • Oversee public schools
  • Provide funding to 3K and Pre-K programs
Team Spotlight:
  • The Civics for All Comics team collaborates with writers, artists, and scholars to create educational non-fiction comic books.
See Jobs

Emergency Management

What They Do:
  • Coordinate response to major disasters
  • Prepare communities to respond to disasters
Team Spotlight:
  • The Planning and Resilience team prepares the City to respond to and adapt to natural, human-caused, and technological emergencies.
See Jobs

Environmental Protection

What They Do:
  • Maintain the drinking water supply
  • Collect and treat wastewater
  • Regulate air quality, hazardous waste, and noise
Team Spotlight:
  • The Coastal Resilience team plans for the resilience of the city's 520-mile shoreline.
See Jobs

Finance

What They Do:
  • Collect property taxes and manages property data
  • Maintain the city's treasury
  • Handle payment of fines and parking tickets
Team Spotlight:
  • The Treasury and Payment Services team oversees all websites used for making more than $7B in payments to the City.
See Jobs

Fire

What They Do:
  • Respond to fires, medical emergencies, and disasters
Team Spotlight:
  • The Management Analysis and Planning team uses data to inform firefighting strategies and operations.
See Jobs

Health and Hospitals

What They Do:
  • Manage public hospitals
  • Manage a healthcare plan
Team Spotlight:
  • The Ambulatory Care Telehealth Team team provides telehealth to low-income New Yorkers to reduce unneccessary hospital visits.
See Jobs

Health and Mental Hygiene

What They Do:
  • Monitor the health of communities
  • Help reduce disease and unhealthy conditions
  • Respond to disease outbreaks
Team Spotlight:
  • The Citywide Doula Initiative team provides free doula support for birthing people and parenting families.
See Jobs

Homeless Services

What They Do:
  • Manage the homeless shelter system
  • Monitor street homeless population
  • Secure permanent housing for the homeless
Team Spotlight:
  • The Street Homelessness Solutions team conducts rapid outreach to homeless individuals using precision mapping and client information.
See Jobs

Housing Preservation and Development

What They Do:
  • Finance and regulate affordable housing
  • Enforce the housing code
  • Manage rental assistance vouchers
Team Spotlight:
  • The Housing Access and Stability team provides subsidies, placement services, and tools that connect New Yorkers to affordable housing.
See Jobs

Investigation

What They Do:
  • Investigate corruption, fraud, and misconduct
Team Spotlight:
  • The Vendor Integrity team provides oversight of large-scale City initiatives to ensure tax dollars are not being stolen or wasted.
See Jobs

Law

What They Do:
  • Represent the City in legal matters
  • Draft and review legislation and contracts
Team Spotlight:
  • The Municipal Finance team serves as counsel to the City on all bond transactions.
See Jobs

Management and Budget

What They Do:
  • Develop the City's budget
  • Advise on fiscal issues
  • Manage major Federal and State grants
Team Spotlight:
  • The Sustainability and Resilience team integrates environmental sustainability and resiliency into the City's financial planning.
See Jobs

Parks and Recreation

What They Do:
  • Manage parks, beaches, playgrounds, and recreation facilities
  • Maintain street trees, historic homes, and community gardens
  • Provide cultural, physical fitness, and environmental programming
Team Spotlight:
  • The Forestry and Planning team manages New York City's urban forest.
See Jobs

Police

What They Do:
  • Respond to emergencies and enforces laws
Team Spotlight:
  • The Strategic Initiatives team uses data, research, and evaluation to make policing more effective.
See Jobs

Probation

What They Do:
  • Supervise individuals on probation
  • Connect individuals on probation to social services
Team Spotlight:
  • The Neighborhood Opportunity Networks team operates community spaces in order to engage clients in cultural and educational programming.
See Jobs

Public Housing

What They Do:
  • Manage public housing
  • Manage rental assistance vouchers
Team Spotlight:
  • The Capital Projects team oversees massive renovation and modernization efforts for public housing developments.
See Jobs

Records and Information Services

What They Do:
  • Manage citywide record retention
  • Maintain the Municipal Archives
Team Spotlight:
  • The Municipal Archives team preserves and makes available the historical records of the City municipal government.
See Jobs

Sanitation

What They Do:
  • Collect trash, recycling, and compost
  • Clean streets, sidewalks, and other public spaces
  • Clear snow and ice
Team Spotlight:
  • The Solid Waste Management team is responsible for the disposal of all solid waste and recyclables.
See Jobs

Small Business Services

What They Do:
  • Connect individuals to jobs
  • Provide services to small businesses
  • Support neighborhoods and Business Improvement Districts
Team Spotlight:
  • The Neighborhood Development team supports community-based organizations strengthen and revitalize commercial districts.
See Jobs

Social Services

What They Do:
  • Provide employment services, food stamps, and cash assistance
  • Prevent homelessness through rental assistance
  • Provide services to vulnerable populations
Team Spotlight:
  • The Business Process Innovation and Design team manages large-scale projects with the focus on modernizing agency business processes.
See Jobs

Taxi and Limousine

What They Do:
  • License and regulate taxis and for-hire vehicles
Team Spotlight:
  • The Policy team conducts large research projects and pilot programs focused on ensuring safety, accessibility, and accountability.
See Jobs

Technology and Innovation

What They Do:
  • Develop internal and external technology systems and applications
  • Manage citywide analytics, cybersecurity, and data privacy
  • Manage 311 and emergency communications
Team Spotlight:
  • The Research and Collaboration team helps anticipate and solve agency and citywide technology problems through emerging technology.
See Jobs

Transportation

What They Do:
  • Manage traffic systems
  • Build and maintain streets, bike lanes, sidewalks, bridges, and highways
  • Operate Staten Island ferry
Team Spotlight:
  • The Bicycle team is responsible for the nation’s largest network of on-street bicycle facilities, including 1,000+ lane miles.
See Jobs

Veterans' Services

What They Do:
  • Connect veterans to social services
Team Spotlight:
  • The Housing Support Services team moves veterans experiencing homelessness into supportive and permanent housing.
See Jobs

Youth and Community Development

What They Do:
  • Provide funding to afterschool programs and community centers
  • Manage youth homeless shelter system
  • Manage youth employment programs
Team Spotlight:
  • The Summer Youth Employment Program team manages the nation's largest youth employment program, with more than 100,000 placements.
See Jobs