Employment Opportunities

The Department of Natural Resources falls under the state’s Merit system application process. With the exception of a few appointed positions such as department and division directors, all positions in the Department of Natural Resources are covered under the Merit System.

The completed Merit application is sent to the Office of Administration, Division of Personnel, for evaluation, not to the department. OA analysts will evaluate an application and send written notification of the results. Some jobs require a written examination that is given through the Office of Administration.

If eligible, the individual's name and score are placed on a register (applicant pool) for 12 to 36 months. The length of time varies by the job classification. For some registers with duration of 12 months, the time period may be extended by an additional 12 months. Applicants are required to contact OA/DOP before the 12-month expiration date.

When a vacancy occurs, to be filled by eligible applicants from a particular register who are willing to work in the county where the vacancy is located, the hiring agency’s personnel office obtains a certificate (a subset of the statewide register) from OA/PD’s files. Those persons in the top 15% of the certificate may be sent a written inquiry (for response) about the vacancy.

NOTE: Applicants must respond in the stated time frame or their name may be removed from that register.