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Josh Lyman posted:For something like the PTO where they're hiring multiple people, will they wait until the application period closes before considering applicants? I ask because I'm flying for an on-site with a different agency next week and I'd like to be able to compare offers. It varies by agency.
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Sep 14, 2016 14:54
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mad_Thick posted:Again, as I am starting my senior year in university, I am wondering what would be some worth while Masters degrees to look into. I have great interest in doing something such as intelligence, or something physical regarding Anti-Terrorism. Agency wise, I have been looking into the DoD. CronoGamer posted:which is a respected program although maybe a half-step below SAIS/GTown/Fletcher. I know you're generously qualifying this with a "maybe," but having been on the pre- and post-graduate side of things, phrasing poo poo like this is super unhelpful. If you want to work in DC, particularly in the Federal Government, it absolutely does not matter what graduate school you go to. No one gives a poo poo. Do not read rankings. Do not listen to people who try to rank them. Don't do it. Stop. Two things matter: 1) Where graduates end up, and, more importantly 2) How much real experience will you get while in school. Number one gives you an real potential network. There's no secret alumni club that is going to pin a job on you at the end of your degree. Look at people who do what you want to do and see where they went to school. Then look at recruiting reports to see what percent of students actually end up in that job. Did you know that more SFS grads go into the private sector than the public sector? Number two matters way the gently caress more, especially if you're changing/shifting your career. It's great to read books and talk about poo poo* but have you actually gone out and tried what you think you like? Have you built out your resume more than the other 15000 over educated white kids who look exactly like you and are now flooding into the city to desperately apply for an internship/assistantship? Have you found out what you don't like? Did you make your own network of colleagues, or are you relying on your school to "open doors?" because that's not a thing *: let's be honest SFS/ESIA/MALD/SIPA/SAIS/HKS grads, this is what we did. no, I don't care about your 3 month "internship" in Cambodia.
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Sep 14, 2016 15:33
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mad_Thick posted:Hello all. I have a few questions. I just want to clarify that you absolutely do not need a master's to get a GS-11 job doing Intel or Anti-Terrorism stuff since you are a veteran with applicable experience. My DoD shop has quite a few veterans who did an enlistment and just have a bachelor's and their grades run from 11-14. Depending on how well your specific experience lines up to the jobs you apply for it's not unreasonable to think you'd qualify for a 12 or 13 once you finish your bachelor's.
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Sep 15, 2016 03:45
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The Mantis posted:I know you're generously qualifying this with a "maybe," but having been on the pre- and post-graduate side of things, phrasing poo poo like this is super unhelpful. Yeah, that is fair criticism and I accept it. Sorry. I posted it without really thinking about it because that is the "perception" among people who try to rank programs, and the insane people who post every day on GradCafe while waiting for results, but I have known very smart and very dumb people who came out of SAIS and Elliott alike, and having one name or the other on your transcript is not what's going to land you your job. It is much better to make a choice based off of the program offerings at each school, and how the other metrics mentioned.
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Sep 15, 2016 05:55
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CronoGamer posted:Yeah, that is fair criticism and I accept it. Sorry. I posted it without really thinking about it because that is the "perception" among people who try to rank programs, and the insane people who post every day on GradCafe while waiting for results, but I have known very smart and very dumb people who came out of SAIS and Elliott alike, and having one name or the other on your transcript is not what's going to land you your job. It is much better to make a choice based off of the program offerings at each school, and how the other metrics mentioned. I'll agree with this, with the caveat that I know that the Agency recruits (relatively) heavily out of SAIS and Georgetown at the very least, so it may be worth keeping that in mind if you're looking into a graduate internship with them. Beyond that they're just excellent schools, and worthwhile on that basis alone. They won't guarantee you a job, but it sure won't hurt and there's a fair bit of recruiting going on there.
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Sep 15, 2016 06:00
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Cat Army 
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Applied for a DOD secret squirrel job and had some questions 1. About how long does it typically take to hear a response back after submitting an application? 2. How far do veterans preference points+security clearances go in terms of putting you ahead of other candidates? 3. Does living near the location of the job impact selection? Woof Blitzer fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Sep 16, 2016 |
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Sep 16, 2016 22:03
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Teflon Don posted:Applied for a DOD secret squirrel job and had some questions 1. It all depends on the agency and the workload of the HR staff. For the position I'm moving into now, I applied in March and didn't hear anything until August when I emailed the staff asking for an update. They updated me to referred and a week later I received a tentative offer without an interview. I also applied for another position in July and was referred in August and interviewed in September. They were both for DCIPS positions, so I'm really not sure what to make of it. Chalk it up to the diligence of whichever HR person is staffing the position. 2. Veterans preference will generally get you referred. After that, it's generally based on the strength of your resume. The clearance will certainly help if it is needed for the position. I generally CTRL + F for a clearance when I'm going over resumes as part of the selection process. I know there has been talk on these forums and elsewhere that veterans get all of the jobs, but I've hired veterans and non-veterans alike without much drama. 3. It can, but generally doesn't. If the position doesn't specifically seek out people in the commuting area, it likely won't matter. Then again, if the position offers relocation and you're already in that geographical area, that can have some weight. I guess in the end, there really is no deciphering the federal government hiring process. Everyone will have different experiences, but hopefully I provided some insight.
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Sep 18, 2016 09:08
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I had an on-site last Tuesday, one of 3 candidates flown out. Still waiting to hear back on that  But I got a call from someone new from the same agency to confirm my identity and location, saying they are scheduling interviews and would call me tomorrow (no time was set). This really confuses me because I only applied to the original department and all the other openings are for unrelated positions. It couldn't be a proper phone interview otherwise they would schedule a time, so what is going on?  My main concern is that this is a sign the original department passed on me and I'm being cast off for a less desirable position. Josh Lyman fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Sep 28, 2016 |
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Sep 28, 2016 22:04
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Happy last day of the FY. Who else is doing annual training? 
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Sep 30, 2016 20:43
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Drewski posted:Happy last day of the FY. Who else is doing annual training? My agency found the budget to fly me to DC for end of the year training 
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Oct 1, 2016 00:35
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Yep - got my COR lvl 2 this week.
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Oct 1, 2016 01:46
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I had a training in my list that won't go away and there's nothing for me to do if I try to open it. Had the same thing last year, so I'm hoping I still have computer access on Monday.
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Oct 1, 2016 01:49
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Finally did telework from home for the first time today and it was glorious! (when the computer was working)
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Oct 1, 2016 03:50
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One time I signed up for a specific teacher-led training my office provided. Time passed, and one day this May the office gets an e-mail saying training had been scheduled and that the following people were in it because they has signed up for the class. I was not on the list, and I was like "dang, patient people." I talked to one person and she said she had literally signed up for it the week before they offered it. So, I talked to our training officer about not being added to the class despite being signed up before other people. She said some people had been signed up for "up to three months" so I just needed to be patient for next time. I sent her the e-mail confirmation from July 2014. I never heard back from her again. Good times. I like training.
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Oct 2, 2016 03:05
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Josh Lyman posted:I had an on-site last Tuesday, one of 3 candidates flown out. Still waiting to hear back on that I don't think there's any way for us to know what's happening. It could be another department interviewing you. It could be that HR screwed up and is trying to conduct already completed interviews. They may need to ask you or all three of you a few more questions before giving out a final offer. Maybe the candidate they offered it to declined and there's some formal process before they reoffer it to one of the two of you. You'll just have to wait and see.
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Oct 3, 2016 14:03
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e-QIP/SF-86 question: For landlord and supervisor contact information, do I put their home address or their office address? Are both acceptable? I know where my current and previous supervisors work and can be found during the day, but not their home addresses/where to find them during the evening (though I can ask). I figure if the investigator is visiting them in person, they'd want their office, but if they're mailing them a form, they'd want their home address.
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Oct 8, 2016 21:52
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Do office address if you worked for them. I don't think someone would want work related mail coming to their home address. I'm guessing they just want a way to contact them, either way. Happy federal holiday three day weekend, yall!
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Oct 9, 2016 03:45
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So my agency gave out bonuses right before the end of the fiscal year. I did not get one because I'm a newer employee here and got my grade increase within the last 6 month (still one grade below everyone else). So people who already make a lot more than me for doing the exact same job now get even more money. Does anywhere else have a rule against bonuses for people with recent grade increases? I couldn't find evidence of a government wide rule and it seems pretty stupid in general since whether someone gets a bonus depends on something inconsequential like when their anniversary date is. It also means there is no point to working hard and keeping a performance rating higher than the employees who got bonuses so i guess my job just got a lot easier.
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Oct 11, 2016 16:34
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Kase Im Licht posted:So my agency gave out bonuses right before the end of the fiscal year. I did not get one because I'm a newer employee here and got my grade increase within the last 6 month (still one grade below everyone else). So people who already make a lot more than me for doing the exact same job now get even more money. I am not aware of any rules like that concerning bonuses. Just that you're limited to a bonus of 0.94% of your annual salary. You really want to get a QSI (quality step increase) Also, ratings are kind of a sham anyway, everyone gets rated the highest. This is all for GS, no idea how it works for other pay demos.
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Oct 11, 2016 17:57
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Kase Im Licht posted:It also means there is no point to working hard and keeping a performance rating higher than the employees who got bonuses so i guess my job just got a lot easier. 
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Oct 11, 2016 18:04
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That's odd, in my agency everyone shoots for 3/Average. The way the employee performance measures are written it's rare to get a 4 and getting a 5 pretty much means you saved a drowning baby.
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Oct 12, 2016 04:46
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sparkmaster posted:That's odd, in my agency everyone shoots for 3/Average. The way the employee performance measures are written it's rare to get a 4 and getting a 5 pretty much means you saved a drowning baby. It took a 4.8 to get a bonus in my position last year. I have a 4.7 this year and am desperately hoping it's enough.
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Oct 12, 2016 04:53
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Is this number something your supervisor is supposed to tell you? I'm assuming it's part of your yearly review. No one in my office has ever mentioned their score.
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Oct 12, 2016 11:12
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Deeters posted:Is this number something your supervisor is supposed to tell you? I'm assuming it's part of your yearly review. No one in my office has ever mentioned their score. I've only ever seen it as part of a yearly review, and and only whole numbers never with a decimal. The issue with our group is that the rating comparison is so big that employees with supervisors that rate them "fairly" would always lose out to people whose supervisors give everyone high marks. So you end up having to be a real jerk to get a poor rating.
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Oct 12, 2016 13:09
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Hackan Slash posted:I am not aware of any rules like that concerning bonuses. Just that you're limited to a bonus of 0.94% of your annual salary. You really want to get a QSI (quality step increase) Bonuses were well over that. Highest was about 3%. Most were around 2% from what I can tell though I don't know specifics outside my section. quote:Also, ratings are kind of a sham anyway, everyone gets rated the highest. sparkmaster posted:That's odd, in my agency everyone shoots for 3/Average. The way the employee performance measures are written it's rare to get a 4 and getting a 5 pretty much means you saved a drowning baby. A 5 here is near impossible, though I was somewhere around the border of a 4/5. I think the 3% bonus went to the one person who might've had a 5. The range for a 4 is pretty huge though, you'd have to really gently caress up to drop to a 3. I have no idea what you have to do do drop below Meets Expectations. Hackan Slash posted:
This was kind of how my old agency was. Hundreds of employees in my position, dozens of supervisors. Some gave everyone perfect scores. Some just spent 5 minutes going off some knee-jerk perceptions of how their employees did. A few actually tried to do it correctly. Agency tried to implement some objective measures but that was such a mess it really just introduced more randomness. You had terrible employees get 5s and good employees who literally could not get higher than a 3 because of factors outside their control in the objective factors.
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Oct 12, 2016 19:01
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I just had a phone interview with the USGS for a position that closed >150 days ago. I think it went well! They told me that they were interviewing only a select few people based on a qualification they require, and that if another candidate matches my experience we will both get another interview, and if not, I'll be hearing from HR. I'm so anxious and nervous and excited, all wrapped up into one little professional scientist ball. Please hire me!
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Oct 12, 2016 19:34
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Hackan Slash posted:Also, ratings are kind of a sham anyway, everyone gets rated the highest. sparkmaster posted:That's odd, in my agency everyone shoots for 3/Average. The way the employee performance measures are written it's rare to get a 4 and getting a 5 pretty much means you saved a drowning baby. Actually we get a yearly report of percentages of different ratings, it was something like 3% below average, 60% average, 30% above average, and 7% excellent. Which is fine except that a big part of the huge "average" rating is that we have some supervisors who believe things like "you cannot be above average until you have been on the job for 5 years" or "you cannot be excellent unless you do things outside your job description." Sigh. Whatever, fortunately I have always assumed I would never get a bonus and I will not be disappointed to be proven correct. A little more disappointing is that I was literally told that going on detail hurt my short-term promotion potential. It seems like that should not be allowed, but what can you do?
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Oct 12, 2016 21:16
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Dr. Quarex posted:Which is fine except that a big part of the huge "average" rating is that we have some supervisors who believe things like "you cannot be above average until you have been on the job for 5 years" I've actually seen a supervisor say this to an ex-contractor who was converted after doing the same job for 8 years. They were pissed.
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Oct 12, 2016 22:02
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Now that I've thought about it more, my supervisor has brought some ratings up in the past, just not this year. It was a few categories all rated 1-5, but I never got an overall average. It doesn't seem to have an affect on bonuses, so I'll just be glad that I'm not stuck with another useless process to worry about.
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Oct 12, 2016 22:49
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How long should I wait before trying to contact a hiring manager for a position I've applied to?
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Oct 13, 2016 21:07
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Sissel posted:How long should I wait before trying to contact a hiring manager for a position I've applied to?
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Oct 13, 2016 23:34
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Anyone have any experience with the army corps of engineers? Specifically I am looking at the recent grad pathways program for engineering but am concerned about the mobility agreement and what that entails. I am trying to figure out if I am guaranteed to be relocated after the training or how often civilian employees get moved around in general?
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Oct 14, 2016 00:13
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Hackan Slash posted:I've actually seen a supervisor say this to an ex-contractor who was converted after doing the same job for 8 years. They were pissed. My wife is convinced that not getting promoted past GS-9 for two years will make me virtually unemployable at other agencies in the future. I am pretty sure even our little ridiculous job world is not that ridiculous.
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Oct 14, 2016 05:08
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Hackan Slash posted:I've actually seen a supervisor say this to an ex-contractor who was converted after doing the same job for 8 years. They were pissed. Just in case anyone is wondering, this would be a proper time to file a grievance with the union. My first govt job was like this. For the first two years there wasn't any real differentiation. I think we were all 3s the first year and jumped to 3.4 the second. That scoring system was fairly consistent nationwide, though, so I ended up qualifying for bonuses even with the relatively low scores. If I recall correctly, in year 3 the ratings started to diverge. The real concern was getting the "exceeds expectations" checkbox, since that made it substantially easier to transfer into other positions. My current position definitely suffers from rating inflation. It also suffers from being in a job series that covers way too many different positions (2210).
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Oct 14, 2016 06:36
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TheMadMilkman posted:My current position definitely suffers from rating inflation. It also suffers from being in a job series that covers way too many different positions (2210). I'm also a 2210 suffer from this exact same problem. My work would probably be better classified as computer scientist, but I'm stuck as an it specialist. All the 2210 promotions I see require knowing actual it, but I don't have time in grade for any other position.
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Oct 14, 2016 17:13
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I had a video teleconference interview 2 weeks and 3 days ago (Friday). They said they would get back to me soon. It I haven't heard anything either way. I assume at this point they've made the offer to another candidate and are waiting on an acceptance. 
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Oct 17, 2016 21:03
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I had a "we will have a decision by the end of the week" e-mail turn into a 2 month long silence so I wouldn't give up hope yet. I submitted my SF-86 early last month so maybe I'll even start work by the end of the year! lol yeah right
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Oct 19, 2016 01:17
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My supervisor handed out reviews to multiple people where the only thing that changed was the name. ><
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Oct 21, 2016 17:49
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So I applied for a position with the bureau in May 2015, went through the whole process and began a background check some time in October 2015. Had a "follow-up" meeting in April 2016. Now it's almost November 2016, and I've never gotten a thin letter or anything to my knowledge. Tried reaching out to a local HR person but doesn't know what's going on. So, what is going on other than the government knowing everything about my life? fuseshock fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Oct 22, 2016 |
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Oct 22, 2016 03:30
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Drewski posted:My supervisor handed out reviews to multiple people where the only thing that changed was the name. >< Does your agency let you provide a self-appraisal? Because I got tired of the copied and pasted reviews and scores from last year and started doing a self-appraisal. It took me from a 4.2 to a 4.6 in a group where the average is probably a 4.2. I did mine with the 3 allowable pages of narrative per the union contract detailing all of my accomplishments for the year, a cover sheet, and an attachment 6850 showing exactly what rating I wanted on each CJE. My manager would have had to do way more work to reject this than to accept it Has anyone here heard back about QSI's? My agency processes them once a year in October now, not sure if it's like that in other agencies.
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Oct 22, 2016 13:27
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