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mzandrea posted:It was for the new armed forces retirement home that opened two weeks ago, but I guess maybe they could have promoted someone at the dc location and moved them to gulfport, ms? Who would see a move to gulfport, ms from dc as a promotion? Oh well. In some agencies the farther away you are from DC and the endless layers of upper management the better. In the military, a typical colonel might be as powerful as the mayor of a medium sized city if he is running a base and supervising thousands, but at the Pentagon he is driving VIPs around in a mini-van at their beck and call. Plus sometimes people just want to move "home" wherever that may be or just to some place with warm weather.
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Oct 21, 2010 04:07
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Not to mention that even after you adjust for the difference in locality pay, a GS 12 (just as an example) salary goes a lot further in Mississippi than it does in DC.
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Oct 21, 2010 05:53
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The Mic posted:Not to mention that even after you adjust for the difference in locality pay, a GS 12 (just as an example) salary goes a lot further in Mississippi than it does in DC. But of course, then you live in Mississippi. Apparently the position I've been offered could have also been in Missouri. They couldn't pay me enough money to move back to the Midwest.
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Oct 21, 2010 12:05
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Did anyone else apply to the IRS Tax Compliance Officer listing with an EOD of March 14th? I applied to the SBSE and LB&I postings right after they opened. Only the first 50 applicants are considered for each location at a time.
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Oct 21, 2010 12:39
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11b1p posted:Wow filling out the SF86 is a pain in the rear end when you are 31 years old, and have worked a ton of part time jobs while going through college. only on section 13 after an hour lol Yeah, but after you do it the first time, it's cake to keep it updated. And you should keep it updated each time you or anyone you reference on there (such as relatives' addresses or former supervisors). Keep a current copy uploaded to your USAJOBS profile. It's always much easier to poo poo out an application that way because I've seen vacancies that were only posted for a week.
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Oct 21, 2010 17:09
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Anyone else doing PMF? I hear from my school about our in-house nomination on the 27th.
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Oct 21, 2010 22:31
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CherryCola posted:But of course, then you live in Mississippi. Apparently the position I've been offered could have also been in Missouri. They couldn't pay me enough money to move back to the Midwest. Well, I guess to be fair, it is in a brand new beach front facility. Low cost of living and a nice view from your window isn't so bad. The ms gulf coast also has tons of huge casinos that bring in big music acts, and hour away from New Orleans in one direction, a short distance away from the nice Alabama beaches in the other. I wanted that job so bad.
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Oct 21, 2010 22:48
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ChadBroChill17 posted:Anyone else doing PMF? Yes. Well, trying to, anyway. Seems like they've added an in-person assessment to the exam process this year. Does anyone here know anything about what exactly this entails, besides the description on the website that it involves an individual presentation, a group exercise, etc.?
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Oct 21, 2010 23:33
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prussian advisor posted:Yes. Well, trying to, anyway. Seems like they've added an in-person assessment to the exam process this year. Does anyone here know anything about what exactly this entails, besides the description on the website that it involves an individual presentation, a group exercise, etc.? I'm interested in PMF for next year. I attended a presentation at my school on the program. From what I remember it is pretty much a full day thing. They used to do the full in person assessment but got rid of it for several years. They are bringing it back starting this year due to complaints from some agencies/offices that the PMF candidates they were getting from the written-only assessment were technically qualified but a bad "fit" for them or lacking in soft skills. When I get home next week I can check my notes from the presentation if anyone wants.
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Oct 22, 2010 01:46
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Tyro posted:I'm interested in PMF for next year. I attended a presentation at my school on the program. From what I remember it is pretty much a full day thing. They used to do the full in person assessment but got rid of it for several years. They are bringing it back starting this year due to complaints from some agencies/offices that the PMF candidates they were getting from the written-only assessment were technically qualified but a bad "fit" for them or lacking in soft skills. When I get home next week I can check my notes from the presentation if anyone wants. Not sure what the basis for those complaints would be exactly, since it's not like any agency is obliged to accept any particular candidate at the job fair who's lacking the requisite "soft skills," whatever that means. Finalist status doesn't guarantee a job offer from an agency, or at least that's my understanding of the process. Anyway, I can't speak for other people but as a PMF hopeful, I'd love it if you'd post your notes from the presentation, especially anything that pertains to the written or in-person exams.
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Oct 22, 2010 02:55
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quote:10OG3-SBX0045-1169-07-MJ Not exactly the email I was hoping for after getting put in the "Superior Qualified" selection pool
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Oct 22, 2010 02:59
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prussian advisor posted:Not sure what the basis for those complaints would be exactly, since it's not like any agency is obliged to accept any particular candidate at the job fair who's lacking the requisite "soft skills," whatever that means. Finalist status doesn't guarantee a job offer from an agency, or at least that's my understanding of the process. You are correct about finalist status not guaranteeing an offer. I think their complaint was about the composition of the candidate pool. But yeah next week I'll try to find those notes. Anything specific you're interested in?
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Oct 22, 2010 03:05
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Tyro posted:You are correct about finalist status not guaranteeing an offer. I think their complaint was about the composition of the candidate pool. But yeah next week I'll try to find those notes. Anything specific you're interested in? Anything at all that relates to the examination process. Or anything at all, really.
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Oct 22, 2010 03:39
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prussian advisor posted:Not sure what the basis for those complaints would be exactly, since it's not like any agency is obliged to accept any particular candidate at the job fair who's lacking the requisite "soft skills," whatever that means. Anytime I've heard the term "soft skills" its in reference to being good with people. If you're either really socially awkward or a huge rear end in a top hat/bitch you lack soft skills.
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Oct 22, 2010 04:01
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gmilo posted:Not exactly the email I was hoping for after getting put in the "Superior Qualified" selection pool For you and anyone else wondering, the continuing resolution expires December 3rd. It's possible that a budget could be signed before then, but honestly I expect December 3rd to come and Congress having to approve another continuing resolution for XX number of days. The November elections will probably determine how quickly a budget will get passed though. I don't think either side will let the government shut down again like they did in 1995, that was just too disastrous. But I do think they'll just continue the status quo for a while since it doesn't seem like anyone in Washington can agree on anything right now.
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Oct 22, 2010 04:17
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Still no call back from the DSS. No "Oh he must be cooking chili right now," only "Oh he didn't answer his phone, he must not be interested."
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Oct 22, 2010 04:52
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I graduated almost a year ago in International Studies: Global Commons and Environment (think poly-sci plus environmental studies) from UW Madison. I haven't been able to find a job in my major, and I've since been working as a waiter. I took four years of Modern Standard Arabic and one semester of Sudanese Arabic, and I kind of figured that would land me a job somehow. Naive, I know. Turns out that people--especially USAJobs-- want fluency, and I'm not fluent. I was never able to study abroad because none of the courses offered contributed any credits to my major, so it basically would have been an expensive vacation I wouldn't have been able to afford anyway. I still have retained a great deal of the language and feel it would be easy to pick back up what I have lost, so what I am wondering is this: are there any government-sponsored programs/internships that could send me over to the Middle East?
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Oct 24, 2010 20:19
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Monocular posted:I graduated almost a year ago in International Studies: Global Commons and Environment (think poly-sci plus environmental studies) from UW Madison. I haven't been able to find a job in my major, and I've since been working as a waiter. As a non-student, it's hard (graduating was the worst mistake I ever made  ). Hell, even as a student, they're very competitive. I'm not saying there isn't anything, but here's another suggestion:If you're okay with doing the non-government work, I would look in to bilateral organizations, and with the governments of various Arabic-speaking countries themselves for scholarships. I don't have any experience in the Middle East, but I know that Japan, China, and Indonesia all have government-sponsored scholarships for foreign students to come and study the language, and there are a few from bilateral organizations as well. As a student, my sister did a summer program in Indonesia that was heavily subsidized by a US-Indonesian bilateral organization. I imagine there would be similar opportunities in the Middle East, if not more. You could also look in to NGO's, or teaching English. Most English teachers abroad generally don't do well at picking up the language (have to use English in class, tend to associate with other foreigners in off-hours, don't have the time/energy/motivation to self-study), but it's not impossible. There's nothing in the way of scholarships for Thailand I'm eligible for and have a chance at, so I may do the NGO or English teacher thing to get my Thai back up to par, and just generally get out of the treading-water-and-slowly-sinking situation here in the US that sounds pretty similar to yours. Actually going to be applying for UW Madison's Southeast Asian Studies master's program and hope I can get funding. I'm not terribly enthusiastic about the idea of going back to school in general, but if I don't have to go into debt for it and I get to study something interesting (not to mention, having a lot of cool gov't opportunities re-open for me), there are worse things to do.
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Oct 24, 2010 20:46
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Monocular posted:I graduated almost a year ago in International Studies: Global Commons and Environment (think poly-sci plus environmental studies) from UW Madison. I haven't been able to find a job in my major, and I've since been working as a waiter. Apply for a Fulbright? (just closed for this year but that means you have a while to prepare)
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Oct 24, 2010 20:57
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Anybody have some information about how to handle switching agencies? I'm working this hellish ~76 hours/week job (nights!) for the USDA.
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Oct 24, 2010 23:25
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So since I missed that phone call from the DSS is there a way I can call them back, since they seem absolutely disinterested in leaving voice mails? I won't let a batch of chili be the reason that I missed taking this test.
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Oct 25, 2010 00:43
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Gravel Gravy posted:So since I missed that phone call from the DSS is there a way I can call them back, since they seem absolutely disinterested in leaving voice mails? Probably not but try to calm down. I know waiting for a call from a potential employer can make people anxious. It may take a few days for them to call you back. They probably have a list of a few thousand applicants they're trying to sort through right now.
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Oct 25, 2010 00:46
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Gravel Gravy posted:So since I missed that phone call from the DSS is there a way I can call them back, since they seem absolutely disinterested in leaving voice mails? You didn't get a voicemail with a call back number? If not, how do you know it was DSS?
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Oct 25, 2010 02:03
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BrainParasite posted:Anybody have some information about how to handle switching agencies? I'm working this hellish ~76 hours/week job (nights!) for the USDA. Umm, apply, get hired, transfer to new agency. If you don't take a break, then you keep all of your leave.
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Oct 26, 2010 01:30
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Tyro posted:Apply for a Fulbright? (just closed for this year but that means you have a while to prepare) I'm a current Fulbright Fellow. Everyone should apply for a Fulbright. (unless you have a good job already or something)
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Oct 26, 2010 16:55
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Just got notification that I've been nominated through my school for PMF. Wasn't really expecting not to get it, but we consistently rank in the top-3 for finalists so I knew there'd be some competitition. I'll provide updates as I work my way through the process for anyone who is considering the program in the future.
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Oct 27, 2010 15:29
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:I'm a current Fulbright Fellow. can you elaborate a little more on the process, any advice? Might be useful for the thread.
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Oct 27, 2010 15:34
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Skandiaavity posted:can you elaborate a little more on the process, any advice? Might be useful for the thread. I'll make a separate A/T thread on it soon. The due date for the 2011-12 grant period just passed, so there's not really any rush for anyone who might be interested in 2012-13.
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Oct 27, 2010 18:46
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Passed the TSA exam this afternoon, had a contingent offer waiting in my Gmail inbox when I got home  Still not sure I'm going to take it (position is part-time, not sure if it'll count towards my service obligation, and I've got other applications pending), but it's nice not to be rejected for once. Just this morning I got an e-mail saying my qualifications hadn't even been looked at for a job in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming because of veterans. Saipan, here I come?
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Oct 28, 2010 20:32
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Passed the TSA exam this afternoon, had a contingent offer waiting in my Gmail inbox when I got home You are a boren scholar, right? I think anything in DHS counts for service, pretty much.
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Oct 29, 2010 01:53
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Professor Snow posted:You are a boren scholar, right? I think anything in DHS counts for service, pretty much. Yeah, I had some concerns because from the wording of the agreement they make it sound like they want you doing something related to your degree, preferably with your language, but I talked with my liaison guy this afternoon and he said it'd be fine. The catch is that how much credit I get will be contingent on how many hours I'm working, since it's part-time position. I e-mailed TSA to see when/how I could get in contact with the airport officials and get a ballpark of how many hours I could expect there as the new guy. If it's 16/week or something I'm probably going to have to look for another post, but 20+ would be workable (20 hours would give me 50% credit, so I'd be done in 18 months), and 30 would be amazing (same credit as working full time) but I'm not holding my breath on that one. The bigger paycheck would be nice, but it's kind of secondary to getting the Boren monkey off my back. Eddain, any comments?
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Oct 29, 2010 03:13
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So I finally heard back from that embassy job in Moscow, I've been approved and now they want me to go through the clearance process. Problem is that I have that other job interview in December for a much better job (though the contractor job does have a couple perks). I am curious how I can work this. I am tired of sitting around doing nothing, but the job I may get with the DoD would be so much better. I wonder if I can get them to move the interview forward? Edit: Wait a minute, I still have your number. Gin and Juche fucked around with this message at 15:47 on Oct 29, 2010 |
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Oct 29, 2010 05:45
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So I've done my vision screening, drug screening and preliminary background investigation interview. Apparently someone already called my ex-roommate too. Considering I turned in my paperwork at the beginning of October, does this mean the process is going somewhat quickly? This temp job is possibly the worst working environment I've ever encountered, oh god I hope my clearance goes fast.
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Oct 29, 2010 12:29
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CherryCola posted:So I've done my vision screening, drug screening and preliminary background investigation interview. Apparently someone already called my ex-roommate too. Considering I turned in my paperwork at the beginning of October, does this mean the process is going somewhat quickly? This temp job is possibly the worst working environment I've ever encountered, oh god I hope my clearance goes fast.
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Oct 29, 2010 12:51
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grover posted:Yes, those are all good signs it will be finished very quickly instead of dragging on 2 years like what happened to a couple hundred thousand people back a few years ago when the FBI laid off about half their investigators and then upgraded their computer system and broke it for a month. I guess my lady is actually a contractor with the DIA, so maybe that's a good thing? I was really pleasantly surprised because she was incredibly friendly and made me really at ease during the whole interview. I was afraid it was going to be some serious-business, scary dude in a suite and sunglasses.
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Oct 29, 2010 13:20
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I just got back from the Border Patrol Exam exam. It wasn't hard, but I definitely recommend working through the study guide at least once. The Artificial Language section seemed a little easier on the actual test, but I'm not sure if that's just from practicing on the other one, or because the vocab was a bit closer to the Latin/Spanish roots than in the practice materials. Definitely helps to think of it as pseudo-Spanish, if you've had a year or two of Spanish before. Also, smooth move booking the conference room right across the hall from where they were doing major construction/renovations to the hotel CherryCola posted:I guess my lady is actually a contractor with the DIA, so maybe that's a good thing? I was really pleasantly surprised because she was incredibly friendly and made me really at ease during the whole interview. I was afraid it was going to be some serious-business, scary dude in a suite and sunglasses. I thought they were all hardasses; mine was a serious-business guy in a suit 
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Oct 29, 2010 19:56
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CherryCola posted:I guess my lady is actually a contractor with the DIA, so maybe that's a good thing? I was really pleasantly surprised because she was incredibly friendly and made me really at ease during the whole interview. I was afraid it was going to be some serious-business, scary dude in a suite and sunglasses.
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Oct 29, 2010 20:00
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Also, smooth move booking the conference room right across the hall from where they were doing major construction/renovations to the hotel hhahahahah this is JUST the beginning.
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Oct 29, 2010 22:23
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Homie S posted:hhahahahah this is JUST the beginning. I want to think that when they booked it, they had no idea the hotel would be being renovated on the test date. Want to think... I got my results today by e-mail, a 96. The proctor said 4-6 weeks and they'd be notifying by snail mail, but all told I took the exam Friday morning, received a confirmation that they had my test Monday, and got my results by e-mail this afternoon. That's a reassuring sign, at least. Hopefully I'm not going to get boned by people with both veteran's preference and a good head on their shoulders. It wasn't that bad of an exam, but certainly wasn't as easy as the TSA one. Working on the 100 pushups and 200 sit-ups programs to make sure I'm in shape for the physical. Glad I've at least got the running part down pat.
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Nov 2, 2010 19:56
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Monocular posted:I graduated almost a year ago in International Studies: Global Commons and Environment (think poly-sci plus environmental studies) from UW Madison. I haven't been able to find a job in my major, and I've since been working as a waiter. in addition to Fulbright, also try the Pat Roberts scholarship
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Nov 2, 2010 23:21
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