The U.S. Federal Government Jobs Megathread: Next time... be more careful!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > The U.S. Federal Government Jobs Megathread: Next time... be more careful!

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Zoo: Oct 24, 2004; I hate to break it to you, but there is no big lie, there is no system. The universe is indifferent.

CherryCola posted:

Anyway, sorry for posting in this thread all the time. It just sucks being in adjudication where there's literally nothing else I can do. At least with the investigation, I was actually getting phone calls from people and had my own tasks to do.

Your anxiety is perfectly normal (this is an understatement), though your congressional idea is probably a little over the top for some people. :P

# ? Jan 24, 2011 02:29

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# ? May 10, 2024 16:32

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

Hey, do you know where I can find information on those intelligence agency funded scholarships for grad school? I knew about the internships, but I haven't found anything on that.

# ? Jan 24, 2011 02:42

Zoo: Oct 24, 2004; I hate to break it to you, but there is no big lie, there is no system. The universe is indifferent.

psydude posted:

Hey, do you know where I can find information on those intelligence agency funded scholarships for grad school? I knew about the internships, but I haven't found anything on that.

DIA's is here. CIA has its own as well, but DIA's is the only one I feel authoritative (accurate) discussing. They won't pay you much, but they'll put you through and give you a job afterward. I don't think it's a very long program, either.

# ? Jan 24, 2011 02:47

Pompous Rhombus: Mar 11, 2007

psydude posted:

Hey, do you know where I can find information on those intelligence agency funded scholarships for grad school? I knew about the internships, but I haven't found anything on that.

Usual disclosures about the Faustian nature of the bargain apply, but there's also the Boren Fellowship if you want to do up to a year abroad. Deadline will be coming up pretty soon IIRC.

edit: application for DIA hiring event still "Active", although I didn't get it in until Friday afternoon (almost let it slip my mind).

# ? Jan 24, 2011 03:11

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

I dunno, I think I'm done accepting scholarships with fine print. When I go back for my master's degree it's going to be in something that I really like (probably urban planning) and I'm using tuition assistance instead.

psydude fucked around with this message at 05:16 on Jan 24, 2011

# ? Jan 24, 2011 05:13

Leif.: Mar 27, 2005; Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester

Skandiaavity posted:

Congratulations, SWATJester!

To recap, how long was it since you took the FSOT to you got the offer today?

Sept. 2009 when I started the process.

# ? Jan 24, 2011 05:49

Pompous Rhombus: Mar 11, 2007

Boren inside track info on the DIA thing:

quote:

Basically, if your application is under review, you will see a status of �active.� DIA will call selected applicants the week prior to the event. If you do not receive a call, you have not been selected.

# ? Jan 24, 2011 23:45

GreySkies: Apr 16, 2006; armchair cynic

Oh man, I had totally forgotten about the DIA hiring event. I just kind of assumed I didn't make the cut, but it's still active. Thanks for the heads up, Pompous Rhombus!

# ? Jan 25, 2011 01:53

Evil SpongeBob: Dec 1, 2005; Not the other one, couldn't stand the other one. Nope nope nope. Here, enjoy this bird.

Ramms+ein posted:

Joshie Please tell us about nepotism in the USG. My father works for DHS at the ICE Headquarters and he has been absolutely worthless about helping me get my foot in the door. Who does he need to suck up to? HR?

Probably because nepotism is illegal in accordance with 5 CFR, Part 310.

# ? Jan 25, 2011 03:02

HiddenReplaced: Apr 21, 2007; Yeah...
it's wanking time.

Hiring freeze has been announced for DOJ and CDC. Hurray...

How long will the freezes last? Just until the new budgets come out?...right?....RIGHT?!

# ? Jan 25, 2011 04:12

prussian advisor: Jan 15, 2007; The day you see a camera come into our courtroom, its going to roll over my dead body.

HiddenReplaced posted:

Hiring freeze has been announced for DOJ

literally giggling irl

# ? Jan 25, 2011 05:30

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

HiddenReplaced posted:

Hiring freeze has been announced for DOJ and CDC. Hurray...

How long will the freezes last? Just until the new budgets come out?...right?....RIGHT?!

HOR is cutting the budget to ribbons. Don't hold your breath.

# ? Jan 25, 2011 05:47

Walk Away: Dec 31, 2009; Industrial revolution has flipped the bitch on evolution.

red19fire posted:

Question for IRS Goons:

I recently went to a career fair, and i was pretty impressed by the IRS CI positions. But they said they're not hiring yet because they're waiting for their budget to be approved. How will I know when the hiring starts?

As far as I know, from talking to the IRS recruiter that I deal with, there won't be any hiring for CIs until at least 2014. Those jobs are really in-demand and people typically start as a revenue agent, then apply to move over to being a CI.

Also, if you don't have any background in accounting and tax, I don't see how you could expect to get hired for one of those positions. Things might be different for CIs, but I would imagine that you would need to still have the right educational background.

# ? Jan 25, 2011 07:57

Chadula: May 7, 2004; Its not that I don't know you that I don't trust you its 'cause I do know you that I don't trust you.

/rant

So I was given a job acceptance letter in December in which I accepted on the 27th of December. I was then informed it would be 2 to 3 weeks until HR got back with me on the formal paper work. 2 1/2 weeks pass and I call the HR lady for an update. She informed me that they initially hired me under the Federal Career Intern program (FCIP), which ironically, Obama axed on the day I accepted the offer (Dec 27th). The HR lady informed me that this screwed up the Hiring authority packages and that she was unsure when these packages and start-to-work dates would occur. I decided that I'd email her every week until I got some idea on any time table for starting work. Last week she said she had seen my hiring package, but it still had to go through another hiring authority which involves another resume on the chart.navy.mil website. I inform her that I have had a resume in that system for 6 months and its good to go. She then gets back with me today saying that now not only is there an issue with the FCIP, but the organization is going from the NSPS pay scale system to the STRL pay scale system. This means that hiring packages now won't be going out till maybe end of March. She then informed me that she "hopes" to have the new hires start by May/June time frame.

If you been keeping track this means they said in December, "Yes you have a Job! You can start working end of January early February." Now its "Well, you still have a job lined up but now it won't be for another 5 months"

I just don't understand why they couldn't hire me under the old authority, which when Obama axed the program clearly says they can, then convert me to the new fangled system. I feel its a HR person that is uber lazy and doesn't want to do their job. But anyway.....There is always Mcdonalds until then I guess.

\end rant

# ? Jan 27, 2011 01:45

Pompous Rhombus: Mar 11, 2007

^Yeah, I'm to the left of Bernie Sanders now but will probably be a libertarian by the end of all this.

# ? Jan 27, 2011 02:32

AndrewP: Apr 21, 2010

Chadula posted:

If you been keeping track this means they said in December, "Yes you have a Job! You can start working end of January early February." Now its "Well, you still have a job lined up but now it won't be for another 5 months"

I just don't understand why they couldn't hire me under the old authority, which when Obama axed the program clearly says they can, then convert me to the new fangled system. I feel its a HR person that is uber lazy and doesn't want to do their job. But anyway.....There is always Mcdonalds until then I guess.

\end rant

I was selected for an FCIP position last January when the FCIP program was humming along fine, and it still took 5 months for me start my job. Government HR seems to be a bureaucratic nightmare regardless of the situation. I say take the time frame she gave you and add a few extra months.

As an aside regarding the FCIP thing - my agency hasn't even recieved any guidance as to how the interns (like me) are going to be converted. I'm supposed to be on a non-competitive ladder, and now I have no idea if I'm going to get those promotions on time. Though I have been told it takes forever to get stuff like this fully implemented.

AndrewP fucked around with this message at 06:32 on Jan 27, 2011

# ? Jan 27, 2011 06:28

Brokyn: May 24, 2006

stupid question from a stupid man:

If a posting says yadda yadda one year specialized experience, is it possible to skirt by with just ten months? Just found the perfect job in the perfect location but I'm shy by just two months on the minimum requirements. :ohdear:

In all likelihood I wouldn't get accepted anyway, but I guess this goes more for a general "how stringent are they" kind of question.

Brokyn fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Jan 28, 2011

# ? Jan 28, 2011 02:24

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

I rounded up and they didn't seem to care.

# ? Jan 28, 2011 02:45

Slaan: Mar 16, 2009; ASHERAH DEMANDS I FEAST, I VOTE FOR A FEAST OF FLESH

Brokyn posted:

stupid question from a stupid man:

If a posting says yadda yadda one year specialized experience, is it possible to skirt by with just ten months? Just found the perfect job in the perfect location but I'm shy by just two months on the minimum requirements.

In all likelihood I wouldn't get accepted anyway, but I guess this goes more for a general "how stringent are they" kind of question.

Round it up. You won't have any chance if you don't apply. :eng101:

# ? Jan 28, 2011 02:59

Brokyn: May 24, 2006

quote:

Your application does not show that you have the length of specialized/specific experience needed for this specialty and grade.

You do not meet the minimum education and/or experience requirements for this specialty and grade.

eff the feds, yall are mean as hell

# ? Jan 28, 2011 15:33

madkapitolist: Feb 5, 2006

Anyone have experience as a examiner for the FDIC? I want to work for the SF branch and there was a job recruiter at my school but I cannot find anything on the usajobs site. Also I can't find anything for entry level positions for the FDIC on the site... The recruiter was trying to pimp the FIS position "financial institution specialist" pretty hard.

# ? Jan 28, 2011 18:54

buglord: Jul 31, 2010; Cheating at a raffle? I sentence you to 1 year in jail! No! Two years! Three! Four! Five years! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!; Buglord

Both my parents have had government jobs since before I was born, and i've noticed they have gotten alot of perks many people don't usually get. While their sector [education] has had some layoffs, its been alot safer for them.

I'm really going to try to get one of these jobs as I get older.

# ? Jan 28, 2011 23:41

DeceasedHorse: Nov 11, 2005

I sort of wish I had found this thread earlier, back when I was on the Career Internship roller coaster, if only for the morale support. Since then, I've kept on trucking (I mean, its only been 5-6 months, right? Hardly any time at all in government terms) and kept sending in applications despite the fact that, with the exception of the TSA and the ill-fated FCIP (i got to the 2nd step, only to learn that since I wasn't a disabled veteran former fed minority I didn't qualify), I've never even gotten past step one with anything. I just hope something crops up soon, I keep going back and forth between going back to school for...anything, really, since a BA in history doesn't seem to have helped me much and continuing to tough it out at my awful retail job in the hopes that something finally will come up

DeceasedHorse fucked around with this message at 00:33 on Jan 29, 2011

# ? Jan 29, 2011 00:26

FooGoo: Oct 21, 2008

Anyone ever applied to the US Army Corp of Engineers?

Last time I checked there were 0 openings and considering how rare Civil Engineering jobs are as it is, I'd expect the competition to be retard tough if there should ever be an opening. Any particular tips for standing out? I have my Masters, ~2 years work experience and am an Army combat veteran... if any of that matters.

# ? Jan 29, 2011 06:15

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

Were you in the engineer regiment at all? They love combat engineers.

# ? Jan 29, 2011 06:32

FooGoo: Oct 21, 2008

psydude posted:

Were you in the engineer regiment at all? They love combat engineers.

Unfortunately not, mostly because I know Combat Engineering /= Professional Engineering so while it seemed fun, it didn't really fit in line with my career goals. While it's never too late, I don't really believe in working a job in hopes of getting another job..

# ? Jan 29, 2011 09:48

Business of Ferrets: Mar 2, 2008; Good to see that everything is back to normal.

FooGoo posted:

I don't really believe in working a job in hopes of getting another job.

That's an unfortunate philosophy, since it seems to be the case (especially with government work, but in the private sector too, I bet) that the more related work experience you have the easier it is to get the better jobs.

Also, unless they've found their dream job or have just given up, just about everyone out there is working one job in hopes of getting another (better) job.

Remember, your first job out of school is just that: a job. If you work at it, you'll get better ones as time goes on.

# ? Jan 29, 2011 12:06

FooGoo: Oct 21, 2008

Business of Ferrets posted:

That's an unfortunate philosophy, since it seems to be the case (especially with government work, but in the private sector too, I bet) that the more related work experience you have the easier it is to get the better jobs.

Also, unless they've found their dream job or have just given up, just about everyone out there is working one job in hopes of getting another (better) job.

Remember, your first job out of school is just that: a job. If you work at it, you'll get better ones as time goes on.

I guess I should elaborate, I don't really mean job in the conventional sense but rather reenlisting in the Army as a Combat Engineer in hopes of getting a job with USACE. I'm already a veteran and Combat Engineer seems cool, but I'm not 100% on it, so I'd be spending 3-6 years training and certainly deploying overseas, all in hopes maybe or maybe not getting a few brownie points for a job.

That's just my thoughts though, and am open to opinions. If anyone thinks being a military engineer will in fact boost my competitiveness significantly, it is something I can consider.

# ? Jan 29, 2011 17:48

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

The engineer regiment does actually make use of degreed engineers in the form of officers at higher levels. That said, I don't think you should rejoin the Army just to get a job with USACE.

# ? Jan 30, 2011 02:03

Zoo: Oct 24, 2004; I hate to break it to you, but there is no big lie, there is no system. The universe is indifferent.

People have done worse deeds to get jobs, surely!

# ? Jan 30, 2011 02:28

Gin and Juche: Apr 3, 2008; The Highest Judge of Paradise
Shiki Eiki
YAMAXANADU

So the State Dept. has finally heard all my whining in this thread and have sent me a second invitation for the BEX yesterday. It has been so long, I don't even remember what the initial online exam entailed. I don't take the test until March, but what are absolutely vital subjects to study for this thing? I've read that keeping up with current events helps, but that is about it.

# ? Jan 30, 2011 10:45

Pompous Rhombus: Mar 11, 2007

Gravel Gravy posted:

So the State Dept. has finally heard all my whining in this thread and have sent me a second invitation for the BEX yesterday. It has been so long, I don't even remember what the initial online exam entailed. I don't take the test until March, but what are absolutely vital subjects to study for this thing? I've read that keeping up with current events helps, but that is about it.

I trawled through 230+ pages on an officer.com forum about DSS and the BEX, the advice more or less boiled down to "know yourself and your work history and be able to sell it/put yourself in the best possible light".

Here is a c/p of the notes I took on the DSS in general. It's pretty much a straight copy/paste from what current DSS Agents were saying in the thread (and I compiled it before the interview and haven't touched it since), so I don't see how it could violate the NDA.

quote:

The men and women of Diplomatic Security are specially trained federal law enforcement professionals. Diplomatic Security special agents are Foreign Service security officers assigned domestically and overseas to ensure that American diplomacy is conducted in a safe and secure environment. Overseas, they advise ambassadors on all security matters and manage a complex range of security programs designed to protect people, facilities, and information. In the United States, agents investigate passport and visa fraud, conduct personnel security investigations, and protect the Secretary of State and certain foreign dignitaries.

The position is half Special agent/ Criminal Investigator and half Diplomat; it includes ARSO jobs, ARSO-I jobs, protective intelligence jobs, cyber security jobs, field office jobs, professional responsibility jobs, command center positions, etc. Not all of these are going to involve criminal investigations.

Training involves: criminal law and investigation, background investigations, first aid, firearms, and defensive driving. To prepare for specific overseas assignments, officers are trained in security management, post operations, counterintelligence, electronic security, and languages. Other instruction includes advanced firearms techniques, explosive devices, ordnance detection, arson investigation, and medical assistance.

Most initial assignments are to a field office within the United States. If you are thinking about joining and you totally hate protection and cant see yourself doing a considerable amount (ESPECIALLY the first 3 years), then DS is not the place for you. If your assigned to WFO or NYFO, you WILL do protection and a lot of it. Your never going to get away from it all together. If you dont like to travel and move every 2-3 years, then you dont need join DS. In my field office I was gone about 213 days this last calendar year, a combination of protection and criminal investigations.

Domestically, as an investigator you will use whatever is at your disposal and/or rely on your strengths. Some agents spend several hours/days researching a case through databases, internet sites, ruse phone calls, etc. in the office before even thinking about going out and knocking on the door of the last known address, but others were out driving around every day to track down leads and conduct interviews. I am not saying one is better than the other; everyone develops their own style and decides what works for them. I was a better researcher and analyst: by the time I knocked on a door, I knew my suspect's true identity and I was prepared to make an arrest. While others, especially former cops, liked to hit the streets and use their interviewing skills to track down suspects.

DSS is one of if not the most versatile Federal Law Agency around. Much of what they do is to investigate passport and visa fraud, with other types of investigations arising from those cases. Most illegal aliens don't come to the USA on fraudulent docs - if they are illegal and have used docs it is because they came here on a valid visa and then disappear or overstay their visa, in which case it is an ICE issue. However if they have attempted to use a fraudulent document (passport) or obtain a visa fraudulently then it is a DSS issue. Visa fraud cases are time-consuming and often involve working with multiple agencies: Labor, ICE, IRS, etc.

BUT, a major part of DSS is protective details. Depending on who is in charge and what office you�re at, the amount of protective duties will vary.

Overseas we have developed ARSO-I positions. You are technically the property of Consular Affairs when you are in an I billet. These positions are usually in high fraud areas. These investigators are not arresting nor are they prosecuting. They are assisting domestic operations and field offices. EX: A ARSO-I in Nigeria has wind on a visa scam involving religious workers. With the help of local Nigerian law enforcement, DS will "assist" the locals in prosecuting any violations of Nigerian law. Any information from the investigation and cooperation with the Nigerian government go to relevant places in the US, whether that be a field office, Visa Fraud unit or even another agency pending jurisdiction (like FBI). If the scam involves Nigerians coming on religous visas to a supposed church in Atlanta, the ARSO may very well reach out to the Atlanta RAC with what has been uncovered. An ARSO-I first and foremost is an employee of Consular Affairs, and you will be working in the Embassy or Consulate as such.

At U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, RSOs develop and implement the various aspects of a comprehensive security program designed to protect personnel, property, and information against terrorists, foreign intelligence agents, and criminals.

With proven aptitudes and on-the-job performance, a Diplomatic Security special agent may advance to the position of regional security officer, responsible for managing security operations for an embassy or for several diplomatic posts within an assigned area. RSOs work closely with top State Department officials and serve as operational supervisors of U.S. Marine Security Guard detachments.

In a field office you will likely work on criminal investigations, protection and get a TDY assignment overseas in either a protection or RSO job all in your first year, in some cases much sooner. Assuming your first tour is domestic, in a field office, you will begin "bidding" on your next post about 1- 1 1/2 yrs into the 2 year assignment. Since you will still be untenured, your second assignment is technically "directed" (needs of the agency), but in reality you do select it (might be your 19th choice as opposed to your 1st or 2nd, but you select it. Anyway, this second tour could be almost anything depending on your flexibility, and what's available at the time. As your career progresses and you are promoted and tenured (3-5 years) you will have even more choices like being an ARSO, a Site Security Manager for a new embassy under construction, full-time assignment to the Secretary of State's Protective Detail (SD), Crim work full time on Passport/Visa Fraud, or detailed to an FBI JTTF even. The options are vast, and you could do a "new" job every 2-3 years until you retired and never repeat the same type of assignment.

Your day as an RSO or ARSO will depend on where you are posted, and the size/prominence of your Post. For example, the RSO in Barbados is likely not working on the same issues at the same level as the RSO in Moscow! Barbados is likely a one agent shop, whereas Moscow likely has an RSO, Deputy RSO and 4-5 ARSOs. RSO work (RSOs and ARSOs) is more like that of a corporate security manager for the embassy and and a security advisor for the Ambassador. You will craft and enforce security policy (protection of life, information and property) and you will also be the liaison with the host-nation law enforcement agencies. You will conduct background investigations for updating Clearances of Dept of State employees, and new local hires. Depending where you are, you might assist the Consular Officer with visa fraud investigations, or perhaps you will assist another U.S. agency who is not present in, or cannot travel to your country. You will plan the security for special events and high-level visitors, and supervise the Marine Security Guards and/or the local guards.

Guards at Embassies are locally hired citizens (not Americans) and work with host-countr
}y agencies (police, military) to provide security at U.S. diplomatic facilities. The guard program is supervised by the RSO. At most embassies, internal defense is handled by U.S. Marines, but not all embassies have a Marine Detachment.

Now don't get me wrong, we will all feel frustrated at the assignment process...wondering what assignment we are going to get especially since we are due to transfer in 3 months, but to where?!?! These things will discourage us, irritate us, but this is the life of the Foreign Service.
[turn this into a positive]

Much of the perceived tension between FSO's and DS originate from several different factors:

(1) sometimes our missions are in conflict. Sometimes our role as security specialist conflict with the FSO and what he percieves to be his job. (Ex: A political officer wants to meet with a country counterpart today, but DS has information concerning safety issues either along the route or at the location of the meeting) As an RSO or ARSO we are concerned with the safety of our staff...as a FSO he is concerned about getting to this meeting and doing his job. Its very much a give and take relationship and sometimes we can forget that aside from security, there is a diplomatic mission to be done. We should be working together on solutions where we maintain security but also assure that they can do their jobs as well.

(2) sometimes our personalities conflict. DS is a very diverse organization, but that being said we are also a police organization as well. Some would even say parts of this job could be considered "para-military". If your not already when you arrive on this job, you quickly pick up the importance of being very upfront and assertive. And that sometimes comes at odds with more of the diplomatic personalities. Our job sometimes require that we make hard stances, because lives could be at risk. And when you are dealing with Diplomats and foreign nationals, you are really having to learn to talk in another language. A language where sometimes, "yes means maybe and maybe means no". And FSO's talk that language for the most part. I have learned that a LARGE part of this job is managing different personalities and leadership styles. Then on the most basic level of FSOs can be a lot more passive aggressive than DS agents, which often result in a conflict.

Not all �door-kicking�, lots of management, investigation, paperwork, etc.

===============================================
Wikipedia
===============================================
-Started around WW1 to investigate German/Austrian spies who were using the US to obtain fraudulent travel documents in order to enter Great Britain for espionage purposes.
-Later became the Office of Security (SY) after WW2, with regional offices and attaches assigned to embassies overseas.
-In response to attacks on US embassies and diplomatic officials in the late 70�s/early 80�s, the Inman Panel was conducted in 1985. Recommended for increased security at US missions overseas, and led to creation of DS and DSS.
-Since 9/11, DS has played an active role in the War on Terror. More than 480 agents assigned to diplomatic missions, it is the most widely represented American security and law enforcement organization in the world. Agents have forged solid relationships with foreign police + security services worldwide, and through network of intelligence, contacts, etc, have been able to arrest terrorists before they have a chance to reach US shores or commit violent attacks against Americans overseas.
-The Diplomatic Security Service is under the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, although the two are often used interchangeably. (Also under Diplomatic Security are couriers and security engineering officers). DSS Special Agents occupy a unique position as both Foreign Service employees and law enforcement officers.
-Head of DS is the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security, currently Eric Boswell.
-DSS also investigates other alleged improper or illegal behavior by Department of State personnel, to include incidents of espionage. Such cases would involve other agencies such as the Department of Justice. Overseas DSS must take the role of local and state law enforcement when investigating issues such as spousal or child abuse by US government personnel assigned to the embassy. This is because the host country will not investigate or prosecute diplomats, who are considered to have immunity from their laws. DSS also conducts tens of thousands of background investigations per year - not just for the Department of State, but for other federal agencies as well.

=====================================================================
What does the Department of State do?
=====================================================================
The first federal executive department created, the DoS handles the international relations of the United States, analogous to the foreign ministries of other countries. It operates US diplomatic missions abroad, is responsible for implementing foreign policy, and U.S. diplomatic efforts. The DoS is headed by the secretary of state, who is nominated by the president and serves on his cabinet.

The Department advances U.S. objectives and interests in the world through its primary role in developing and implementing the President's foreign policy. The Department also supports the foreign affairs activities of other U.S. Government entities including the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency (specifically, theSpecial Activities Division), and the U.S. Agency for International Development. It also provides an array of important services to U.S. citizens and to foreigners seeking to visit or immigrate to the U.S. Responsibilities include:
Protecting and assisting U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad;
Assisting U.S. businesses in the international marketplace;
Coordinating and providing support for international activities of other U.S. agencies (local, state, or federal government), official visits overseas and at home, and other diplomatic efforts.
Keeping the public informed about U.S. foreign policy and relations with other countries and providing feedback from the public to administration officials.
Providing automobile registration for non-diplomatic staff vehicles and the vehicles of diplomats of foreign countries having diplomatic immunity in the United States.

Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 14:16 on Jan 30, 2011

# ? Jan 30, 2011 14:13

11b1p: Feb 5, 2008; This picture is worth 20 words or something.

Am I stupid if I take a mail assistant position with the Treasury Department. It is a 1 year term position, no benefits. Is it worth it to just get into the system. After Tolls and gas money I will be making the same as I am on unemployment. I have to call them back tomorrow.

# ? Jan 30, 2011 15:08

JohnnyHildo: Jul 23, 2002

11b1p posted:

Am I stupid if I take a mail assistant position with the Treasury Department. It is a 1 year term position, no benefits. Is it worth it to just get into the system. After Tolls and gas money I will be making the same as I am on unemployment. I have to call them back tomorrow.

Having a job is going to look better to future prospective employers than being unemployed. I have recently seen several media reports about employers that openly refuse to hire anyone who has been unemployed for a certain period. The biggest drawback with a federal temporary job is that will not give you status, meaning that you will be competing with everyone for any vacancy announcements. If you have veteran's preference, this isn't a concern for you since you can compete for status announcements anyway.

# ? Jan 30, 2011 15:51

grover: Jan 23, 2002; PEW PEW PEW

A 1 year job is still a job for a year. Also, experience++ never hurts.

# ? Jan 30, 2011 15:58

11b1p: Feb 5, 2008; This picture is worth 20 words or something.

Yeah I'm just going to take it. The HR lady took me on a tour and I asked her about permanent careers and she said they were refusing to allow her to hire permanent people and that she was fighting to get more term employees because the work load is so high.

# ? Jan 30, 2011 16:52

Gin and Juche: Apr 3, 2008; The Highest Judge of Paradise
Shiki Eiki
YAMAXANADU

Pompous Rhombus posted:

I trawled through 230+ pages on an officer.com forum about DSS and the BEX, the advice more or less boiled down to "know yourself and your work history and be able to sell it/put yourself in the best possible light".

Here is a c/p of the notes I took on the DSS in general. It's pretty much a straight copy/paste from what current DSS Agents were saying in the thread (and I compiled it before the interview and haven't touched it since), so I don't see how it could violate the NDA.

Thank you much, guess I'll have some reading to do for the test, and maybe see if I can't pump advice out of the DSS agents handling my background investigation (I doubt it :ohdear:

)

# ? Jan 30, 2011 19:03

bengy81: May 8, 2010

I know that there are a few prior service types that are looking for/already have federal jobs. Did you guys start searching before you got out? I am wondering what to put for the prior service stuff, since obviously I don't have my DD-214 yet, can I claim prior service? Am I over thinking this? Also anybody try job hunting while deployed/overseas? Going to be separating in the middle of a deployment, and I would like to at least get into the system before I get out.

# ? Jan 31, 2011 05:06

fivetwo: Jun 19, 2009

The U.S. Marshals Service is apparently hiring in June.

Probably the best job in federal law enforcement. Judicial protection, witness protection, fugitive investigations, etc. Unfortunately, at their journeyman level (GS-12), they make about 10k/less a year than their DOJ counterparts in ATF, FBI, and DEA.

# ? Jan 31, 2011 05:13

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# ? May 10, 2024 16:32

psydude: Apr 1, 2008

Is the TSA a good way to get your foot in the door for other federal investigation agencies?

# ? Jan 31, 2011 05:23

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > The U.S. Federal Government Jobs Megathread: Next time... be more careful!

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