|
This isn't about a federal job, but it is about a state job I applied for. We have no "state employment thread" so here's a general question about the "filtration" process that goes with governmental hiring: I recently applied for a position in a department of the state of Illinois. This department handles all of their notifications via mail - if they want you to come in for an interview, you get mailed a notice, with a number to call to schedule it. Anyway I got a notification today, explaining that due to the high number of applicants, I need to fill out a short survey/form (enclosed in the envelope) and then mail it back to them by a certain date. Is this only the first step of "candidate filtration," or can they simply not respond to resumes they received which are clearly unqualified for the position? (so then this would be the second round of removing lesser qualified candidates from the pool)
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2012 00:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 27, 2024 21:18 |
|
|
Primoman posted:I wouldn't exactly call 30 "old", but I tried to fill out that form, and it said "You must be under 26 to register". You needed to register when you were 18-25. If you didn't register, you're most likely going to find yourself ineligible to be employed by the federal government. You can see if you registered here (though the verification is down at the moment): http://www.sss.gov/Processing/Processing.aspx?Function=V
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2012 00:49
|
|
|
JohnnyHildo posted:You needed to register when you were 18-25. If you didn't register, you're most likely going to find yourself ineligible to be employed by the federal government. You can see if you registered here (though the verification is down at the moment): Well according to this, I registered at 3/8/2004. How the gently caress do I not remember this? Now I'll have to send a revised page that indicates I did register. I'll probably have to include a cover letter of sorts to apologize for the mix-up. I really hope this doesn't gently caress over my chances now. On the upside, I finally got my NOR, and it said I scored an 88. That's 2 points lower than the "assured" 90, but I'm plenty satisfied. Primoman fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Apr 20, 2012 |
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2012 05:38
|
|
|
Primoman posted:Well according to this, I registered at 3/8/2004. If you went to college and received financial aid, you registered for the selective service. I also believe most highschools hold drives to sign students up.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2012 14:46
|
|
|
Isn't there, like, a chance you can serve jail time if you don't sign up with the selective services?
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2012 19:55
|
|
|
crankdatbatman posted:Isn't there, like, a chance you can serve jail time if you don't sign up with the selective services? I was all ready to say "what? no", but apparently you can be jailed up to 5 years and/or fined up to $250,000: http://www.sss.gov/FSbenefits.htm I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who has been. But, you will say goodbye to ever getting a job in the federal government or any kind of federal student aid.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2012 20:16
|
|
|
Sirotan posted:I was all ready to say "what? no", but apparently you can be jailed up to 5 years and/or fined up to $250,000: I have a feeling said penalties would only be applied in the event of an actual draft.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2012 20:52
|
|
|
crankdatbatman posted:Isn't there, like, a chance you can serve jail time if you don't sign up with the selective services? They have the ability to prosecute but they currently never do. In the 80's they did a few cases, but it was only against people who were very public about their lack of registration. As long as you're not on the front page of the New York Times bragging about your lack of registration you'll be fine.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2012 23:29
|
|
|
I may be accepting an offer for a state job soon but also be moving 2.5 hours away to a neighboring state this fall. Should I anticipate any problems with working for one state's government and living in another? The position is public health environmentalist, basically a health inspector.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2012 16:07
|
|
|
Rynala posted:I may be accepting an offer for a state job soon but also be moving 2.5 hours away to a neighboring state this fall. Should I anticipate any problems with working for one state's government and living in another? The position is public health environmentalist, basically a health inspector. You definitely should check residency requirements.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2012 17:46
|
|
|
Rynala posted:I may be accepting an offer for a state job soon but also be moving 2.5 hours away to a neighboring state this fall. Should I anticipate any problems with working for one state's government and living in another? The position is public health environmentalist, basically a health inspector. Anecdotal evidence, and YMMV depending upon the state in question, however when my dad worked for the State of Maryland, there were several employees who lived in Pennsylvania and commuted down to Baltimore.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2012 17:53
|
|
|
Sweet, Alabama apparently does not require residency to work for the state. Now to wait for Monday's call-back. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2012 00:16
|
|
|
Primoman posted:So I got an email that indicated that I passed the Border Protection Officer exam. The next step is to fill out and upload signed documents, which I'm doing as we speak. Not sure if you've decided on this yet, but as an HR professional in the Federal government, I am very envious of any LEO (law enforcement officer) and their ability to retire with 20+ years service. Not only do you get your full FERS, but you also get a supplemental retirement meant to be equal to what you would receive in OASDI if you were old enough. You get this until you're 62 and eligible for reduced OASDI. So yeah, pretty cool. Similar rules apply to fire fighters, air traffic controllers, and national guard techs. Of course, this is always subject to change. If I had to wager, I'd say that it's a narrow chance that all of this will stay in place now that the GOP won't even throw a bone to the law enforcement feds. De Nomolos fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Apr 24, 2012 |
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2012 04:46
|
|
|
I applied for the TCO posting that closed yesterday, but now I'm wondering about how long it takes for things to process. I don't have any accounting experience, so when should I realistically begin studying for the Basic Accounting Assessment?
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2012 09:35
|
|
|
JohnnyTreachery posted:I applied for the TCO posting that closed yesterday, but now I'm wondering about how long it takes for things to process. I don't have any accounting experience, so when should I realistically begin studying for the Basic Accounting Assessment? I applied to the last few TCO postings since 2010 (that were always cancelled, due to budget). Usually they start assessments a few weeks after closing, though they have changed the process a little bit, compare to how it used to be. The past couple of years, it was limited to the first 50 people for each location in order to move on to the assessment stage. Now it seems that those with veterans pref have the chance to go first, and of there are enough slots available after them, then non vets can take the assessments (I think, at least). I know quite a few TCOs since my husband works with their group, and it seems that most of them are pretty burned out on their current case loads. The training for TCOs is also pretty intense, which required 3 phases of multiple weeks out of office over your first two years on the job. Most of them are working on a masters in taxation or accounting and want to move into an RA or RO position since TCO had a max of GS9.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2012 12:19
|
|
|
I've applied for a lot of things on USAjobs to no avail. For one thing which I was definitely qualified I was told I'm not, but that's the only feedback I've ever gotten. What's the deal with this process?
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2012 18:13
|
|
|
Pretty Boy Floyd posted:I've applied for a lot of things on USAjobs to no avail. For one thing which I was definitely qualified I was told I'm not, but that's the only feedback I've ever gotten. What's the deal with this process? If you don't have certain keywords from the job posting in your resume, it will kick you out as unqualified. I've gotten all the way to the interview for one position and then immediately rejected for a similar but lower position because I didn't change my resume enough.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2012 18:55
|
|
|
So, if they want calculus and data analysis and stuff in it, I should just tack it in wherever to get past the censor, awesome.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2012 20:25
|
|
|
De Nomolos posted:Not only do you get your full FERS, but you also get a supplemental retirement meant to be equal to what you would receive in OASDI if you were old enough. You get this until you're 62 and eligible for reduced OASDI. The FERS supplement is available to any federal employee who is eligible, not only those covered by FERS-Special retirement. http://www.opm.gov/retire/pre/fers/annuitysupp.asp
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2012 22:52
|
|
|
JohnnyHildo posted:The FERS supplement is available to any federal employee who is eligible, not only those covered by FERS-Special retirement. Doh, you're right. But there is an extra extra for LEOs. I should mention that I actually work doing worker's comp now, but I used to do retirements, so I have processed some of those cases.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2012 01:14
|
|
|
Stultus Maximus posted:If you don't have certain keywords from the job posting in your resume, it will kick you out as unqualified. I've gotten all the way to the interview for one position and then immediately rejected for a similar but lower position because I didn't change my resume enough. Is there any way to know what keywords they want you to use?
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2012 04:30
|
|
|
Mons Hubris posted:Is there any way to know what keywords they want you to use? Read the listing. Phrase things in much the same way that they do. For example, using a random listing for an Auditor: They say in the listing that "The work includes participating in planning and conducting audits pertaining to financial and related activities of an organization and/or audits affecting the economy and efficiency of major agency programs, and/or preaward and postaward attestation examinations of contractors doing business with GSA under a multitude of contracts and complex financial arrangements." You'll definitely want to say in your resume that your auditing experience (if applicable) includes things like "extensive experience conducting audits pertaining to financial and related activities of and organization and/or audits affecting the economy and efficiency of programs". Something like that. Throw out the resume writing skills you learned in any workshop. Rephrase their requests as your skills.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2012 05:13
|
|
|
US Army Physicist here, feel free to add me to the OP. I started as a ranger with the USDA Forest Service. I was fortunate enough to have my brother vouch for me and give me a heads up on a STEP (Student Temporary Employment Program) position. These positions are exempt from a lot of the hiring requirements of competitive federal jobs, and the positions in the unit I worked in were frequently not even advertised if they could be filled through referral. That being said, every year there was always a new face recruited from out of town. I can't recall the specific requirements, but I was a full time student, and you have to plan on being enrolled again following the employment term, although this last clause was frequently violated. You won't get benefits, and it won't allow you to transfer to other federal jobs, but any time served in these positions will apply to your service computation date in the event that you do get a permanent federal job. This determines things like when you retire, how much leave you accrue, etc. When I got my job as a physicist, I also got all the leave I'd accrued as a ranger. In June 2011 I graduated with a BS (dual major physics/mathematics) and resumed my summer job as a ranger. I started applying to competitive service jobs in July of 2011, after I learned that the Forest Service would be laying off seasonal employees because of budget concerns (woooo). I think I applied to my current position in August, and received word that I was computed as the best qualified candidate in mid-September. I started working at my current position in November. The Army wasn't using the questionnaires/rating systems at the time (although they are now), so I credit my successful application with the fact that I literally copied and pasted sections from the job announcement into my resume. I'm not sure how viable a strategy this is anymore now that the old system, Resumix, is gone. At least now you can upload more than one resume at a time. I'm sure there's a lot more I detail I could include for the general audience, but I felt especially compelled to include my experience because I haven't seen a whole lot of technical/science people represented here. My job does require a secret clearance, and a few people in my office maintain top secret, but the work we do is largely out in the open, so if anyone has any questions about what my work is like, I'm open to answering those too. I should note that I'm not really a research physicist, though.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2012 01:59
|
|
|
I just noticed that I'm not in the OP. De Nomolos- OPM, Retirement Services, Legal Administrative Spc. I do most of my work in not just retirement benefits, but also life insurance and health insurance (since most people carry theirs into retirement to have until Medicare kicks in). If you have benefits questions, I probably know the answer. Also do far too much work with the HR dept for USPS, so I've learned a lot about the Kremlinology of that agency, sadly. Some of my friends at OPM actually work on USAjobs.com, as well. Oaks posted:I literally copied and pasted sections from the job announcement into my resume I tried that after a year of denials. It got me my first interview 
De Nomolos fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Apr 26, 2012 |
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2012 02:49
|
|
|
That is the best trick to get your resume notice. I'll try to find the document my buddy that does hiring for Public Works in Canada made for it. I"m sure the USAJOBS uses the same kind of system
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2012 15:46
|
|
|
De Nomolos posted:I just noticed that I'm not in the OP. I want to eventually transfer into OPM if I can since I have an interest in benefits. Right now, I'm working over at NIH, which is a bit of a long commute on bus/rail from south Arlington. I, too, did the copy-paste in my resume. Coming up on my 3 month mark with my agency. Compared to my old job, I wouldn't give this up for anything. I just sent the OP a message to add myself to the post, since I noticed I wasn't listed as well. Maybe try to do the same thing since it looks like it hasn't been updated since last
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2012 03:30
|
|
|
Oaks posted:I started as a ranger with the USDA Forest Service. I was fortunate enough to have my brother vouch for me and give me a heads up on a STEP (Student Temporary Employment Program) position. I am that brother. Ironically, I gave him a lot of tips about formatting his resume and applying to federal jobs in general, but never actually landed more than seasonal work as a fed myself in two years of trying, while he got it done in like two weeks. Now I'm a state worker and bitch about cushy federal jobs like everyone else.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2012 16:38
|
|
|
NintyFresh posted:I want to eventually transfer into OPM if I can since I have an interest in benefits. Right now, I'm working over at NIH, which is a bit of a long commute on bus/rail from south Arlington. There are some positions in Retirement Services right now. Don't Apply For Those Retirement is a clusterfuck due to the inability to automate the claims system due to the complexity of payouts generated by years of special computation rules mandated by congress for military, national guard, air traffic controllers, anyone who got OWCP, anyone who worked part-time, VA nurses, it goes on. Also, they've been woefully understaffed, so anyone who gets hired now is going to be expected to work to move heaven and earth to get things moving fast in time for Post Officepocalypse (there's going to be a ton of retirements by attrition soon, due to this crappy new Postal Reform Bill). If you want to be at OPM, wait for a job in Employee Services, the IG's office, or HR Solutions. If you don't mind working on your own a lot, go to Investigative Services. That's where I'd like to be working (and will, once there's an opening there). Usefull stuff:http://bestplacestowork.org/BPTW/rankings/ This is more useful than those listings of the best agencies. OPM is a great agency, but Retirement Services really, really sucks. There's a lot of variation like that in other agencies as well.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2012 06:33
|
|
|
I applied for a job about two months ago on USAjobs / Application Manager. The specific listing has been listed for the last 3 years and has always said it will be used to fill "Many positions". I've always thought about applying but only just recently got my formal qualification to be able to apply with any realistic success (Four year apprenticeship). I submitted a resume, did a job related questionnaire and they were both listed as processed. I do live overseas but I am a US citizen looking to relocate back, I provided all this information in my resume and online questions. The job listing has been removed 8 months before the closing date and my status is pending HR Specialist Review for the last month. Have the positions been filled and hence the offer removed and I am in line to get rejected? I haven't been contacted and neither have my references to my knowledge.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2012 04:26
|
|
|
There have been a number of Naval Sealift jobs listed in the past week. Expect these to increase now that Pakistan is opening its border for our hardware to leave Afghanistan via Pakistan's ports. Same goes for DLA.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2012 18:28
|
|
|
Here's a question about FERS: I was half time for 15 months but transitioned to full-time last October. Assuming I stay until September 2013, that gives me more than three years of consecutive service. How will my high-3 be computed if I did 15 months half time and 24 months full time? Edit: Agency is Dept of the Navy if that matters. jerman999 fucked around with this message at 18:46 on May 17, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 17, 2012 18:41
|
|
|
jerman999 posted:Here's a question about FERS: I was half time for 15 months but transitioned to full-time last October. Assuming I stay until September 2013, that gives me more than three years of consecutive service. How will my high-3 be computed if I did 15 months half time and 24 months full time? They'll take what you made during that time and multiply it by the ratio of part-time hours worked to full-time to calculate your your high three, if that time is part of it. Are you saying you're going to defer your retirement? Are you definitely leaving?
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2012 18:47
|
|
|
It's pretty likely that I won't stay past the end of the next FY. Would I get any benefits at all if I didn't eventually come back to government?
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2012 18:57
|
|
|
jerman999 posted:It's pretty likely that I won't stay past the end of the next FY. Would I get any benefits at all if I didn't eventually come back to government? Nope. You'd need 5 years minimum, and even then you'd have to wait til age 62 to collect them. You need at least 10 for any form of retirement prior to age 62 (unless you get permanently disabled on the job, you can retire with 18 months service then. Yahoo).
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2012 19:20
|
|
|
De Nomolos posted:Nope. You'd need 5 years minimum, and even then you'd have to wait til age 62 to collect them. You need at least 10 for any form of retirement prior to age 62 (unless you get permanently disabled on the job, you can retire with 18 months service then. Yahoo). Too bad. Do those five years have to be consecutive or do they just add them up over time? I am so glad I can talk to someone from OPM about this, our HR people are....pretty bad.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2012 22:33
|
|
|
jerman999 posted:our HR people are....pretty bad.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2012 22:36
|
|
|
grover posted:I think this is universal. You should think putting that sheer amount of incompetence in one place would create a literal black hole, but, no, it only creates a a figurative one. I have similar complaints about the travel office, the people who issue CAC cards, the security office, and pretty much any administrative function in the DoD.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2012 02:07
|
|
|
I posted this over in the Foreign Service Megathread but it is sort of in a grey area between the two threads, so I thought I'd bring it over here and see if people here might be able to help out... I was curious about positions working with State based in the US. I've been abroad a good deal of my 20s (2 years of Peace Corps and just shy of 2 years in Japan now) and though I'm interested in the DoS I ultimately think I would not want to go the FSO route. Specifically, my Country Director in the Peace Corps told me during my exit interview that he thought the Foreign Service wouldn't fit well with me because there is a lot of rear end-kissing and kowtowing (is this true?) and I'd chafe too much. I'm also not thrilled at the idea of having little control over post assignments. However, I have a serious interest in foreign policy and would ultimately like to take part in helping to shape it, so that's what I'm gunning for. Anyway my point is mostly- 1) Do you guys know much about working stateside for State? I'd love to work with East Asian and Pacific Affairs specifically, but mostly anything in security would be great... 2) The grad school question. A lot of people I know went to get an MA in IR and are looking into various policy positions in DC. If I were to go the FSO route I don't think I'd bother with grad school because I think my degree+international experience and a stint working with a security thinktank in DC would be more important than a degree that most other applicants could have, but if I'm hoping to work based in D.C. do you think it'd make sense to take the two years (and debt) for an MA? Just curious if any of you have insight, whether it be experience or anecdotal or what. I'm casting a pretty wide net but thought I'd see what the folks here could do, since I'm always impressed by the A/T megathreads.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2012 11:18
|
|
|
Is there a consensus regarding Security Clearances and how long they are useful after they are no longer active - 2, 5 years? Or is being cleared a benefit no matter how long it has been?
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2012 20:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 27, 2024 21:18 |
|
|
brotastrophe posted:Is there a consensus regarding Security Clearances and how long they are useful after they are no longer active - 2, 5 years? Or is being cleared a benefit no matter how long it has been? Security clearances last according to type, a secret should last for about 10 years if I remember right, a TS for 5 and anytime within 2 years after it has admistrativly ended you can get a re investigation as opposed to a new investigation, having ever had a clearance is a good thing as far as getting a renewal or a job that requires discretion or for you to have access to classified information.
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2012 21:05
|
|