|
Suntory BOSS posted:Yep, the fact that federal contracting positions are seemingly everywhere is a large part of the appeal for me. Persistence is the key to success here. (Well, luck too, like you said.) But in about 10 years as a fed I have applied for many positions that I have been qualified for, and watched to see if my resume went through or not. If it didn't I tweaked it. I noted what it did get through for and what it did not get through for, and made assumptions based on that. The process has paid off, as I now seem to be able to get though most certs for the three or so career fields I usually work in. Of course my fed resume is a terrible unreadable mess tailored for computers more than actual people, but this is the government drat it and that's how we like it! Keep at it. We are in strange budget times where we go from hiring freezes to cramming in more new people than we have desks for and it can change from month to month. If your resume conveys those skills (tweak, tweak, tweak until the computer likes the INPUT: HUMAN VERBIAGE, SKILLSET BUZZWORD MATCH COEFICIENT: 96.7%, MANDATORY WORD "PARADIGM" DETECTED 10/10 TIMES; RESUME REFERRED; KILL ALL HUMANOIDS.), eventually you will hit one of the hiring times and get an interview. Possibly. If you can prove you are dense, er, determined enough.
|
#
?
May 12, 2015 18:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 00:53 |
|
|
We just had the Federal Résumé writing dude swear that they no longer have a computer check all incoming material like they used to...but...he did not say anything to imply that they might not still check for the same material as got through during the computer days, even if that is true, haha.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2015 20:22
|
|
|
e_wraith posted:Your husband is active duty? There is a special authority for hiring military spouses that attempts to accommodate the moves that are made by a military family. I believe if you are recognized as under this authority you get special preference for jobs at a new site for a year (maybe two) after the move. I am not a military spouse so that is about all I can say about it, but if your husband contacts the base's civilian HR people I am sure they could provide more info. As to portability of the position, it depends. Everywhere is going to have some sort of contracts person to deal with all the local day to day contracts needs I am sure like you said. Things like facilities, telecon, snow removal, landscaping, etc... But sites that have a program acquisition function will certainly have more slots and are more likely to have slots open on a regular basis facilitating direct transfers. They had a checkbox in the special considerations section for spouse, so I checked it. I've submitted the application and it's sitting there as "received", and probably will be for the next several millennia. I'm currently employed so if I get it cool if I don't whatever. I would like to trade my 55 minute commute for a 5 minute commute even if it means a pay cut though.
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2015 01:19
|
|
|
Quarex posted:We just had the Federal Résumé writing dude swear that they no longer have a computer check all incoming material like they used to...but...he did not say anything to imply that they might not still check for the same material as got through during the computer days, even if that is true, haha. The federal resume writing people like to tell us the system changed significantly about every 2 years or so. There will be emails. There will be classes. Everything will be different and better. And then... Nothing will have changed significantly that anyone can notice and everyone still has 10 page resumes to get through a non-existent computer vetting system. Maybe it isn't Resumix anymore, but I will bet it is something. Man those resumes are hard to read! I will also accept that higher level HR in my organization might be a race of cyborgs. In fact, I will choose to envision that when next putting my own 10 page unintelligible resume in for something. (4 of those pages just contain the word "cybersecurity" over and over in different fonts.)
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2015 14:18
|
|
|
My favorite thing in the last few months has been job postings where you some of the application questions have a blank text box with the instructions to 'enter here where this relevant experience can be found on your resume' implying that no one is really even reading it at all in the first place. I just put down 'see page 1' or similar.Quarex posted:We just had the Federal Résumé writing dude swear that they no longer have a computer check all incoming material like they used to...but...he did not say anything to imply that they might not still check for the same material as got through during the computer days, even if that is true, haha. This might be true but it is still going to be some GS-7 or something in HR who just matches up buzzwords while having zero idea about what the position actually requires, or what your current position actually does. We get emails from managers asking people in my job series to apply for jobs in another series because of how our skills would fit really well and then not surprisingly no one ever gets through the filters.
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2015 13:32
|
|
|
Has anyone here worked with the BLM? I just got a temporary gig out west, and I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me about what to expect, the corporate culture etc. This is my first FedGov position, so I really don't know what I'm getting into.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2015 23:02
|
|
|
Any goons work at the rock island armory? I've been applying there pretty much all day today.
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2015 00:28
|
|
|
Wizard of Smart posted:Any goons work at the rock island armory? I've been applying there pretty much all day today. I don't work there, but I've been there on TDY at my current job. My impression was that the Quad Cities is a surprisingly nice little town with some great breweries, given that it's otherwise kind of in the middle of no-man's land between states.
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2015 00:34
|
|
|
As someone from non-Chicago Illinois I can confirm that you can do worse than the Quad Cities.
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2015 04:17
|
|
|
Quarex posted:As someone from non-Chicago Illinois I can confirm that you can do worse than the Quad Cities. I enjoy the QC area a lot so if I can get on at the armory I'd love to.
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2015 04:29
|
|
|
Would working for a company that gets contracts from the government apply to this thread? Looking for input from someone who has been a similar situation. I was offered a position with a company that provides IT solutions to government sites. It's been a long process. I was told to prepare for a may 1st start date, but I'm just now starting tomorrow. I finished my background check and drug test last month. The entire month has been getting the interim security clearance. First they had to send me finger print cards, I got that done and sent it back, after that I had to get my interim secret clearance, then I had to wait for the government to to "open" a investigation for my full clearance before i begin. I wasn't expecting it to take this long. I put in my 2 weeks way too early I guess, and we've been struggling. It's been one thing after another, "yeah you can start soon just one more thing", we were afraid I was getting the run around. As anyone done a secret security clearance that's taken about a month? Is this normal, or should I be worried?
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2015 19:56
|
|
|
A month is pretty fast.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2015 20:04
|
|
|
A month is absurdly fast. It took me 4 months to get my secret level clearance, and I've got a buddy who got a top secret that took well over a year! Also yes, you put in your two weeks too early. When dealing with federal jobs, you shouldn't make any moves until you have a firm offer with a starting date in writing.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2015 21:16
|
|
|
Justus posted:A month is absurdly fast. It took me 4 months to get my secret level clearance, and I've got a buddy who got a top secret that took well over a year! Yeah, I didn't put in my 2 weeks until I got a letter, and even then it got pushed back because off something called a "government shutdown". So yeah, hurry up and wait.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2015 21:20
|
|
|
Justus posted:A month is absurdly fast. It took me 4 months to get my secret level clearance, and I've got a buddy who got a top secret that took well over a year! Well, a month for the interim, I don't have the full thing yet. I think the recruiter was just new. He was all, "yeah you'll start very soon" and just kept mentioning more things I had to do, one at a time, with the entire process being new to me. I'm glad it this seems normal. I don't have a start date in writing. I've signed and accepted my offer letter, did my w-2 and direct deposit stuff, etc. I'm not contract or federal technically, I will be an employee of a company that has won a contract to provide IT solutions to government sites. They basically told me today everything is ready, you start tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2015 21:44
|
|
|
Deep Winter posted:Well, a month for the interim, I don't have the full thing yet. I think the recruiter was just new. He was all, "yeah you'll start very soon" and just kept mentioning more things I had to do, one at a time, with the entire process being new to me. I'm glad it this seems normal. Explain to the recruiter that you've put your notice in and that you are in limbo. Ask if there's any other projects that could use temporary assistance but not an FTE that you could contribute to in the interim.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2015 23:21
|
|
|
Hey thread, I have a fairly specific pay grade question. I have a JD, but haven't passed a bar- instead I went straight into a PhD program. I'm planning to apply for federal work sometime after I get my degree, in a position that doesn't normally require a legal background. A relative who worked for the Feds a few years back thinks that having a law license translates into some sort of automatic bump in pay grade. Is there such a thing, does it require the degree or a license, and how screwed am I trying to get a federal government job with my JD and social science PhD?
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2015 00:04
|
|
|
My application status has been updated and my checklist lists everything as ok. Now I'm apparently waiting on an external assessment.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2015 00:25
|
|
|
Discendo Vox posted:Hey thread, I have a fairly specific pay grade question. I have a JD, but haven't passed a bar- instead I went straight into a PhD program. I'm planning to apply for federal work sometime after I get my degree, in a position that doesn't normally require a legal background. A relative who worked for the Feds a few years back thinks that having a law license translates into some sort of automatic bump in pay grade. Is there such a thing, does it require the degree or a license, and how screwed am I trying to get a federal government job with my JD and social science PhD? I've never heard of a JD pay bump. And I have a JD and passed the bar. I don't do legal work. I've met a lot of other ex-lawyers as well.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2015 00:26
|
|
|
Discendo Vox posted:Hey thread, I have a fairly specific pay grade question. I have a JD, but haven't passed a bar- instead I went straight into a PhD program. I'm planning to apply for federal work sometime after I get my degree, in a position that doesn't normally require a legal background. A relative who worked for the Feds a few years back thinks that having a law license translates into some sort of automatic bump in pay grade. Is there such a thing, does it require the degree or a license, and how screwed am I trying to get a federal government job with my JD and social science PhD? It's common that a PhD or the equivalent will qualify you for a certain pay grade within a given listing but this is by no means a guarantee. A common education to pay grade level conversion I have seen is Bachelor's = GS 7, Master's = GS 9, PhD = GS 11. That said if you've got a Bachelor's in something incompatible with the tasks for the listing you have virtually no chance of getting job unless you're a 10 point veteran. There are also loads of people that just want to get in and they will gladly take a pay grade below what their education and experience would qualify them for.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2015 00:45
|
|
|
Yep, my GS-11 educational qualification got me a GS-9 position to start, but I also am not complaining, so it still may be worth it. That said, if you look hard enough you realize there actually are rare GS-12 and even the ultra-rare-spawn GS-13 positions you can enter directly if you have actually completed your doctorate (as opposed to GS-11 where being A.B.D. qualifies you). Though somehow I suspect those positions are not actually intended for people who just finished their degrees (unless the degrees was a mid-career move instead of a beginning-career move). They are usually titles like "Lead Historian" or "Head Researcher" or other obviously important positions. Basically come work for USCIS though. As I am fond of saying, my incoming group was all ex-military, ex-Peace Corps, or ex-lawyer, other than li'l' ol' A.B.Me, so clearly you will be qualified one way or another!
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2015 02:55
|
|
|
Discendo Vox posted:Hey thread, I have a fairly specific pay grade question. I have a JD, but haven't passed a bar- instead I went straight into a PhD program. I'm planning to apply for federal work sometime after I get my degree, in a position that doesn't normally require a legal background. A relative who worked for the Feds a few years back thinks that having a law license translates into some sort of automatic bump in pay grade. Is there such a thing, does it require the degree or a license, and how screwed am I trying to get a federal government job with my JD and social science PhD? I have a JD and work in a policy-type position that is predominantly filled by people with public policy degrees. When hired, I was told I would get the doctoral-level pay rate. They never asked whether I passed a bar (although it was on my resume) and I don't think it factored into my pay. Unfortunately for you, I think having both a JD and a PhD would do nothing to increase your pay--my impression is that there's a doctoral rate, a master's rate, and a bachelor's rate, with the possibility of some consideration for extremely-related experience (i.e., it has to be experience doing pretty much the same job). We use a band system rather than the GS scale, though, so it might be a little different.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2015 08:43
|
|
|
Yeah J.D.s do not count as doctorates in the pay grade scale, at least unless the job talk people were clueless. Though the weird thing there is that some people think they count as a master's degree, but then what is an L.L.M.? And respect to anyone with an S.J.D.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2015 14:09
|
|
|
Quarex posted:Yeah J.D.s do not count as doctorates in the pay grade scale, at least unless the job talk people were clueless. Though the weird thing there is that some people think they count as a master's degree, but then what is an L.L.M.? And respect to anyone with an S.J.D. I think you're right for at least some of the other jobs I applied to. For this one, though, I apparently did receive what they referred to as a doctoral pay rate. People are hired for my position with a variety of educational backgrounds, although the most common is an MPP. I haven't compared salaries with anyone hired with a Ph.D., but I do know that I'm making more than at least some MPPs who were also hired without creditable experience. But, again, we don't adhere to the GS scale, and we do our own hiring (i.e., OPM is not involved). Also, I have an LLM in addition to the JD, and my impression is that it was ignored completely when it came to setting my salary (don't know if it helped me get hired). Sir John Falstaff fucked around with this message at 16:53 on May 28, 2015 |
|
#
?
May 28, 2015 16:33
|
|
|
I was hired with a JD at at a GS-9, and I started with a person who had a PhD at the same level.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2015 16:42
|
|
|
Sir John Falstaff posted:
This sounds amazing. My agency just opened up promotions for the first time since 2012 so now I get to go through the OPM process in the hopes of getting my 12.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2015 21:18
|
|
|
Dammit, Falstaff, tell me where you work so I can make their employment page my homepage already.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2015 22:37
|
|
|
Eh, it's not all great. There are no step increases; instead, increases and promotions are "performance-based," outside of a tiny cost of living adjustment. In practice, my impression is that, at least recently, this has meant that pay has tended to lag slightly behind pay for similar employees at other agencies, where increases and promotion are more automatic (I don't think this is a necessary part of the system, I think it's just that the union has had a harder time negotiating increase levels due to the tighter budgets). There are probably some who make out better than others, though (I only joined recently, so hopefully I hope I'm explaining it properly).
Sir John Falstaff fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Jun 3, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2015 02:41
|
|
|
Sir John Falstaff posted:Eh, it's not all great. There are no step increases; instead, increases and promotions are "performance-based," outside of a tiny cost of living adjustment. In practice, my impression is that, at least recently, this has meant that pay has tended to lag slightly behind pay for similar employees at other agencies, where increases and promotion are more automatic (I don't think this is a necessary part of the system, I think it's just that the union has had a harder time negotiating increase levels due to the tighter budgets). There are probably some who make out better than others, though (I only joined recently, so hopefully I hope I'm explaining it properly). Demo project with pay banding?
|
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2015 04:58
|
|
|
I think a lot of it has to do with the political environment and budget in recent years. I started in 2010 and was fortunate to have automatic promotions to the journey level of my job which is GS-11. That mitigated the fact that no one else was really getting anything, especially with the 0% or 1% COLAs since 2010. The hiring class that started about 9 months before me was able to get a few 12's but the openings were gone by the time any of us were eligible for promotion. The step increases are great but I urgently want a 12 ASAP to start working up that ladder, not to mention do my time-in-grade for 13. Here's hoping I'll spend less time as a 12 than I did as an 11.
|
|
#
?
Jun 3, 2015 23:23
|
|
|
If I applied (internally) for a best qualified USPS and they sent me links to take job prerequisite tests does that mean I got the position, or do they just send those to all the applicants?
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2015 01:36
|
|
|
I've got a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and 6 years experience in auditing/accounting/finance across a couple different industries, and I applied for a GS-9 Forensic Accountant position with the FBI. Realistically what are my chances?
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2015 06:36
|
|
|
So I just got an interview through USAjobs for a Financial Management/Data Analyst Specialist position, but Ive literally never had an interview for a federal government position before. Is there anything I should be aware of going into the interview? I don't really know how they differ from a regular interview if at all or what I should expect. (Also if anyone has any advice regarding that position specifically it would be appreciated, but I imagine thats a bit of a long shot.)
Lilli fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Jun 4, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2015 21:00
|
|
|
Lilli posted:So I just got an interview through USAjobs for a Financial Management/Database Analyst Specialist position, but Ive literally never had an interview for a federal government position before. Is there anything I should be aware of going into the interview? I don't really know how they differ from a regular interview if at all or what I should expect. (Also if anyone has any advice regarding that position specifically it would be appreciated, but I imagine thats a bit of a long shot.) Different agencies can have different methods for interviews. When I interviewed with the DoD, it was done over the phone. I was able to do a Google search beforehand and easily found other people who had interviewed for the same position who shared the questions they were asked. There was a little variation from person to person, but I ended up getting a pool of about 20 possible questions. The 8 questions I wound up getting asked ALL came from that pool, and I had pre-prepared responses typed up for all of them. It was so codified and scripted, the interview started with "There will be exactly eight questions. Question 1 of 8: ..." and there were no follow-up questions or really any semblance of a conversation. My interview for the FAA was also over the phone. They actually e-mailed me the questions they were going to ask, so it was even easier to have prepared responses. When I interviewed for the Patent and Trademark Office, it was a video teleconference interview. when I Googled for questions, there was more variety than for the DoD, but ultimately, they came from a common pool. The big difference here though is that unlike other agencies I interviewed with, they didn't entirely stick to a pre-determined script, and actually asked a few follow-up questions. In general though, I'd say government agencies have a tendency to write and stick to a script for interviews, and because just like in the resume, they are scoring for keywords, it behooves you to be able to talk on each question at length, and drop as many buzzwords as you can. For all I know though, there may be agencies that will score you lower if you try to be a robot like this, so you just have to research and try to understand the agency's culture. Full disclosure: I am a computer engineer with the DoD, my job series and agency both have reputations of not exactly being known for their warmth or human-ness.
|
|
#
?
Jun 4, 2015 22:46
|
|
|
So, who's ready to be phished by Chinese hackers?
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2015 01:04
|
|
|
OPM's footing the bill for 18 months of credit monitoring for those affected by the breach. Looks like 4 million people at the top end of the estimate of those affected by this. And this is on top of the DHS PII breach in November. Per AFGE's release on this, check out https://www.csid.com/opm or call toll-free 844-222-2743, or 512-327-0700 if you are international.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2015 03:26
|
|
|
Joke's on them, my credit already sucks. They're welcome to my identity if they want it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2015 15:40
|
|
|
Thesaurus posted:Social Security and the RRB have a lot in common, as far as I understand. At SSA you have to determine if RRB has jurisdiction and then let them handle claims if they do. Prior to that, I didn't know it existed. Well, I got this job. Retirement before 60, here I come! FYI: we have 5 employees in the entire field office, covering parts of 3 states, and we share space with the IRS, HHS OIG, and the district Bankruptcy Court in a private office space. And for the record, my favorite agency to get stuff from when I was back at OPM was Bonneville Power Administration.
|
|
#
?
Jun 5, 2015 18:56
|
|
|
Xenomrph posted:I've got a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and 6 years experience in auditing/accounting/finance across a couple different industries, and I applied for a GS-9 Forensic Accountant position with the FBI. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2015 03:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 00:53 |
|
|
In brighter news, OMB has been busy creating and adjusting pay localities. If you are listed as Rest of US in Albany, NY; Albuquerque, NM; Austin, TX; Charlotte, NC; Colorado Springs, CO; Davenport, IA; Harrisburg, PA; Kansas City, MO; Laredo, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Palm Bay, FL; St. Louis, MO; and Tucson, AZ, you will probably be getting a raise if Congress doesn't freeze pay and the President doesn't do a phased implementation. Once OPM publishes the GS tables for FY16, you'll know exactly how much more you'll be getting. Places with low cost of living, like Charlotte, will probably see their locality adjustment go up three percentage points (if Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is a guide), but someplace like Austin will probably see closer to five or six percentage points, if the DFW locality is any indication. Existing localities also have been expanded, so some rural areas near a locality will get a bump. Link about the new localities is here, and link about the expansion of existing localities is here. EDIT; Also, new social media guidelines from OGE. Must Love Dogs fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Jun 7, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2015 04:35
|
|