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Drug testing is almost certainly going to vary between entities, that's the level at which policy is set.
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Mar 25, 2016 19:19
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LCL-Dead posted:I debated applying for that position but couldn't really get around the amount of travel involved in it. They do open up applications twice a year I think. I'm on the mailing list for whenever it does. I make minimum wage here in France so I can deal with the travel for that sweet overtime. I've got a fairly standard combat arms background so they're apparently not too picky right now. There's an open announcement for the next year or so which I've applied to so maybe I'll get picked up on that. The whole "must do drug testing CONUS because of reasons" thing is a real goddamned hassle though.
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Mar 25, 2016 19:21
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Soviet Commubot posted:I make minimum wage here in France so I can deal with the travel for that sweet overtime. I've got a fairly standard combat arms background so they're apparently not too picky right now. There's an open announcement for the next year or so which I've applied to so maybe I'll get picked up on that. The whole "must do drug testing CONUS because of reasons" thing is a real goddamned hassle though. Ah, yeah, I've got kids and the whole family thing going so the 9-10 months on the road figure I got from friends of the family and family members who actively did the Courier team work CONUS was a bit of a turn off. I make more right now than you do when you start as a Courier but it climbs quickly enough that I would have closed the gap within a few years (and I'm more than willing to take the cut to get out from behind a damned desk). That travel though.. I love travel.. But I love it more when it's a week or less and I get to come home and see my girls for the weekend. If I could find some positions for drone operators of the small variety that didn't require me to be prior special operations I would jump all over them in a heartbeat though. I taught small drones for the USG to the USMC, USA, USCG and USN for a couple of years before they yanked the billet out from under me and would give anything to get back into it.
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Mar 25, 2016 19:29
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Was drug tested once for the security clearance, and then never again (3 years and counting and two agencies FWIW). My new agency is even explicit about never drug testing, but they do apparently do random counterterrorism polygraph, lol
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Mar 25, 2016 19:51
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I tried to sign up for the voluntary random drug testing initiative at my agency and I was told "oh sorry, we are not implementing this program until [month]" and then in [month] I contacted them again and was told they were not implementing it until [new month], and on that month I contacted them again and the woman was like "O.K. please just wait until we send out a national roll-out notification before attempting to apply again" But they told me to volunteer for everything 
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Mar 25, 2016 20:04
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LCL-Dead posted:Ah, yeah, I've got kids and the whole family thing going so the 9-10 months on the road figure I got from friends of the family and family members who actively did the Courier team work CONUS was a bit of a turn off. I make more right now than you do when you start as a Courier but it climbs quickly enough that I would have closed the gap within a few years (and I'm more than willing to take the cut to get out from behind a damned desk). That travel though.. I love travel.. But I love it more when it's a week or less and I get to come home and see my girls for the weekend. I'm married but she's not allowed to work in this country so the 7x more pay than I get here after overtime would be very much welcome even if I weren't home all that often. Better that than sitting at home every weekend staring at the walls because we can't afford to do laundry much less go out and actually do anything.
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Mar 25, 2016 23:40
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NintyFresh posted:Regarding Schedule A chat. Thank you for this experience/info
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Mar 26, 2016 04:21
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TheMadMilkman posted:This is my understanding as well, but definitely verify. Losing a few thousand in year 1 is nothing in the long run, and at GS-14 step 6 you would be GS-15 step 2 in year 2 and right on track. Justus posted:That is what that should mean, I believe. I was initially hired as a GS 7 FPL 12, and I've been promoted every year on my anniversary, and am hitting 12 finally next month. Cool, thanks to both for your help. I wrote to ask them this and other questions but of course no response. And the HR person the email says to write with questions is out of the office until after my three days is up. But I'll figure it out.
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Mar 26, 2016 18:02
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So did you take the job Phil?
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Apr 3, 2016 00:44
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After some more discussion, HR confirmed their offer was 14/1, not 14/6. I spoke to my contacts at the agency and they said they had formally requested the higher amount, but I guess it hadn't been approved by HR yet. So, at their advice, I declined the offer and am now waiting for the request to be approved, when they will presumably send me another offer letter.
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Apr 3, 2016 15:22
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I'm looking at a job at Justice. I'm coming from USCIS which is one of the best places to work in DHS. Anyone have any input about the culture at Justice?
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Apr 3, 2016 16:25
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Phil Moscowitz posted:After some more discussion, HR confirmed their offer was 14/1, not 14/6. I spoke to my contacts at the agency and they said they had formally requested the higher amount, but I guess it hadn't been approved by HR yet. So, at their advice, I declined the offer and am now waiting for the request to be approved, when they will presumably send me another offer letter. Good to hear they're looking out for you.
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Apr 3, 2016 18:05
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I found a suitable/decent enough job not with the Gov since then but today I received a response from the SSS from my 3/12 letter sent about me living overseas between ages 8-26 and never registering with the SSS: This was the response I got:  I interpret this as basically a green light in the situation and I could just attach the documentation I prepared in my letter to the SSS to any future federal agency about this issue. Anyways, going to youtube to listen to the draft dodgers rag now
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Apr 14, 2016 16:32
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Are Federal Reserve Board employees considered "Federal Employees"? They use their own application website and have a separate retirement, but apparently use FEHB for coverage. So it's hard to discern immediately. The Board's website says the seven members of the Board are a federal agency in and of themselves, but it doesn't specify if those who work for them are federal employees or considered employees of the Federal Reserve Corporate so to speak. I'm not talking about employees of the many federal reserve banks, specifically the employees of the Board in Washington.
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Apr 14, 2016 17:56
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Untagged posted:Are Federal Reserve Board employees considered "Federal Employees"? They use their own application website and have a separate retirement, but apparently use FEHB for coverage. So it's hard to discern immediately. The Board's website says the seven members of the Board are a federal agency in and of themselves, but it doesn't specify if those who work for them are federal employees or considered employees of the Federal Reserve Corporate so to speak. I'm not talking about employees of the many federal reserve banks, specifically the employees of the Board in Washington. This is genuinely an interesting question but I fear the internet will not be much help and a lot of conspiracist/anti government rant stuff clouding any good answers. Will have a search of any Fed employment related cases which might deal with this question
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Apr 14, 2016 18:06
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Hey guys, As a non-vet, I had written off federal employment as a hopeless pipe dream, but I just got an email saying that my application had been forwarded to a hiring manager. Obviously this is in no way indicative of anything other than the fact that a human has seen my resume, but on a scale of 1 (it doesn't mean anything, you're not getting the loving job) to 10 (get amped! I'd give my left nut to be in your shoes), how good is this, really?
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Apr 19, 2016 19:20
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TwoSheds posted:Hey guys, Maybe a 2? Or look at it in a binary way---you could either be in the running or not, and you are in the running.
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Apr 19, 2016 19:31
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Phil Moscowitz posted:Maybe a 2? Yeah, I guess that's the best I can hope for. It's just that the job is in such a low cost of living state that I'd basically be in a good position for life if I got the job. It's hard not to get your hopes up.
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Apr 19, 2016 19:35
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Honestly it's hard to say without knowing more about the position, your qualifications, etc. But just the referral itself doesn't mean much, other than you are minimally qualified for the position based on your résumé. Still, be excited! You could have been told that you were not referred or simply heard nothing.
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Apr 19, 2016 19:52
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Phil Moscowitz posted:Honestly it's hard to say without knowing more about the position, your qualifications, etc. But just the referral itself doesn't mean much, other than you are minimally qualified for the position based on your résumé. Still, be excited! You could have been told that you were not referred or simply heard nothing. The position is Administrative Coordinator I, so yeah, it's not like I'm a post doc aeronautical engineer or something, but it's the farthest I've ever gotten in this process. I'm hoping I'm at least within the top 10 or so candidates based on being referred, but I'm not sure if it works that way.
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Apr 19, 2016 20:05
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My advice to applicants. 1: Apply to a Federal job. 2: Forget you ever applied to said job. 3: Never try to read the tea leaves of any notice other than "rejected" or "start on this date at this grade".
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Apr 20, 2016 02:33
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Concur. I applied to hundreds of posts and eventually heard back from one months after it closed that I had completely forgotten about and had received a rejection notice for.
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Apr 20, 2016 17:05
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Does anyone have experience applying for government positions NOT through USAJOBS? I applied for a position for the US district court here in Chicago and sent my application directly to HR, I'm curious if anyone might know the timeframe on these types of applications? Just curious, I know I'm likely to hear nothing back for a long time or possibly nothing at all but any info is helpful, thanks!
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Apr 21, 2016 20:05
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Well, assuming you have the needed ability to do so, like non competitive eligibility (or they don't require USAJOBS for whatever reason), you should hear back pretty fast for direct resumes like that. I heard back with two weeks for most of mine I sent this way.
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Apr 21, 2016 20:20
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I feel like we discussed non-competitive eligibility somewhere in this thread but damned if I can find it now. Basically that only comes up for things like Peace Corps direct hire and Schedule B and if you have a year Time-In-Grade for the highest promotion level for a given position, right? Not that I am starting to wonder if I will want to do that to escape here someday or anything.
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Apr 21, 2016 20:48
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Slaan posted:Well, assuming you have the needed ability to do so, like non competitive eligibility (or they don't require USAJOBS for whatever reason), you should hear back pretty fast for direct resumes like that. I heard back with two weeks for most of mine I sent this way. There was actually a vacancy announcement but there were 3 open positions and it just said to send application materials (cover, resume, application) to the HR email address, so I don't know if that would still be non competitive? Either way, I hope its soon!
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Apr 21, 2016 22:15
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If was an open call and not USAJOBs, then you were probably safe to apply without needing NCE or other programs to help out.Dr. Quarex posted:I feel like we discussed non-competitive eligibility somewhere in this thread but damned if I can find it now. Basically that only comes up for things like Peace Corps direct hire and Schedule B and if you have a year Time-In-Grade for the highest promotion level for a given position, right? It's Peace Corps, Americorps and Vets, IIRC, that get it. And maybe a few other smaller groups. They don't bump up your pay, though. I started at GS-7, Step 1 
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Apr 21, 2016 22:39
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So I am trying to figure out what would be more valuable for an application to decide whether to go for it now or attend University. I am getting out of the military now with six years experience with a current, but expiring in the next six months, clearance. I have the full 9/11 GI bill but no degree currently. Would it be better to take four years off, apply for ABC agency internships and just hope they renew/maintain my clearance and get the degree, or just apply for jobs now while my clearance is still active?
Ptolemaeus fucked around with this message at 11:21 on Apr 22, 2016 |
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Apr 22, 2016 11:09
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Ptolemaeus posted:So I am trying to figure out what would be more valuable for an application to decide whether to go for it now or attend University. I am getting out of the military now with six years experience with a current, but expiring in the next six months, clearance. I have the full 9/11 GI bill but no degree currently. Would it be better to take four years off, apply for ABC agency internships and just hope they renew/maintain my clearance and get the degree, or just apply for jobs now while my clearance is still active? Depending on what you want to do, the government won't hire you without a 4 year degree. This doesn't apply to contractors. I would look into what you need for what you want to do. There's a contractor I know who everyone loves and they wanted to convert to government. They're unable to, because even though he's been doing this job for over a decade for the government, he doesn't have a STEM degree. In my personal opinion, enjoy the college experience. You might try asking in GiP, or whatever it's called now, to get some vet opinions.
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Apr 22, 2016 12:12
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That's what I was worried about after spending the day looking through usajobs. My fear would be grabbing an entry-mid position off work experience in lieu of a degree and then finding myself with a massive glass ceiling for any promotion/advancement. I think I will just take the college route, I really don't want to go the contracting route as everyone I deployed with was always nervous about their company losing a contract and potentially being cut. I'd rather job security and a reliable system than the higher pay. Thanks for the reply, just wanted to confirm my fears on that one.
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Apr 22, 2016 13:32
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Ptolemaeus posted:That's what I was worried about after spending the day looking through usajobs. My fear would be grabbing an entry-mid position off work experience in lieu of a degree and then finding myself with a massive glass ceiling for any promotion/advancement. This is exactly the case. The DoD will happily hire vets without college experience for jobs civilians need degrees to get, but it means your advancement opportunities long term are extremely limited. A degree and military experience will be much more valuable to you long term than an expiring military clearance is now, especially since the first thing they'll do if you get a civilian side job is redo your investigations anyway.
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Apr 22, 2016 15:28
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TBF, if you're a vet and not utilizing your GI bill benefits you don't deserve to advance in the long term anyway, service or no.
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Apr 22, 2016 16:28
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Some agencies have stay in school clerk positions that allow you to do both.
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Apr 22, 2016 21:19
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Seamonster posted:TBF, if you're a vet and not utilizing your GI bill benefits you don't deserve to advance in the long term anyway, service or no. I agree for the most part. My worry was just age creeping up on me, my job not really having a direct degree relation beyond international relations, and another four years of scraping by. Thanks for the replies, I got into GWU so at least I will be in D.C and can hopefully swing a few internships with an agency while I am getting the degree. Excellent thread, I've enjoyed reading through it.
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Apr 23, 2016 10:17
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Ptolemaeus posted:I agree for the most part. My worry was just age creeping up on me, my job not really having a direct degree relation beyond international relations, and another four years of scraping by. if you are intel you should try to get something with a contractor to keep your clearance active. Depending on other qualifications someone will probably be willing to reactivate it but just keeping it active is a safer bet.
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Apr 25, 2016 11:38
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hitachi posted:if you are intel you should try to get something with a contractor to keep your clearance active. Depending on other qualifications someone will probably be willing to reactivate it but just keeping it active is a safer bet. I have never been on a hiring panel where it has even come up whether or not the person has held a clearance in the past, and all our jobs require it. (Until we find out they had one revoked, or they tried for one in the past and were rejected... Very different issues that do indeed matter.) Contractors care at times, so maintaining is never a bad thing if that is the route one plans to take. But if the goal is employment as a Fed, the degree is worth far more than the clearance. There is also the question of what investigation was done. Military and contractors usually get a NACLC done. Federal Employees need to have an ANACI or SSBI done. So even if you have a clearance, you will likely need a new investigation to become a Fed. (Maybe this has changed? They are consolidating the investigating agencies, but I still think the investigation types are separate. I mean we still put in for different investigations for contractors and feds at least, that I am sure of!)
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Apr 26, 2016 16:06
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liz posted:Does anyone have experience applying for government positions NOT through USAJOBS? I applied for a position for the US district court here in Chicago and sent my application directly to HR, I'm curious if anyone might know the timeframe on these types of applications? Just curious, I know I'm likely to hear nothing back for a long time or possibly nothing at all but any info is helpful, thanks! So I was called for an interview today! Unfortunately I couldn't get it coordinated with my usual day off so I'm going to have to use a sick day... Seems they are only doing them Mon/Tues next week, and he said to set aside two hours as well. This is my first gov interview, what can I expect for these two hours? Any tips?
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Apr 28, 2016 03:30
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Nice! All of mine had a set of standardized questions that everyone gets asked, mostly focused around what you'll actually be doing. So don't expect any curve-ball questions like "You are on a run away train that is headed towards a switch. Do you head towards 10 old men on the tracks or 1 new born baby?" you might find in the private sector.
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Apr 28, 2016 03:48
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Feds still do hire some without college degrees. It just really really depends on the position, the skills involved, and how desperate they are to fill the position. All other things being equal, I'm sure most hiring managers would take the graduate over the non, but there are some positions that are so critically understaffed that they'll take anyone with the minimum qualifications.
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May 3, 2016 04:31
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sparkmaster posted:Feds still do hire some without college degrees. It just really really depends on the position, the skills involved, and how desperate they are to fill the position. All other things being equal, I'm sure most hiring managers would take the graduate over the non, but there are some positions that are so critically understaffed that they'll take anyone with the minimum qualifications. Do you have any examples of those critically understaffed positions? I have a degree, but haven't been able to get any traction in my search because I'm a non-vet seeking an administrative assistant or similar role to get a foot in the door.
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May 3, 2016 13:45
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