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Grand Fromage posted:Edit: And I'll second the question about government jobs in NYC, I'd much rather live there than DC if I can manage it. There are federal jobs in every major city I don't know why the OP focused on DC (I wouldn't be surprised if most federal jobs are found outside of DC to be honest) Anyway the whole "knowing someone and getting an interview" doesn't happen for a vast majority of federal jobs - most of it is blind hiring that you have to apply through the system for. My recently retired dad was a GS-15 and my mom's a GS-12 (both CBP) and I have yet to get a federal job, and I've applied for six in CBP alone in the past year. I also took the Immigration Enforcement Agent test for ICE, got a perfect score, AND they're both decades-long friends with the guy who does hiring for ICE in our city, and I still didn't get to the interview. Skandiaavity posted:people who know people, (i.e. like every private company). Confirm/deny? Like I said above if the job has you applying online knowing someone isn't going to help until you actually get to the interview portion, which is probably months and several steps away. The good thing is the stupid system is being changed so you don't have to write crazy paragraphs for KSAs and only have to submit your resume, and the hiring person doesn't just get to see the three best candidates but can look at a much longer list. Nessus posted:Can you give some advice on how to write the KSAs? I tried looking at them while I was getting out of undergrad years and I just was like "Hm, so I'm supposed to write about how I did the job I'm applying for and provide details." They're eliminating KSAs. marvin gaye vs .38 fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Jul 6, 2010 |
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Jul 6, 2010 18:22
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Grand Fromage posted:What are good agencies to look at for research/analyst jobs? I got the obvious ones: State, DoD, DIA, CIA, NSA. So far I haven't gotten any responses so I'm looking for more to try. The OP focused on D.C. because that's what the majority of jobs are here in DC. To answer your question - Depends on what kind of research/analysis you want to do.. Finance? Homeland/FBI. Economic? USDA (APHIS for one is), EPA, DOCommerce... IT Malware/Prevention/Intrusion Analysis? Just about everyone is hiring. (comedy option: NGA) The Intel agencies you noted hire a lot of analysts, but it's a broad term... Linguistic? GIS? Economic? Also of note is that intel agencies are far above & beyond more picky on whom they choose as analysts than other agencies. They expect all reports/deliverables in a certain format and method, but it varies. DOT/NHSTA is still hiring on research for automotive safety. For NYC jobs, pulling it out of my hat but I think your biggest opportunities would be Homeland, DEA, Commerce, Transportation, or Justice. Not limited to those, but I think those would have the most opportunities available in the area.
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Jul 6, 2010 19:04
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speransky posted:I work as an examiner for a state DDS and I'm interested in moving over to SSA. Any advice? If you are looking to go to a field office as a claims representative then focus on coming across as very social and adaptable, DDS examiners have a reputation that since they don't deal with the public face-to-face (with the exception of the DHU's) they may be lacking in "people" skills. Also mention in interviews any systems changes you have sucessfully navigated, e.g. pre EDCS to current EDCS. If you are looking to get into a regional DQB I can't help much there except to play up your accuracy rate. Good luck.
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Jul 6, 2010 19:39
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e: this post recycled into pizza box cardboard
Bohemienne fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Jul 6, 2010 |
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Jul 6, 2010 22:15
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Grand Fromage posted:What are good agencies to look at for research/analyst jobs? I got the obvious ones: State, DoD, DIA, CIA, NSA. So far I haven't gotten any responses so I'm looking for more to try. I'm curious myself, if there is one that is at least hiring more than others. Every interview or fair I've gone to since I moved were only interviewing to collect applications and resumes for who knows when? Edit: To clarify leaning more towards international affairs, and hopefully something that would allow me to use my Russian.
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Jul 6, 2010 23:04
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Thanks for posting this! Any information on getting one's foot in the door working on the staff of a representative in the House or Senate?
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Jul 6, 2010 23:29
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Since I provide my services to House and Senate, I've gotten requests on that before (still do), and that one essentially boils down to whom you know and how much the politician likes them or needs their service. They may have a campaign manager pick their staff, or they may hand-pick their aides personally; it varies. You can walk in and ask; Some people have gotten internships that way. Otherwise practice the hell out of your 30-second elevator speech or start donating and attending soirees. It's really rare, though, so other than that check your schools Poli sci/history faculty and maybe they'll give you hookups. If you want IT, Congress (and Capitol Cops) have their own division.
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Jul 6, 2010 23:40
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marvin gaye vs .38 posted:There are federal jobs in every major city I don't know why the OP focused on DC (I wouldn't be surprised if most federal jobs are found outside of DC to be honest) I focused on it, because a) I live in DC, b) it's the highest concentration of federal jobs in one place, and probably has more jobs in the DC metro area than most of the rest of the nation combined. But I'm more than happy to add sections on out-of-state jobs. I'll add anything to the OP as long as it's relevant.
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Jul 7, 2010 01:27
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Gravel Gravy posted:I'm curious myself, if there is one that is at least hiring more than others. Every interview or fair I've gone to since I moved were only interviewing to collect applications and resumes for who knows when? Might want to try State, especially Foreign Service. Russian would give you a nice boost, IIRC it's a critical needs language or some category that gives you a higher tier of bonus points. Could also try Foreign Commercial Service? Both have tests for entry that I personally think are more fair than an obscure resume submission. synthexic posted:Thanks for posting this! 1) Intern. Especially if your school has connections that can get you in. 2) Know a campaign manager. 3) Know a Legislative Assistant. He could often get you in for a temp internship that might turn full-time. 4) Many congressmen have some sort of application on their house.gov/senate.gov site if you're a constituent. 5) Work private sector in a firm/industry that deals with legislative advocacy, political analysis, regulatory/administrative law, etc. Leif. fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Jul 7, 2010 |
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Jul 7, 2010 01:30
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SWATJester posted:Might want to try State, especially Foreign Service. Russian would give you a nice boost, IIRC it's a critical needs language or some category that gives you a higher tier of bonus points. Yeah I took the FSOT back in November, but I am guessing that my lack of any work experience kinda killed it for me. Also tried to go with the Diplomacy track so the curve was already set fairly high. Or maybe I just sucked at it, though I thought I did very well.
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Jul 7, 2010 01:42
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The GS system is pretty accommodating towards military spouses, yes? I mean with transferring and all that. With that said, I've been trolling USAjobs for about 7 months now and I have received 2 phone calls about being eligible, and I had to tell one to remove me from the list since we were moving. I got the other one about 3 weeks ago, will I ever hear back if I was rejected or do I just sit here with my thumb up my rear end applying like crazy for other jobs I may/may not be qualified for? Also, for the "entry-level" jobs in specific fields, such as safety, why the gently caress do they not require a bachelor's degree but do require 3 years experience and do not the degree towards that experience? I mean for gently caress's sake I know more about OSHA than probably half the people who work there and I can't get an in anywhere with my field of specialty.
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Jul 7, 2010 09:51
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the reason for that is it's easy to study a lot about safety, but they're looking for someone with the practical/real-world knowledge of it. Think of it like this, although it's a poor analogy: would you rather listen to some college kid with a degree in safety or a firefighter/ems teaching you the same thing? Speaking from personal experience, I can safely say that college only takes you so far and it doesn't teach you a lot of things that you need to do your job.
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Jul 7, 2010 14:48
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I figured that for the most part. Sorry to come off like an rear end in a top hat about it, I'm just frustrated with the job market in this field and the application and hiring process for the government.
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Jul 7, 2010 18:22
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Adri posted:I figured that for the most part. Sorry to come off like an rear end in a top hat about it, I'm just frustrated with the job market in this field and the application and hiring process for the government. Yep, I applied for an ATC (Air Traffic Control) position. Took them months to get back to me, when they finally did they wanted me to practically drop what I was doing and fly hundreds of miles away to take a test. A test that puts me into another waiting pool. My friend who actually went to the test is still waiting. This was a year ago.
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Jul 7, 2010 18:37
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CAT scan technologist here, looking at some of the job openings for the VAs. I know you start out with about 2 weeks' vacation, but do people ever take sabbaticals/ leaves of absence if I wanted to go away for a month or two? I like to travel, and two weeks isn't really enough to go somewhere like SE Asia. Is the government more flexible than the private sector?
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Jul 7, 2010 19:13
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Adri posted:The GS system is pretty accommodating towards military spouses, yes? I mean with transferring and all that. Coming from my old firm that did workers comp, we dealt a lot with OSHA. There can be significant differences between what happens on paper and what happens in the real world.
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Jul 7, 2010 19:40
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Bohemienne posted:It is worth noting that some agencies do not post or rarely post openings on USAJobs, so if there's a specific agency/area you're interested in, you'd always do well to check that agency's website too. Just off the top of my head, I know that FBI, NSA, CIA, and DIA work this way. This is true for CIA and NSA jobs; it isn't true for DIA and FBI jobs. Search usajobs for 0132 series jobs to find intelligence vacancies at the latter two organizations. But don't let advertisements on usajobs stop you from checking individual sites for any organization.
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Jul 7, 2010 19:48
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Nutella, you don't have PMs, is there a way I can privately contact you?
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Jul 7, 2010 19:57
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I used to work for a government contractor that was involved with the DOT, specifically the FTA. Jesus Christ. Every single person that works for the FTA is a worthless piece of poo poo that has no idea how to perform simple tasks such as text editing. I'll never work for the government (in contract or directly under) EVER again. I once visited on-site, and every worker I walked by was either playing Solitaire and/or browsing Yahoo! news. At the end of the week, I would get about 10 calls requesting help (read:doing their job for them) on performing a simple task such as updating the website through a WYSIWYG editor. Literally, adding text to a website. gently caress the government.
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Jul 7, 2010 20:28
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[quote="Gumby Orgy"] Nutella, you don't have PMs, is there a way I can privately contact you? [/quote Nutella fucked around with this message at 05:58 on Jul 22, 2010 |
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Jul 8, 2010 03:55
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Anyone ex military get hired through USAjobs?
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Jul 8, 2010 21:07
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I will be starting my last year of a BS program and will be turning 22 in December. Some jobs I've been looking at have an age minimum of 23 but will take a long time to get around to seeing my application and hearing back. Can I apply when I'm like 22 and 3 months so that by the time I hear back I'll be 23? Or is there always a chance that they read my application a month after I send it and they instantly throw it out. Basically does anyone know if age is an instant dequalifier or will they keep it around or something.
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Jul 10, 2010 19:29
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synthexic posted:Thanks for posting this! As someone said previously, you'll have to intern on the Hill most likely to get hired there. Or have connections to someone who works in the office. Or work on the campaign staff of someone who got elected/re-elected. Even if you were offered a staff assistant position without interning, I wouldn't take it. The Hill is not for everyone. I loving hated it. You make poo poo money, and are surrounded by douchebag staffers and interns 24/7. A certain type of person is attracted to that place. (Sycophantic pricks) Why do you want to work there? Do you want to eventually move over to lobbying? I initially wanted to go down this path but after realizing that I could not stand working there I have begun to consider moving to the Executive Branch to put in some time there and eventually move over to public affairs.
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Jul 10, 2010 22:37
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ChadBroChill17 posted:You make poo poo money, and are surrounded by douchebag staffers and interns 24/7. A certain type of person is attracted to that place. (Sycophantic pricks) This. Oh god this so much. quote:Do you want to eventually move over to lobbying? I initially wanted to go down this path but after realizing that I could not stand working there I have begun to consider moving to the Executive Branch to put in some time there and eventually move over to public affairs. Depending on the interest group, it's often easier to move directly into lobbying first, especially if you can set up an internship or fellowship with them.
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Jul 11, 2010 02:20
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Odelle posted:CAT scan technologist here, looking at some of the job openings for the VAs. However, if you pick your job well, you'll not only get your month or two (or 12) of travel in SE asia, but get the government to pay for your airfare and all your living expenses. This job will probably will not be in the CAT scan technologies field, though you may find other jobs you're qualified enough for on paper to get hired into. grover fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Jul 11, 2010 |
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Jul 11, 2010 04:05
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Here's a related question. How often will private contractors front the funds for security clearances for employees? I imagine not often, if ever.
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Jul 11, 2010 06:21
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You have to have a skillset they really, really want. It costs a ton of money to get, especially for a TS clearance, and it can take a long time. If a company offers you a job with the opportunity to get clearance, loving take it, regardless of any other factor. I know that in IT, if you have a TS clearance you can pretty much get a job anywhere, instantly, and get paid a huge amount for it. I can't think of a single piece of paper that will improve your job prospects more. Seriously, if I was still in IT, I would work for free if the company sponsored me for a TS clearance, it's that valuable. Of course, the company paying for your clearance knows that, so they have to be very confident that you will stay for the long haul, as they know that they will have to pay you much more and they will have very little negotiating leverage after you get your clearance. Oh, and they also run the risk of eating the cost if the government doesn't clear you, and they have to employ you on non-classified projects until you are cleared.
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Jul 11, 2010 13:42
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Konstantin posted:You have to have a skillset they really, really want. It costs a ton of money to get, especially for a TS clearance, and it can take a long time. If a company offers you a job with the opportunity to get clearance, loving take it, regardless of any other factor. I know that in IT, if you have a TS clearance you can pretty much get a job anywhere, instantly, and get paid a huge amount for it. I can't think of a single piece of paper that will improve your job prospects more. Seriously, if I was still in IT, I would work for free if the company sponsored me for a TS clearance, it's that valuable. If you're still in school, internships are a great way to get a free clearance without starting a full-blown career with the government. The DIA has one (I could have sworn it was at least a TS, but on their site all I could find was "full clearance"), State will get you a Secret, and I imagine the others do as well.
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Jul 11, 2010 13:52
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TheMadMilkman posted:IRS Goon here. Go ahead and add me to the OP. I am interest in a career with the IRS (or any other federal accounting job) after finishing my masters next May. Is it worth registering at USAJobs and posting my resume this far in advance in order to get my name in the system as a potential candidate ahead of time, or is it best to wait until after graduation when everything is finalized (GPA, etc)? Just wondering because I was told a while back that agencies such as the IRS only take resumes every so often so it is best to apply during your last year before graduating, but I don't know how accurate that is.
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Jul 11, 2010 14:44
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Gravel Gravy posted:Here's a related question. How often will private contractors front the funds for security clearances for employees? I imagine not often, if ever. Government positions generally (but not always) only require that you be eligible to get a clearance; it's rare they require you to already hold one. Losing your clearance is one of the few easy ways to get yourself fired, too. Carlton Banks posted:I am interest in a career with the IRS (or any other federal accounting job) after finishing my masters next May. Is it worth registering at USAJobs and posting my resume this far in advance in order to get my name in the system as a potential candidate ahead of time, or is it best to wait until after graduation when everything is finalized (GPA, etc)?
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Jul 11, 2010 14:45
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How well do clearances transfer between agencies? If I have a clearance from State but a job wants a DOD clearance am I out of luck?
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Jul 11, 2010 16:08
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Crossbar posted:How well do clearances transfer between agencies? If I have a clearance from State but a job wants a DOD clearance am I out of luck?
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Jul 11, 2010 16:25
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Carlton Banks posted:I am interest in a career with the IRS (or any other federal accounting job) after finishing my masters next May. Is it worth registering at USAJobs and posting my resume this far in advance in order to get my name in the system as a potential candidate ahead of time, or is it best to wait until after graduation when everything is finalized (GPA, etc)? I'd say that it would be worth your time to register and set-up a solid resume as well as begin getting a feel for the kind of postings you're looking for. If you want, USAJobs allows you to set various parameters for jobs you're interested in and it will email you when new jobs fitting those parameters are posted. Applying for and actually getting federal jobs can take a really long time, so you should definitely start earlier than you think. Starting late this year or early next year wouldn't be too crazy, honestly.
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Jul 11, 2010 16:34
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grover posted:I'm pretty sure it's seamless to you. There's some work on the back-end, but you shouldn't have to redo the investigation. I could have sworn a couple people (on SA) have said they did have to get them redone, although it's easier with the SF-86 all filled out already. It doesn't make sense to me, but then again, the government.
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Jul 11, 2010 17:41
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I could have sworn a couple people (on SA) have said they did have to get them redone, although it's easier with the SF-86 all filled out already. It doesn't make sense to me, but then again, the government.
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Jul 11, 2010 18:18
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The SF-86 isn't actually the inconvenience (although it feels like it at the time); it's the actual background checking process that sucks rear end. Mine took a month and a half, and that veritably flew by - it was actually complete after 3 weeks, but for whatever reason it got reopened for another couple weeks. But my record was perfectly clean, I can imagine if someone had foreign contacts or travel or debts or whatever how much longer it would have taken.
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Jul 11, 2010 18:41
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I am in the process of being cleared for a State Department internship this coming fall but I have already had my interim security clearance denied. Has anyone had their interim denied for Secret clearance only to go on and eventually get the regular clearance approved?
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Jul 11, 2010 23:42
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Athazagoraphobia posted:I am in the process of being cleared for a State Department internship this coming fall but I have already had my interim security clearance denied. Has anyone had their interim denied for Secret clearance only to go on and eventually get the regular clearance approved? Yeah, had the same thing happen. It was approved a couple weeks later (but I never got to go on the internship, was just an alternate).
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Jul 12, 2010 00:07
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Might want to add to the OP something about exiting from access to classified information. Secret clearances expire 10 years after adjudication. TS clearances expire after 5 years. This means that if you quit a job that required access for you, you have x years from that day before you can get signed back up for a job requiring the same access level within like... hours. After that day is over, you will be considered the same as anyone else on the street and it becomes up to anyone that might be sponsoring you for access to determine if you're likely to pass again or not. It will not matter if you had one of the highest levels of clearances or compartments possible before. The same sort of thing applies if you happen to marry someone that's not a US citizen - your access will be immediately revoked and in some cases that could mean you lose your job (marrying is a voluntary act and can imply resignation as a result). Clearances are very, very serious business... yet in practice very much meaningless as hell (there's a lot of hosed up people with clearances I've met, let's leave it there). There are different investigations done by different organizations for the same level of DoD (DoE and state are on separate systems but have equivalencies that could require some extra time or investigation) access, and they typically don't like to share their info with each other (probably due to privacy and/or security reasons more than just politics as usual). FBI, CIA, NSA, DIA, etc. have internal investigations last I saw and then there's OPM which covers the rest (typically military). Then there's an external system that is specifically for contractors (the majority in the end). Access can be granted across these systems, but information in the actual investigation is not transferable. This means if you go govie to contractor later, your re-investigation will likely take a significant period of time (I know someone that's up to 1.2 years because of the backlog for reinvestigations which didn't seem to get reformed with the new investigations). Same goes for contractor to govie (rarely hear of that, might happen if someone loses their job for performance reasons). I'm not a security officer or anything, but I used to have a high level access that I lost because I was out of access for too long. Only wanted it back because I wanted to move somewhere where the wife and I both had decent career prospects and it's difficult to find IT jobs at my level that don't require clearances in the DC/VA/MD area. Wound up finding out everything through dozens of calls over months and with lots of potential employers and getting lost in their lovely systems. Gravel Gravy posted:Here's a related question. How often will private contractors front the funds for security clearances for employees? I imagine not often, if ever. It's a high-risk move typically to take someone without a clearance for any job with a reasonable level of responsibility as a result. This is part of why I say the lower your pay, the greater the likelihood of you getting the clearance, hence it's best to try to do an internship and decide later if you want to keep it once graduation comes around and you're deciding between employers. Believe me, that clearance is probably more valuable than your skills. I have skills that are in "desperate" demand according to about 15 recruiters I talked to... and NONE of the jobs I applied for in the DC/VA/MD area (about 300+) came through - mostly because of my expired clearance. 90% of recruiters would be really interested calling me up within hours after submitting a resume, then once I mentioned my clearance status, I'd never hear from them again. The salary ranges would have been anywhere between $90k - $140k, so there was plenty of incentive for the recruiters to get my rear end in, too. It didn't matter that I had several compartments fullscope counter-intel polys and everything before - once you're out... you're out. Relocation was another issue for employers as well and after they heard about my weird situation with my underwater property in a different state, they tended to give up on me as well. Almost all the jobs I've applied for are still open, and I could have had my clearance back by like 6 months ago, so perhaps we'll start to see some leniency in clearance processes later on. ilikechapstick posted:At the end of the week, I would get about 10 calls requesting help (read:doing their job for them) on performing a simple task such as updating the website through a WYSIWYG editor. Literally, adding text to a website.
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Jul 12, 2010 02:12
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I encourage anyone to attempt to get do an advanced search on USAJobs, then Search by Job Series. Type in 1811. 1811 Criminal Investigator jobs are the best job in the federal government. USAJobs is a good place to look, but also check agency websites regularly for hiring news.
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Jul 12, 2010 02:38
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