Need info on applying and getting a GOV job for a non-vet!

[dmk31088]

I'm a non vet that has held jobs at the county, state and federal levels. I got my job with the county right out of high school while I was in college. Went to work for the State after I finished my degrees. Went to work for the Federal Government in the last 2 years.

How did I do it? I applied. There's no secret to it.

My son just started a job with the State and he has a high school diploma and is working on his degree.

[TechGromit]

Originally Posted by cra2ybeautiful

Anyone who was not a vet get recently hired for a federal or state job?? If so how did you do it? referral? what degrees? what experience? what position? what agency? I live in the right place, DC, but it's really competitive to get a fed job! Also in the application do you need to list EVERY job you ever had? Including a 3 month job I held some years ago?

I used to work the the Federal Aviation Administration, shortly after I was hired on as a contractor, they posted and hired 40 positions, 39 of the people they hired were contractors that were already working here for several years. Only one person from the outside, someone who worked for the Coast Guard, was the only one hired from outside the FAA. In short you chances of getting a federal job without already working at that agency are very slim. Your best bet is to get a job as a contractor and if you impress them enough they might give you a chance to become a federal employee.

Originally Posted by cra2ybeautiful

I often get recruiters who offer contract jobs but I would rather be directly employed.

I say your a fool to turn down these opportunities, contracting is the best way to get your foot in the door. Lots of people would love to be directly employed, including contractors that have been working for the government years. The chances are getting a federal job applying from the outside are so slim, it's not worth the trouble to do so in my opinion. I see from other posters above they got a job without being a contractor first, but it's on par with winning the lottery. Your chances of getting hired by the Federal Government from the outside are less then 1%, contractors have the inside track, they know the people hiring and the people doing the hiring know them and often that's not even enough to be assured a posted job.

[tnff]

Ok, here's the secret to getting hired without being a vet or other special case.

a. Some jobs get hundreds or even a thousand application. For others, we're lucky if we get half a dozen qualified applicants. So you need to find a field in your desired area that not many are willing to do or are able to do. Then apply yourself and become very good at it. It's not hard to figure out -- specialized science, health, etc jobs are harder to fill because there are fewer qualified applicants.

b. Be willing to move anywhere, and applying nationwide really opens your chances. Jobs may not open up in some areas for years, but somewhere there is a job open that's similar.

c. Contrary to popular belief, the Fed pays less, sometimes astonishingly so, than the private sector for the same job. So, if you're making $70K in your current job, cut $20K from that will give you the pay range you should be applying for if you expect to be competitive. Which leads to ...

d. Rather than shotgun every remotely similar job out there, only apply to the ones you really qualify for. The others are wasting your time, because you will be competing against folks who are more qualified for that job.

e. The Fed resume is different than others. You need to include much more detail because they will do a quality check on you before they even get out of HR. If you leave them even the slightest doubt, in the trash and move on to the next one because there are so many.

[AbqTeacher]

A lot of posters here are treating all "government" jobs as the same beast, and they're really not.

Federal jobs are handled by the federal government, and each state government handles its own jobs separately. What works with the federal gov't doesn't mean anything to the state, and vice versa.