Federal Hiring Question (employment, contractor, military)

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by profesora

Thanks for posting this info because I have applied for fed jobs several times and generally have gotten the "not referred though qualified" ranking, but about a month ago was notified I was referred for a specific opening applied for earlier in the summer, yet have heard nothing further and wasn't sure what to do other than continue waiting to see if I heard anything more. If you are referred they will let you know something either way, correct? I would like to get beyond the "referred for consideration" to an actual interview - the positions I've applied for I have quite a bit of experience in, but so far that's as far as it gets for me trying to get a Spanish linguist position...

I've gotten that same message many times, for jobs I was absolutely, inarguably qualified for. Maybe they thought I'd bounced around too much, or maybe they had another candidate who had done almost exactly the same job. You just have to not invest yourself emotionally until you've had an actual interview. Just shotgun out a bunch of applications and then forget about them. Eventually one will pay off.

[profesora]

Yes, that's what I have done when I've applied for bilingual jobs... even though I'm definitely qualified/experienced so far nothing beyond "referred" notificiations... will see what may happen with this one and 1-2 others recently applied for. Would be nice if one actually did come through - a career switch of sorts would be nice if it happens.

[mlv311]

Originally Posted by profesora

Thanks for posting this info because I have applied for fed jobs several times and generally have gotten the "not referred though qualified" ranking, but about a month ago was notified I was referred for a specific opening applied for earlier in the summer, yet have heard nothing further and wasn't sure what to do other than continue waiting to see if I heard anything more. If you are referred they will let you know something either way, correct? I would like to get beyond the "referred for consideration" to an actual interview - the positions I've applied for I have quite a bit of experience in, but so far that's as far as it gets for me trying to get a Spanish linguist position...

Unfortunately, many agencies neglect to let applicants know the status of their applications even when an applicant has been called for an interview. If you have often been told that you are "qualified, but not referred," that means that you have met minimum qualifications for the job, but didn't score enough points in your KSAs to be referred. You might want to take a second look at how you are presenting your skills. Remember to briefly emphasize how your skills are transferable/applicable to the job description and focus on your accomplishments. Too many applicants seem to do a copy and paste of their former or current job description when writing KSAs. Good luck.

[Rapp5]

And often times the notifications are only as good as your HR Specialist. Different agencies have different rules/regs when it comes to that sort of thing. Not to mention, they typically don't interivew anyone who doesn't essentially "score a 100". So if you mark that you're an "expert" at something on a question, they HAVE to be able to see on your resume where this "expert" experience came from. If you mark "expert" or the equivalent and they are unable to match up that criteria on your provided resume, no good. Hope this helps!

[jmerr001]

I just got my first "among the best qualified" for a federal job. What's the next step?

Also, I've applied to about a dozen or so positions and I've noticed one thing in particular. It is difficult to accurately tell agencies (via the application) when you're available. I'm active duty military and my end of service is coming up but I'll be available long before that. All this talk about hiring veterans doesn't seem to stretch into the federal government, despite the fact that many of us have been doing these very jobs for over a decade. We don't all have college degrees because we were a little busy this past decade.

[Forehead]

Well, I had the interview yesterday. It went well in most respects, though I may have annoyed the person I was interviewing with. Since the job is for a position very similar to what I already do, I had a lot of experience/examples to use in my answers to the canned questions. They had only alloted about an hour per interview, and as a result, we're only halfway through mine by the 45 minute mark, so I had to give short, canned answers to the rest of the questions, though admittedly I had already answered many of them accidentally during my earlier responses.

I thought the second half of it was odd. I had to do a writing sample, read over a memo I was already familiar with (a presidential directive) and pretend I was doing a one page brief for a new executive. I'm not sure I got the full 15 minutes do to what I described above, and as a result, my one page brief was incomplete, though during the oral presentation, I was able to talk about the rest of the directive even though it wasn't written down.

All in all it wasn't bad, I thought I answered everything well but I suppose I may have inundated them with too much. We'll see. I went home and sent thank you e-mails which were sincere, I did appreciate them taking the time to interview, and I'll see where it goes. I'm not counting on it, I have no idea who my competition was, but I thought I acquitted myself well. I'll update when and if I hear back.

[mlv311]

Originally Posted by jmerr001

I just got my first "among the best qualified" for a federal job. What's the next step?

You'll either be called for an interview, eventually get a letter that you were qualified and referred but not selected, or hear nothing at all. You can always contact the HR POC if you don't hear anything in a few weeks. Good luck.

[mlv311]

Originally Posted by Forehead

Well, I had the interview yesterday. It went well in most respects, though I may have annoyed the person I was interviewing with. Since the job is for a position very similar to what I already do, I had a lot of experience/examples to use in my answers to the canned questions. They had only alloted about an hour per interview, and as a result, we're only halfway through mine by the 45 minute mark, so I had to give short, canned answers to the rest of the questions, though admittedly I had already answered many of them accidentally during my earlier responses.

I thought the second half of it was odd. I had to do a writing sample, read over a memo I was already familiar with (a presidential directive) and pretend I was doing a one page brief for a new executive. I'm not sure I got the full 15 minutes do to what I described above, and as a result, my one page brief was incomplete, though during the oral presentation, I was able to talk about the rest of the directive even though it wasn't written down.

All in all it wasn't bad, I thought I answered everything well but I suppose I may have inundated them with too much. We'll see. I went home and sent thank you e-mails which were sincere, I did appreciate them taking the time to interview, and I'll see where it goes. I'm not counting on it, I have no idea who my competition was, but I thought I acquitted myself well. I'll update when and if I hear back.

Sounds like they were following a structured interview format. They most likely don't have someone in mind for the vacancy, which can work in your favor. Hope it works out if you feel that it will be a good move for you.

[jmerr001]

Originally Posted by mlv311

You'll either be called for an interview, eventually get a letter that you were qualified and referred but not selected, or hear nothing at all. You can always contact the HR POC if you don't hear anything in a few weeks. Good luck.

Probably a very subjective question but:

How long should I expect to wait to hear about the interview? Figure if I don't here by then I'll send an email and call.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by jmerr001

Probably a very subjective question but:

How long should I expect to wait to hear about the interview? Figure if I don't here by then I'll send an email and call.

It's all over the place. My last job, I interviewed in November and got the offer in mid-February. They were screwed up, but I've discovered that screwed up is par for the course among federal agencies, when it comes to hiring.

They owe you some answer within two weeks, I think. After that, you have every right to call and inquire.

Originally Posted by jmerr001

I just got my first "among the best qualified" for a federal job. What's the next step?

There is none. You'll only get your hopes up for nothing if you pay any attention whatsoever to the automatic e-mails from OPM. Being among the best qualified should give you a good shot, but then they still could choose someone else. An interview invitation will be an e-mail from an actual person or (more often) a phone call.

Originally Posted by jmerr001

Also, I've applied to about a dozen or so positions and I've noticed one thing in particular. It is difficult to accurately tell agencies (via the application) when you're available. I'm active duty military and my end of service is coming up but I'll be available long before that. All this talk about hiring veterans doesn't seem to stretch into the federal government, despite the fact that many of us have been doing these very jobs for over a decade. We don't all have college degrees because we were a little busy this past decade.

If it were up to me, I'd drop the degree requirement and go strictly with formal testing. I could give you ten questions and determine from your answers whether you're qualified to edit professionally. If I'm hiring a software developer, and you've been designing software for 10 years, I couldn't give a rat's tassle that you didn't get your degree. True, it's harder to get hired without your degree, but don't be discouraged; a high level of relevant experience can compensate for the lack of a degree in the federal hiring process.

I wouldn't worry about the availability date. All that gets negotiated once an offer is on the table. Most managers will be flexible. They spend months getting the job announcement cleared with OPM and the agency's HR, getting the job posted, screening resumes, and interviewing--a couple more weeks to get the right candidate is nothing.

Re-reading your post: How can you be available before your AD ends?