How does the gov't recruiting process work? (military, law)

[arkcitynative]

Hi-

My husband is up for a job in DC with the government. He has been interviewed and the department is recommending him to HR.

My question is - can he be rejected by HR?

We just feel a little bit in limbo at the moment and I wondered if this is more "real" than we are assuming or can it all go down the drain with HR.

I suppose until we get an offer letter in our hands that it could fall through.

I hope this makes sense. If anyone has been through this process before and could add a little insight that would be very much appreciated....

[juniperbleu]

It probably depends on the agency, but I would think that it's close to being an unofficial offer. It can definitely still fall through, but I would think that the main issue for that would be budgeting concerns (i.e. the department likes 3 people, but they only have money for 2) or if something in his references/background doesn't come through (i.e. they don't exist). In general, I think if the department really wants you and the agency can afford you, you get the job.

All the same, I prefer to err on being overly-cautious and don't take anything as settled until I have a signed piece of paper in my hands.

[arkcitynative]

That is pretty much what we are doing.... just hanging out until we hear from them and not making an rash decisions.

It just takes so long with HR (the department head said 2-3 weeks before they even contact him) that we are just in a really weird state of limbo.

We just happened to stumble upon the job not thinking he would even be considered for it and now we are thrown into making a serious course change!

Such is life....

Thanks for the input.

[juniperbleu]

Tell me about it. No offense to anyone who works in HR, but I have absolutely no idea what they do and why it takes so long. I know of applicants here who applied in December and their files didn't get passed on to my supervisor to review until March.

Good luck!

[ogplife]

Originally Posted by juniperbleu

Tell me about it. No offense to anyone who works in HR, but I have absolutely no idea what they do and why it takes so long. I know of applicants here who applied in December and their files didn't get passed on to my supervisor to review until March.

Good luck!

Are you referring to DC government or the fed gov? If this is about the DC government I was gong to post a thread related to this as well? How does the process work? Who exactly reviews your ranking factors? Who interviews you? Does DC HR interview you? Or the HR department of that particular branch? Or are you interviewed by the supervisory staff for the office you are applying to?

[arkcitynative]

My original post was about the Feds....

[juniperbleu]

Originally Posted by ogplife

Are you referring to DC government or the fed gov? If this is about the DC government I was gong to post a thread related to this as well? How does the process work? Who exactly reviews your ranking factors? Who interviews you? Does DC HR interview you? Or the HR department of that particular branch? Or are you interviewed by the supervisory staff for the office you are applying to?

I'm not sure, I was also referring to federal, but when someone I know interviewed with DC I believe he was interviewed by the office who wanted him. As for the rest of your questions, I don't know.

[HeavenSoldier]

Since it's the feds, it may take maybe 1-3 weeks before you hear anything. You should get a conditional offer if that's the case. Then there will probably be a polygraph, background check etc, depending on the agency, which could or could not take a while. I suggest going to the agencies website and looking at their application process. The feds seem to be really hiring now, it's a good time (depending on the agency again). The fed process can be long but usual steps are required, another federal traitor like Robert Hanssen or Aldrich Ames isn't needed :/. Check this website out too, 911 Job Forums - Powered by vBulletin, or Police & Law Enforcement - Officer.com Police News, Forums, Links and More for Police Officers, Law Enforcement, Corrections, Sheriffs and More and enter the agency in the search box. God Bless!

[slim04]

I think the process is different agency by agency. I think typically you get an offer over the phone from the person who interviewed you. Then in a few weeks you get a formal letter from HR acknowledging your acceptance (along with a ton of forms to complete), but also noting that the job is contingent upon a background search. The only person who I ever know that didn't make passed that stage basically omitted a DUI conviction on the forms, which if disclosed wouldn't have been a big deal.

I believe HR does a techical review of your application to see if it meets the criteria in the posting and the law. This is done in the screening process too, so it shouldn't be a problem. One hold up could be if there are a lot of military or veteran applicants. I believe your interviewer needs to write a memo on why your candidacy was superior over each combat veteran applicant. I know a lot of supervisors procrastinate in writing these things, which can cause the delay.

Another reason could be the budget situation. Each agency or division has a budget, if it looks like they are ahead of projections they will basically freeze hiring, slash training, or slash travel to make their budget by the end of the fiscal year. This could last a few weeks or a few years. HR basically needs the OK from Management (CFO, Executive Dir., Chief Admin. Officer, etc.) before they can approve any hiring. So if you have a situation where some unexpected expenses come up and 2 divisions are requesting hiring 5 people, the Executive Director might go to the divisions and say you can only hire 2 people right now and maybe one more in two months.

Then those divisions have to hash out who gets hired and when with a lot of negotiating, politicking, and unfortunately, procrastination going on. The end result is that recommendation to hire to HR might come back as a Hire, Reject, or Delay.

Another reason for a possible delay or reject might be if there is a major shakeup or restructuring going on. I remember when the Dept. of Homeland Security was being formed, a lot of those agencies stop hiring certain positions because they didn't know if the entire office or division would be eliminated or dramatically changed. Also, sometimes Congress passes a law that makes the regulation that an agency or office administers moot or less important. If that happens, the agency might stop any hiring, even those already in progress. However, usually these types of major changes are already known and your interviewer would have already told you of these risks.

Good luck, hope things goes well. I know how frustrating it can be trying to get a federal job.

[arkcitynative]

Thank you for the great insight. I really just didn't have a clue how the process works. Sit and wait is all we can do.

Frankly, we are okay with it. He really wasn't looking for a job in the gov't or in DC. We just happened to see it one day and though it sounded like a great opportunity- so why not try.

We have a plan B, which originally was our plan A. Plan C is to just stay where we are, which would be okay too.