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Bingo! Internships. My son got his fed job, from two summers of interning for USGS. He did junk labor stuff, like create maps of ski areas. But, he is fat and happy now, GS-12-13.
Bingo! Internships. My son got his fed job, from two summers of interning for USGS. He did junk labor stuff, like create maps of ski areas. But, he is fat and happy now, GS-12-13.
It does help, but it's not a guarantee. I interned for about a year for a low-level Park Service job. The internship was pretty much the exact same as the paid position, but I still got edged out on the cert.
What DOES help is if you can find a way to get non-competitive status. Peace Corps alumni and recent graduates can get it if you find the right positions, so there's always that option.
I agree that it is hard to obtain federal employment, especially if you are up again vets and current or former federal govt workers. It is also a long process from the time you apply until you are lucky enough to be made an offer. I am one of the lucky ones because I was a former fed with career tenure (over 3 years of government employment).
I worked for the federal govt (straight out of high school) for 9 years. I left and went into the private sector for 20+ years. The last 5 years I worked as a federal govt contractor (DEA for 1 years and DHS for 4 years). I was a Management & Program Analyst at DHS. Though when I came there, I was administrative support specialist. While there I volunteered to perform a lot of other things that some of the permanent feds didn't want to do. Property management for one. When my on-site supervisor saw my willingness to take on additional work, she began to give me more responsibilities. Budget, space planning, acquisitions, and the list goes on and on. Eventually she contacted my contract company and told them she wanted to put me in another contract position as Management and Program Analyst since I was already performing the duties anyway. This promotion came with a significant increase in pay from the what I was being paid as an administrative support specialist.
Anyway when the economy started going from bad to worse, the federal government began to cut back on government contracts. Once my contract period of performance ended it was not extended. My contract company could not find me anything else so I was laid off in December 2012. I applied for federal government jobs using my status as a former fed (which was 20 years ago). I applied for status only positions. I was called for an interview at DHS/FEMA in Feb 2013. The interview went very well and they contacted my references a couple of days later. By the following week, the sequester hit. As weeks turned into months and I didn't hear anything, I just assumed that the position would probably be cancelled as most government agencies had begun to freeze on new hires because of the sequester. However, in June 2013, I was sent a tentative offer (contingent on a successful background check). In Aug 2013, I was informed that the background check was successful. I received a permanent offer and am due to start the job on September 9th. My new fed job is a Management and Program Analyst with responsibilities similar to what I was doing as a contractor.
Even though I was a former fed, I also know that if I did not have the specialized skills I obtained as a contractor, I would not have gotten the new fed job at all. It's just not enough to have veteran or former fed status, you must have the specific skills they are looking for. I also tailored my resume using the language from the job descriptions. Also, when answering the job application multiple choice questions in applicationmanager.gov, I always chose that I was an expert. You see, I once spoke with an govt HR specialist who told me that if you regularly perform a job responsibility, in her opinion that makes you expert even if YOU don't think so. My goal was to make sure I got a high score when ranked, especially since I was going against vets who get 5 and 10 point preferences. The competition is fierce out there and I had to increase my chances of making the best qualified list. I also didn't realize that I could have applied for the higher grade on a application that has promotional potential to that higher grade. Thanks to the HR person schooling me about such things like that, I was successful this time around. That was the best advice I received and I used it.
And for the record, in the past 4-6 years I have applied for tons of federal govt jobs. I have went on only 4 interviews. I have been made two offers (including this one). I turned down the first one a couple of years ago because (1) it was a huge cut in pay that I couldn't afford, and (2) I had just received the hugh promotion in the contract gig.
To those who are not vets or former feds, I would suggest trying to obtain employment as a contractor in the federal government. Learn everything you can in order to beef up the resume. The more skills you have, the better you can compete. I believe that having experience as a federal govt contractor is just as good as being a fed (or former fed).
It is easy to get bitter with the process but it pays to be persistent. Veteran preference plays less of a role in GS 9 and above positions because they require a higher education and experience. It took me 2 years of applying to positions until I landed one last year. I have a law degree and experience in my field. I know no one in my agency and no relatives working in govt. My agency had a mass hiring - 15 new people were hired with me. Several have veterans preference but majority don't. I was told they received a list of 2000 qualified candidates for those 15 positions. Most of my coworkers are highly qualified and some are over qualified for the position (we have 5 attorneys) . So it is hard to get in because there are thousands of highly qualified people applying for the few positions.
As far as the process goes - I took a test in August 2011, obtained results in November, went for an interview with 5 people panel in march and got an offer in April. I started in June of 2012 after initial background check was done. Nothing is easy or fast with the government.
And finally, before I started with feds I kept hearing about these wonderful benefits they suppose to have. Well, I opted to stay with my husband's health insurance because it is cheaper than what the govt is offering. I don't really have any benefits which are better than private sector. I actually had better benefits and salary in private sector. But I love what I do and I am willing to live with that.
It is easy to get bitter with the process but it pays to be persistent. Veteran preference plays less of a role in GS 9 and above positions because they require a higher education and experience. It took me 2 years of applying to positions until I landed one last year. I have a law degree and experience in my field. I know no one in my agency and no relatives working in govt. My agency had a mass hiring - 15 new people were hired with me. Several have veterans preference but majority don't. I was told they received a list of 2000 qualified candidates for those 15 positions. Most of my coworkers are highly qualified and some are over qualified for the position (we have 5 attorneys) . So it is hard to get in because there are thousands of highly qualified people applying for the few positions.
As far as the process goes - I took a test in August 2011, obtained results in November, went for an interview with 5 people panel in march and got an offer in April. I started in June of 2012 after initial background check was done. Nothing is easy or fast with the government.
And finally, before I started with feds I kept hearing about these wonderful benefits they suppose to have. Well, I opted to stay with my husband's health insurance because it is cheaper than what the govt is offering. I don't really have any benefits which are better than private sector. I actually had better benefits and salary in private sector. But I love what I do and I am willing to live with that.
And that's how it's done.
Persistence and a bit of luck that an office is hiring more than one or two people.
Plus being willing to relocate, applying for lower GS and knowing how to match your skills to the job posting.
I don't begrudge anyone their military service. But I sure don't think veterans should get any more preference than anyone else.
I was told no matter high high I scored if I was up against a vet I wouldn't get it. In fact the vet can SCORE LOWER than me, and STILL get the job because of the vet points. THAT is crap.
I disagree. I believe veterans should be allowed to have a 10 point gain on everyone else, after all they are applying for a job that is with our government AND they served our government for many years (with relatively low pay, and often times with their lives in danger) and now they are retired and wanting to work but they are trained in such a way that most often they're only suited to doing the same job they did while in the military and those jobs are most often Federal jobs. So, while you might be able to score higher and feel that you deserve the job, they should have some kind of bonus points since they put their lives on the line for all of us and gave up many years of their lives that they could have spent with family to protect our country, and be able to keep themselves employed should they be lucky enough to have lived long enough to retire.
I'm not a vet, but I do think that being a vet should give you some privileges and if that means I lose a job because a vet applied and got the 10 bonus points, I should think I wouldn't ever disrespect them by claiming that was "crap" that they got the job and I didn't. Because I tell you what... they put up with so many years of crap that having that 10 extra bonus points is nothing, and well deserved.
It's extremely hard to get in these days. I did an unpaid internship at the VA last semester. I was told that most positions they have, they receive hundreds of applicants. If you are not a veteran, your chances are very slim regardless of your credentials. They hire just about every veteran that apply. I remember when I heard them discussing about an applicant who was a veteran - he had basically no job history except for volunteer experience and his interview went horrible. No one wanted him in their department and they were deciding who would have to "take one for the team" and take him in. I even did his reference checks and two references didn't even bother picking up after various calls and voice mails. In my opinion, vets can and should have an upper hand to at least receive an interview, but once it's time for the interview process, everything else should be fair game. Too bad it doesn't work that way.
I'm totally fine with veterans points. My issue might be on a lower level with residency requirements. I'll comply with any to be honest. But the process basically means you end up voting for your own paycheck!
I'll also say this. On a local level if you have the chance to take a civil service test...do it. I don't care if it takes a whole day out of your week. Even if you don't get the job often times you'll be put on a list and when others leave for whatever reasons (promotion, demotion, quit, fired etc) your name moves up. But most importantly it can be there for a few years.
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