employment with city of austin (San Antonio, Anton: salary, moving, budget)

[rgb123]

Fact finding mission:

I'm considering other employment because my awesome company (really good salary and benefits) keeps trying to move me to Oklahoma. I am currently in San Antonio.

Last night I applied online for a job with the City of Austin. It is in my field, I have the experience and education and would normally feel very confident I would get the job or at least an interview. It's a professional position requiring education and 3-5 years of experience.

I contacted the city to confirm there is not currently a hiring freeze and to see if they are hiring in that position and they said they are hiring (though it was posted in May and I have to wonder why it is still open if so many people are looking for work.)

I have read things about the city budget in the news and general volatility (it appears) between the city and the general public and the budget etc.

So what is the story? Do people not want to work for the city? are they uber picky? why is that job still open? Do they lowball on the pay at the city? any experiences working for the city of austin in general? love to hear about it.

Thanks!

[ktel]

The City of Austin does have a hiring freeze going on, and there are a few positions that are being filled but the positions have to go through upper management approval to get filled. Normally the process takes a long time, and now it takes even longer. On top of that that the HR staff are obstacles to hiring as they may deny the applicant's qualifications even after approval to fill the position. So there you go, yes they are hiring, yes it's slow, but that doesn't seem to be the case for special individuals who have connections.

[rgb123]

hmmm....sounds like I could be in Oklahoma before they look at my app

[inthecut]

I can only speak as someone coming from one of the most corrupt cities in america(Chicago), that it is all entirely who you know per gov't jobs, even when clout plays little issue....makes the entire diff between an app languishing at the bottom of a pile, and sitting in an interview.....especially in these tight times when all depts are surely overwhelmed with applications ....Best advice? Find someone who works in the system, if that's possible..if not, be ready to have the app stuck in some little corner for 7 months, lost, or tossed out....

[rgb123]

funny...I'm from Chicago too....wonder how that looks on my resume....lol

a friend of mine who is an urban planner (but not for the city) recommended me calling the department head and introducing myself...somehow to me that seems a bit annoying....and maybe unwelcome.

[jread]

Just wanted to echo what ktel said. The City *is* hiring, but it's moving even slower and going through more steps than it was before (and it was pretty damn slow before).

[rgb123]

Originally Posted by jread

Just wanted to echo what ktel said. The City *is* hiring, but it's moving even slower and going through more steps than it was before (and it was pretty damn slow before).

do you think it's true that you have to "know somebody" ?

I know that is a general belief a lot of people have about governments everywhere, but it really was not true in places I have worked. It helped, especially to have a network and people could vouch for you....but unknowns definitley got hired if they were the most qualified and checked out.

I am wondering why the position is still open though...if posted in May.

what "steps" are you guys talking about? I have a security clearance, that was a step! But I still knew I was hired within a few days!

would you want to work for the city in the current enviornment?

[jread]

Originally Posted by rgb123

do you think it's true that you have to "know somebody" ?

I know that is a general belief a lot of people have about governments everywhere, but it really was not true in places I have worked. It helped, especially to have a network and people could vouch for you....but unknowns definitley got hired if they were the most qualified and checked out.

I am wondering why the position is still open though...if posted in May.

what "steps" are you guys talking about? I have a security clearance, that was a step! But I still knew I was hired within a few days!

would you want to work for the city in the current enviornment?

It has not been my experience that "knowing someone" matters in Austin. It's too big of a city to still have that small-town way of operating. Any hirings I've been involved in resulted in the most qualified person getting the job, period. It's true that current City employees have the upper-hand, only because they tend to have experience that puts them a step above everyone else (if you work in the department you're applying to you have an obvious advantage).

As for the "steps", HR is basically making everyone go through a long justification process for filling open positions given all the budget problems. Even with the economy on the upswing, the government agencies tend to feel the pain the year AFTER since our revenues are tax-based (our budget next year is based on *this* years revenues, or lack thereof).

I still think the City is a great place to be right now as it is very secure and it offers a fantastic pension plan, which is very hard to find anymore.